Alteration effects of volcanic ash in seawater: Anomalous Y/Ho ratios in coastal waters of the Central Mediterranean sea

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study based on data collected during the oceanographic cruise ANSIC 2001 carried out in the Ionian Sea during the explosive activity of Mount Etna in the summer of 2001. Anomalous low values of Y/Ho ratios in seawater suggest extensive scavenging processes on the surfaces of smectitic alteration products, with Y and Ho fractionation controlled by the differences in their electronic configurations and behaviour during solution/surface complexation equilibria. These processes can also be traced through the presence of significant tetrad effects recorded in the chondrite-normalised Rare Earth Elements and Yttrium (YREEs) patterns of suspended particulate matter. This suggests that the preferential Y scavenging from seawater is due to the formation of inner-sphere complexes with OH À groups on montmorillonite crystal surfaces. The preliminary results of kinetic experiments of YREE released from volcanic ash to coexisting seawater, and the related effects on Y/Ho ratios and Ce anomalies, are consistent with the fractionation of Light Rare Earth Elements (LREEs) with respect to Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREEs) observed in dissolved phase. They suggest a behaviour of Y similar to that reported for LREEs, particularly for Ce and Pr.

Yttrium and lanthanides in human lung fluids, probing the exposure to atmospheric fallout

“…This occurred immediately after residents of the city of Catania were exposed by inhalation to volcanic ash produced by pyroclastic activity of Mount Etna, the largest European volcano. Due to the particular location of Catania with respect to the eruptive source and the ambient meteorological conditions, there was an extreme deposition of volcanic particles mainly consisting of mineral, glass and rock fragments between 1 and 500 m diameter, with main grain-size in the range of 5-10 m diameter [22,16]. The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) considers that the percentage of respirable particles within the size range of 5-10 m is 30-1%, respectively.…”

Geochemistry of Zr, Hf, and REE in a wide spectrum of Eh and water composition: The case of Dead Sea Fault system (Israel)

“…Over the last 30 years, several papers about the aqueous geochemistry of the REE (lanthanides plus yttrium) have been published, whereas limited investigations have been carried out about Zr and Hf geochemistry Dulski, 1995, 1999;Byrne and Sholkovitz, 1996;Bau et al, 1998;Takahashi et al, 2002;Censi et al, 2007aCensi et al, , 2010G€ ob et al, 2013;Inguaggiato et al, 2016b]. The study of Zr and Hf distributions in natural waters started about 20 years ago and was mainly focused on seawater Orians, 1993, 1998;Godfrey et al, 1996Godfrey et al, , 2009Firdaus et al, 2011;Frank, 2011], apart from some studies focused on the aqueous speciation of these elements [Aja et al, 1995;Byrne, 2002;Pershina et al, 2002].…”

Source and Nature of Inhaled Atmospheric Dust from Trace Element Analyses of Human Bronchial Fluids

“…Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) extraction and chemical sample processing: Six patients of the Department of Internal Medicine of Catania University were subjected (after giving their written informed consent) to the BAL procedure during the summer of 2001, when the city of Catania was exposed to the severe delivery of atmospheric particulate matter produced by the pyroclastic activity of Mount Etna, the largest active European volcano. Due to the closeness of Catania to the source of the eruption, this densely populated urban area was subjected to an intense delivery of volcanic particulate matter mainly consisting of mineral, glass, and rock fragments between 1 and 500 μm diameter, with the most frequent grain size within the range of 5–10 μm diameter. − …”