Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra

The Isola del Toro is a small island (∼1 km2) about 5 nautical miles SW of Sardinia entirely made up of mildly alkaline sodic evolved rocks (benmoreites and trachytes) related to each other by fractionation processes. 40Ar/39Ar dating of an anorthoclase mineral separate from a trachyte gave an age of 11.83 ± 0.10 Ma. This age estimate falls within an interval previously considered a-magmatic in Sardinia. The results of this study shift the beginning of the Middle Miocene–Quaternary anorogenic volcanism of Sardinia back to the Late Serravalian. The transition between orogenic and anorogenic activity in Sardinia is markedly different from that recorded in the rest of the circum-Mediterranean area, where this transition is much more gradual, both in time and in terms of magma composition. On the other hand, the transition between orogenic and anorogenic magmatism in Sardinia is rather sharp and lacks hybrid compositions. The Isola del Toro volcanic rocks represent the first anorogenic products produced during the opening of the western Mediterranean Sea.

Petrological and geochemical data for basic (alkali basalts and hawaiites) and silicic peralkaline rocks, plus rare intermediate products (mugearites and benmoreites) from the Pleistocene Boseti volcanic complex (Main Ethiopian Rift, East Africa) are reported in this work. The basalts are slightly alkaline or transitional, have peaks at Ba and Nb in the mantle-normalized diagrams and relatively low 87Sr/86Sr (0.7039–0.7044). The silicic rocks (pantellerites and comendites) are rich in sanidine and anorthoclase, with mafic phases being represented by fayalite-rich olivine, opaque oxides, aenigmatite and slightly Na-rich ferroaugite (ferrohedenbergite). These rocks were generated after prolonged fractional crystallization process (up to 90–95 %) starting from basaltic parent magmas at shallow depths and fO2 conditions near the QFM buffer. The apparent Daly Gap between mafic and evolved Boseti rocks is explained with a model involving the silicic products filling upper crustal magma chambers and erupted preferentially with respect to basic and intermediate products. Evolved liquids could have been the only magmas which filled the uppermost magma reservoirs in the crust, thus giving time to evolve towards Rb-, Zr- and Nb-rich peralkaline rhyolites in broadly closed systems.

Trace element partition coefficients between clinopyroxenes and associated glassy matrix (Cpx/LD) have been determined for 13 REE, HFSE4+,5+, U, Th, Sr, Pb, Sc and V from combined LA-ICP-MS/EMP analyses in selected trachytes and trachyphonolites from Campi Flegrei. Composition of clinopyroxene and glass is pretty homogeneous in the trachyphonolites, pointing to an overall attainment of the equilibrium conditions. In trachytes, conversely, phases show some compositional heterogeneity (due to the presence of clinopyroxene xenocrysts) that requested a more careful petrographic and geochemical inspection of the samples to assess the equilibrium clinopyroxene composition. In the trachyte clinopyroxenes, REE are compatible from Nd to Lu (Cpx/LD up to 2.9), like Y, Ti, Sc and V. The Cpx/LD for Eu is lower than those of the adjacent REE, highlighting Eu2+ contribution. High D values are also shown by U, Th, Pb, Zr, Hf, Nb and Ta relatively to basaltic and andesitic systems, whereas the D Sr is roughly similar to that found for less evolved magmas. Trachyphonolites are characterized by an overall decrease of the Cpx/LD for highly-charged cations (with the exception of V), and by a slight increase of D Sr. REE are still compatible from Nd to Lu (Cpx/LD up to 2.1), like Ti, Y, Sc and V. This variation is also predicted for REE and Y by models based on the elastic strain theory, being consistent with the slightly lower polymerization degree estimated for the trachyphonolites. However, the observed Cpx/LD (REE,Y) are matched by the modelled ones only considering very low T (≤825°C), which are believed unlikely. This mismatch cannot be attributed to effects induced by the water-rich composition of the trachyte–trachyphonolite suite, since they would lower the observed Cpx/LD (REE,Y). Moreover, the anomalous inflections of measured Cpx/LD for HREE suggests some crystal-chemical control, such as the entrance of these elements in a site distinct from M2. It is concluded that the large Cpx/LD determined for trachytes and trachyphonolites are likely induced by hitherto unconstrained changes of the Z3+ activities related to the composition of melt and/or solid. All these considerations strongly highlight the importance of a direct characterization of trace element partitioning in natural samples from magmatic systems poorly characterized by experimental studies.

Little is known about the manifold life forms of the deep biosphere although there is increasing scientific evidence that an extensive biosphere does exist in extreme environments such as the rocks below the seafloor. The ODP Leg 200 was devoted to the study of Eocene oceanic crust of the North Pacific Ocean. Within a massive tholeiitic lava flow unit, at depth of 51 mbsf underneath a water column of about 5000 m, we found unique filamentous structures. Based on morphological traits like branching, septa and central pores the filaments are interpreted as fungi. These filaments were found within carbonate-filled vesicles ranging in size from 0.5 to 3 mm in diameter. The net of fungal hyphae completely fills the whole pore space from the basalt-carbonate boundary towards the center of the pores. The cross section dimension of these filaments is about 5-10 micrometer and the length differ from 50 to several hundreds micrometer. Thereby the cell septa of the hyphae are clearly visible. The number of hyphae ranges from some tenth to some hundreds per particular pore. The presence of pyrite within the carbonate cements points out anaerobic conditions in this habitat. After removing the carbonate by etching the vesicles with diluted formic acid, the 3-dimensional structure of the fungus could be clearly visualized. Fine structure analysis of the hyphae obtained by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) revealed a network of tiny small fibers coating the surface of the hyphae. Semi-quantitative chemical analyses of the etched hyphae were conducted with an energy dispersive spectrometer system (EDS) coupled with the FE-SEM. The results evidence a chemical composition of the hyphae different from the surrounding carbonate matrix. Undisturbed filamentous growth through different calcite crystals within the vesicles and small open space between the fungi and matrix indicate endolithic fungal growth after the calcium carbonate filling of the vesicles. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first finding of eukaryotic life signs within deep ocean basaltic rocks with few signs of alteration. Moreover, these microorganisms are associated with relatively ancient, and therefore cold, volcanic rocks.

La cattura e sequestro (o stoccaggio) del carbonio (spesso indicato anche con l'acronimo CCS, derivato dal termine inglese Carbon Capture and Storage - o Sequestration) in scienze ambientali è un processo di confinamento geologico dell'anidride carbonica (CO2) prodotta da grandi impianti di combustione; una tecnologia che sta entrando a far parte del mix di strategie disponibili per far fronte alla crescente concentrazione in atmosfera di CO2 di origine antropica, un gas ad effetto serra che sembra concorrere all'attuale riscaldamento del globo.