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Trace element emissions vary with lava flow age and thermal evolution during the Fagradalsfjall 2021-2023 eruptions, Iceland.
  • +18
  • Laura Wainman,
  • Evgenia Ilyinskaya,
  • Melissa Anne Pfeffer,
  • Celine Mandon,
  • Eniko Bali,
  • Brock Edwards,
  • Barbara Kleine-Marshall,
  • S R Gudjonsdottir,
  • Adam Cotterill,
  • Samuel Scott,
  • Penny Wieser,
  • Andri Stefánsson,
  • Emma J Nicholson,
  • Josefa Sepulveda Araya,
  • Samantha J Hammond,
  • Barbara E Kunz,
  • Frances Elaine Jenner,
  • Jóhann Gunnarsson Robin,
  • Alessandro Aiuppa,
  • Mike Burton,
  • Tamsin A. Mather
Laura Wainman
University of Leeds

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Evgenia Ilyinskaya
University of Leeds
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Melissa Anne Pfeffer
Icelandic Meteorological Office
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Celine Mandon
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland
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Eniko Bali
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland
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Brock Edwards
University of Manitoba, Canada
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Barbara Kleine-Marshall
Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg Internationales Kolleg fur Geisteswissenschaftliche Forschung
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S R Gudjonsdottir
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
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Adam Cotterill
University College London
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Samuel Scott
University of Iceland
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Penny Wieser
University of California, Berkeley
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Andri Stefánsson
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland
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Emma J Nicholson
University College London
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Josefa Sepulveda Araya
University of Leeds
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Samantha J Hammond
Open University
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Barbara E Kunz
Open University
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Frances Elaine Jenner
Open University
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Jóhann Gunnarsson Robin
University of Iceland
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Alessandro Aiuppa
Università di Palermo
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Mike Burton
University of Manchester
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Tamsin A. Mather
University of Oxford
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Abstract

Basaltic fissure eruptions emit an array of volatile and environmentally reactive gases and particulate matter (PM) into the lower troposphere (e.g., SO2, HCl, and HF in the gas phase; Se, As, Pb as complexes in the PM phase). Lava flows from fissure eruptions can be spatially extensive, but the composition and fluxes of their emissions are poorly characterized compared to those from main vent(s). Using UAS-mounted (drone) samplers and ground-based remote FTIR spectroscopy we investigate the down-flow compositional evolution of emissions from active lava flows during the Fagradalsfjall 2021-2023 eruptions. The calculated fluxes of volatile trace metals from lava flows are considerable relative to both main vent degassing and anthropogenic fluxes in Iceland. We demonstrate a fractionation in major gas emissions, with decreasing S/halogen ratio down-flow. This S-Cl fractionation is reflected in the trace element degassing profile, where the abundance of predominantly sulfur-complexing elements (e.g., Se, Te, As, Pb) decreases more rapidly in down-flow emissions relative to elements complexing as chlorides (e.g., Cu, Rb, Cs), oxides (e.g., La, Ce) and hydroxides (e.g., Fe, Mg, Al). Using thermochemical modeling, we explain this relationship through temperature and composition dependent element speciation as the lava flow ages and cools. As a result, some chloride-complexing elements (such as Cu) become relatively more abundant in emissions further down-flow, compared to emissions from the main vent or more proximal lava flows. This variability in down-flow element fluxes suggests that the output of metals to the environment may change depending on lava flow age and thermal evolution.
13 Aug 2024Submitted to ESS Open Archive
15 Aug 2024Published in ESS Open Archive