We present the first regional map of CO2 Earth degassing from a large area (most of central and south Italy) derived from the carbon of deep provenance dissolved in the main springs of the region. The investigation shows that a globally significant amount of deeply derived CO2 (10% of the estimated global CO2 emitted from subaerial volcanoes) is released by two large areas located in western Italy. The anomalous flux of CO2 suddenly disappears in the Apennine in correspondence to a narrow band where most of seismicity concentrates. Here, at depth, the gas accumulates in crustal traps generating CO2 overpressurized reservoirs which induce seismicity.

Abstract. In the •?resent period of quiescence, the Solfatara volcano, 1 km far from Pozzuoli, releases 1500 t d-of hydrothermal CO2 through soil diffuse degassing from a relatively small area (0.5 krn2). This amount of gas is comparable to that released by crater plume emissions of many active volcanoes. On the basis of the CO2/H20 ratio measured in high-temperature fumaroles inside the degassing area, we computed a total thermal energy flux of 1.19 x 1013 J d -1 (138 MW). Most of this energy is lost by shallow steam condensation and transferred to the atmosphere through the hot soil of the degassing area. The thermal energy released by diffuse degassing at Solfatara is by far the main way of energy release from the whole Campi Flegrei caldera. It is 1 order of magnitude higher than the conductive heat flux through the entire caldera, and, during the last 20 years, it was several times higher than the energy associated with seismic crises and ground deformation events. It is possible that changes in the energy flux from a magma body seated underneath Solfatara and/or argillification processes at relatively shallow depths determine pressurization events in the hydrothermal system and consequently ground deformation and shallow seismic swarms, as recorded during the recent episodes of volcanic unrest centered at Pozzuoli.

[1] Conditional sequential Gaussian simulations (sGs) have been applied for the first time to the study of soil diffuse degassing from different volcanic and nonvolcanic systems. The application regards five data sets of soil CO 2 fluxes measured with the accumulation chamber methodology at the volcanic areas of Solfatara of Pozzuoli (Italy), Vesuvio cone (Italy), Nisyros (Greece), and Horseshoe Lake (California) and at the nonvolcanic degassing area of Poggio dell'Olivo (Italy). The sGs algorithm was used to generate 100 realizations of CO 2 flux for each area. Probabilistic summaries of these simulations, together with the information given by probability plots, were used (1) to draw maps of the probability that CO 2 fluxes exceed thresholds specific for a background flux, i.e., to define the probable extension of the degassing structures, (2) to calculate the total CO 2 output, and (3) to quantify the uncertainty of the estimation. The results show that the sGs is a suitable tool to model soil diffuse degassing, producing realistic images of the distribution of the CO 2 fluxes that honor the histogram and variogram of the original data. Moreover, the relation between the sample design and the uncertainty of estimation was investigated leading to an empirical relation between uncertainty and the sampling density that can be useful for the planning of future CO 2 flux surveys. Citation: Cardellini, C., G. Chiodini, and F. Frondini, Application of stochastic simulation to CO 2 flux from soil: Mapping and quantification of gas release,

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Long‐duration time series of the chemical composition of fumaroles and of soil CO2 flux reveal that important variations in the activity of the Solfatara fumarolic field, the most important hydrothermal site of Campi Flegrei, occurred in the 2000–2008 period. A continuous increase of the CO2 concentrations and a general decrease of the CH4 concentrations are interpreted to be the consequence of the increment of the relative amount of magmatic fluids, rich in CO2 and poor in CH4, hosted by the hydrothermal system. Contemporaneously, the H2O‐CO2‐He‐N2 gas system shows remarkable compositional variations in the samples collected after July 2000 with respect to the previous ones, indicating the progressive arrival at the surface of a magmatic component different from that involved in the 1983–1984 episode of volcanic unrest (1983–1984 bradyseism). The change starts in 2000, concurrently with the occurrence of relatively deep, long‐period seismic events which were the indicator of the opening of an easy ascent pathway for the transfer of magmatic fluids toward the shallower, brittle domain hosting the hydrothermal system. Since 2000, this magmatic gas source is active and causes ground deformations and seismicity as well as the expansion of the area affected by soil degassing of deeply derived CO2. Even though the activity will most probably be limited to the expulsion of large amounts of gases and thermal energy, as observed in other volcanoes and in the past activity of Campi Flegrei, the behavior of the system in the future is, at the moment, unpredictable.

Volcanoes are the main pathway to the surface for volatiles that are stored within the Earth. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is of particular interest because of its potential for climate forcing. Understanding the balance of CO2 that is transferred from the Earth’s surface to the Earth’s interior, hinges on accurate quantification of the long-term emissions of volcanic CO2 to the atmosphere. Here we present an updated evaluation of the world’s volcanic CO2 emissions that takes advantage of recent improvements in satellite-based monitoring of sulfur dioxide, the establishment of ground-based networks for semi-continuous CO2-SO2 gas sensing and a new approach to estimate key volcanic gas parameters based on magma compositions. Our results reveal a global volcanic CO2 flux of 51.3 ± 5.7 Tg CO2/y (11.7 × 1011 mol CO2/y) for non-eruptive degassing and 1.8 ± 0.9 Tg/y for eruptive degassing during the period from 2005 to 2015. While lower than recent estimates, this global volcanic flux implies that a significant proportion of the surface-derived CO2 subducted into the Earth’s mantle is either stored below the arc crust, is efficiently consumed by microbial activity before entering the deeper parts of the subduction system, or becomes recycled into the deep mantle to potentially form diamonds.

[1] Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) diffuse degassing structures (DDS) at Furnas volcano (São Miguel Island, Azores) are mostly associated with the main fumarolic fields, evidence that CO 2 soil degassing is the surface expression of rising steam from the hydrothermal system. Locations with anomalous CO 2 flux are mainly controlled by tectonic structures oriented WNW-ESE and NW-SE and by the geomorphology of the volcano, as evidenced by several DDS located in depressed areas associated with crater margins. Hydrothermal soil CO 2 emissions in Furnas volcano are estimated to be ∼968 t d . Discrimination between biogenic and hydrothermal CO 2 was determined using a statistical approach and the carbon isotope composition of the CO 2 efflux. Different sampling densities were used to evaluate uncertainty in the estimation of the total CO 2 flux and showed that a low density of points may not be adequate to quantify soil emanations from a relatively small DDS. Thermal energy release associated with diffuse degassing at Furnas caldera is about 118 MW (from an area of ∼4.8 km 2 ) based on the H 2 O/CO 2 ratio in fumarolic gas. The DDS also affect Furnas and Ribeira Quente villages, which are located inside the caldera and in the south flank of the volcano, respectively. At these sites, 58% and 98% of the houses are built over hydrothermal CO 2 emanations, and the populations are at risk due to potential high concentrations of CO 2 accumulating inside the dwellings.