Tectonic relations of carbon dioxide discharges and earthquakes

Irwin, William P.; Barnes, Ivan

doi:10.1029/jb085ib06p03115

Cited by 254 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

125

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…A close relationship is suggested be tween CO2 outgassing and volcanic activities. Similar observations based on the world-wide data were reported by Irwin and Barnes (1980). While they stated that C02-rich hot springs in the world are situated mostly along the circum Pacific orogenic belt, our results in the Tohoku district show that C02 outgassing is only limited to the back-arc region.…”

Section: General Trends In Chemical Compositionssupporting

confidence: 79%

Chemical compositions of natural gases in Japan.

et al. 1985

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chemical compositions of 96 natural gas samples from various locations and gas sources at 67 sampling sites in Japan were analyzed. A gas chromatograph system was developed for precise analyses of concentra tions of N2, CH4, C02, 02, Ar, He, Ne, H2, C2H6 and H2S. Overall analytical errors were estimated to be less than 5% for most samples. A sampling reservoir was newly designed in this work. Main components of natural gas samples were C02, N2 and CH4. Whereas N2 showed positive correlations with 4He and 3He concentrations, CO2 and CH4 showed negative correlations with them. Either a mechanism of dilution of the N2 gas enriched in magmatic He by CO2 and/or CH4, or of dissipation of CO2 from magmatic fluid was suggested. Concentrations of Ar and Ne were high in N,2-rich gas samples. Ratios Ne/N2 and Ar/N2 imply the presence of N2 of non-atmospheric origin. The close relationship between CO2 discharge and volcanic activities was pointed out. A possible source of CO2 is carbonates of sedimentary rocks from which CO2 may be released either by pyrolysis or by decomposition due to magmatic activity. Nitrogen and CO2 derived from oceanic sediments may be included in Japanese natural gases associated with subduction of a down-going slab. INTRODUCTIONThe JapaneseIslands are located in the subduction zone of the circum-Pacific orogenic belt. Geophysical features of NE Japan represent a typical island arc system. More than 2,000 hot springs and mineral springs are distributed in the islands and from some of them bubble gases are released.Gases are released also from gas and oil fields.Natural gases studied in this work include various types of occurrence, such as gases emerged from above sources. Chemical composition data on natural gases provide useful information regarding their origin, primordial volatiles of the Earth, and the evolution of the atmosphere.Chemical studies of natural gases started in 1900's (Moureu, 1904(Moureu, , 1923Yamada, 1922;Pencheff, 1929). Since 1960's, a number of data have been reported with the progress in gas chromatography (Gunter and Musgrave, 1966; Maki et al., 1966;Inai et al., 1967) It is difficult to determine Ne with ordinary gas chromatographic technique owing to its retention time close to that of He and low sen sitivity. Kawabe et al. (1981) reported Ne values in terms of Ne/Ar or Ne/N2 ratio using a 11 12 A. Urabe et al.TCD (thermal conductivity detector) gas chromatograph with He carrier gas. Sensitivity of Ne on the TCD, however, is not high enough to analyze samples with low Ne concentrations. Sugisaki et al. (1982) separated He from Ne in atmospheric samples using an 8-m MS 5A column.The method, however, is not ap propriate for natural gas analyses, because He/ Ne ratios in natural gases are generally 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than those of the atmosphere, which would result in insufficient separation of Ne from He.In this study a USD (ultrasonic detector)gas chromatograph with He carrier gas was used for the Ne determination.The USD is particu larly effective to det...

show abstract

Section: General Trends In Chemical Compositionssupporting

confidence: 79%

Chemical compositions of natural gases in Japan.

et al. 1985

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is consistent with those found in hydrothermal systems in subduction zones (Urabe et al, 1985;Giggenbach et al, 1993). Note that the distribution of CO 2 discharges generally coincides with major zones of seismicity throughout the world (Irwin and Barnes, 1980). …”

Section: Sampling Site and Analytical Methodssupporting

confidence: 79%

Volatile element isotope systematics at Ontake volcano, Japan.

Takahata¹,

Yokochi²,

Nishio³

et al. 2003

Geochem. J.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Changes in gas emissions from thermal and nonthermal wells and the discharge of odorous or flammable gases from the earth have been prominently reported in accounts ofpreseismic phenomena for well over 100 years (IRWIN and BARNES, 1980;WAKITA, 1982;ZIA, 1984;GoLD and SOTER, 1985;KING, 1986). Among the more spectacular phenomena reported are descriptions of gas jets from dry wells, sand geysers, and large increases of gas effervescing from springs (JIANG and L1, 1981a;L1 et a/., 1985).…”

Section: Dissolved Gas Precursorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical precursors to seismic activity

Thomas

1988

PAGEOPH

225

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract-Studies of earthquake precursory phenomena during the last several decades have found that significant geophysical and geochemical changes can occur prior to intermediate and large earthquakes. Among the more intensely investigated geochemical phenomena have been: (1) changes in the concentrations of dissolved ions and gases in groundwaters and (2) variations in the concentrations of crustal and mantle volatiles in ground gases. The concentration changes have typically showed no consistent trend (either increasing or decreasing), and the spatial and temporal distribution of the observed anomalies have been highly variable. As a result, there is little agreement on the physical or chemical processes responsible for the observed anomalies. Mechanisms proposed to account for precursory groundwater anomalies include ultrasonic vibration, pressure sensitive solubility, pore volume collapse, fracture induced increases in reactive surfaces, and aquifer breaching/fluid mixing. Precursory changes in soil gas composition have been suggested to result from pore volume collapse, micro-fracture induced exposure of fresh reactive silicate surfaces, and breaching of buried gas-rich horizons. An analysis of the available field and laboratory data suggests that the aquifer breaching/fluid mixing (AB/FM) model can best account for many of the reported changes in temperature, dissolved ion and dissolved gas concentrations in groundwater. Ultrasonic vibration and pressure sensitive solubility models cannot reasonably account for the geochemical variations observed and, although the pore collapse model could explain some of the observed chemical changes in groundwater and ground gas, uncertainties remain regarding its ability to generate anomalies of the magnitude observed. Other geochemical anomalies, in particular those associated with hydrogen and radon, seem best accounted for by increases in reactive surface areas (IRSA model) that may accompany precursory deformation around the epicenter of an impending earthquake. Analysis of the probable response of these models to the earthquake preparation process, as well as to other environmental factors, suggests that geochemical monitoring programs can provide information that may be valuable in forecasting the probability of an earthquake; however, because of the complexity of the earthquake preparation process, the absolute prediction of seismic events using geochemical methods alone, does not presently appear to be feasible.

show abstract

Tectonic relations of carbon dioxide discharges and earthquakes

Cited by 254 publications

References 9 publications

Chemical compositions of natural gases in Japan.

Chemical compositions of natural gases in Japan.

Volatile element isotope systematics at Ontake volcano, Japan.

Geochemical precursors to seismic activity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About