[1] Waters and dissolved gases collected along vertical profiles in the five basins (Main, Kabuno Bay, Kalehe, Ishungu, and Bukavu) forming the 485 m deep Lake Kivu (Democratic Republic of the Congo) were analyzed to provide a geochemical conceptual model of the several processes controlling lake chemistry. The measured horizontal and vertical variations of water and gas compositions suggest that each basin has distinct chemical features produced by (1) different contribution from long circulating fluid system containing magmatic CO 2 , responsible of the huge CO 2 (CH 4 )-rich reservoir hosted within the deep lake water; (2) spatial variations of the biomass distribution and/or speciation; and (3) solutes from water-

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, the city of Goma was partly destroyed by two of the several lava flows erupted from a roughly N-S oriented fracture system opened along the southern flank of Mount Nyiragongo (Democratic Republic of Congo), in the western branch of the East African rift system. A humanitarian and scientific response was promptly organized by international, governmental, and nongovernmental agencies coordinated by the United Nations and the European Union. Among the different scientific projects undertaken to study the mechanisms triggering this and possible future eruptions, we focused on the isotopic (He, C, and Ar) analysis of the magmatic-hydrothermal and cold gas discharges related to the Nyiragongo volcanic system, the Kivu and Virunga region. The studied area includes the Nyiragongo volcano, its surroundings, and peripheral areas inside and outside the rift. They have been subdivided into seven regions characterized by distinct 3 He/ 4 He (expressed as R/R air ) ratios and/or d 13 C-CO 2 values. The Nyiragongo summit crater fumaroles, whose R/R air and d 13 C-CO 2 values are up to 8.73 and from À3.5% to À4.0% VPDB, respectively, show a clear mantle, mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like contribution. Similar mantle-like He isotopic values (6.5-8.3 R/R air ) are also found in CO 2 -rich gas emanations (mazukus) along the northern shoreline of Lake Kivu main basin, whereas the 13 dC-CO 2 values range from À5.3% to À6.8% VPDB. The mantle influence progressively decreases in (1) dissolved gases of Lake Kivu (2.6-5.5 R/R air ) and (2) the distal gas discharges within and outside the two sides of the rift (from 0.1 to 1.7 R/R air ). Similarly, d 13 C-CO 2 ratios of the peripheral gas emissions are lighter (from À5.9% to À11.6% VPDB) than those of the crater fumaroles. Therefore, the spatial distribution of He and C signatures in the Lake Kivu region is mainly produced by mixing of mantle-related (e.g., Nyiragongo crater fumaroles and/or mazukus gases) and crustal-related (e.g., gas discharges in the Archean craton) fluids. The CO 2 / 3 He ratio (up to 10 Â 10 10 ) is 1 order of magnitude higher than those found in MORB, and it is due to the increasing solubility of CO 2 in the foiditic magma feeding the Nyiragongo volcano. However, the exceptionally high 40 Ar*/ 4 He ratio (up to 8.7) of the Nyiragongo crater fumaroles may be related to the difference between He and Ar solubility in the magmatic source. The results of the present investigation suggest that in this area the uprising of mantle-originated f luids seems strongly controlled by regional tectonics in relation to the geodynamic assessment of the rift. These fluids are mainly localized in a relatively small zone between Lake Kivu and Nyiragongo volcano, with important implications in terms of volcanic activity.Citation: Tedesco, D., F. Tassi, O. Vaselli, R. J. Poreda, T. Darrah, E. Cuoco, and M. M. Yalire (2010), Gas isotopic signatures (He, C, and Ar) in the Lake Kivu region (western branch of the East African rift system): Geodynamic and volcanological implications,

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