The amount of CO2 dissolved in groundwater is so great that, in some cases, strong free CO2 emissions are associated with the water pipes. The emission in the image is located on the San Vittorino plain (Rieti) about 30 km away from the epicenter of the April 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. Credit: Giovanni Chiodini – INGV (first author)
A team of researchers affiliated with various institutions in Italy has found a possible link between increasing CO2 earthquake and earthquake in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. In her paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes its decade-long study of CO2 out in the area and what they learned about it.
Previous research has shown that carbon dioxide can trap rocks in the air – the resulting rocks are known as carbonates. In addition, the carbon dioxide in those rocks can be released by heat within the earth and other tectonic forces. When the carbon is released, it tends to sequester in sacs underground or in underground reservoirs. Carbon that makes its way into such reservoirs often ends up in the nearby water table, and can rise to the surface through springs. In this new effort, the researchers investigated fluctuations in the amount of carbon dioxide released from spring water at various locations in the Apennine Mountains at the site of the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. They did this by collecting samples over the years. 2009 to 2018.
As part of their study of the samples they collected, the researchers also looked at seismic data, which, in addition to normal seismic events, also showed the occurrence of several small earthquakes. They found that levels of CO2 emission of spring water in the area increased when there were earthquakes and then fell again after the earthquakes were over. More specifically, they found that when earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher struck, CO2 emission levels averaged 600 metric tons per day. In quiet periods, CO2 emissions in the same area were typically between 400 and 500 metric tons per day.
The researchers suggest that pressure created by increases in CO2 underground gas may be the factor that drives off the earthquakes. They further suggest that as CO2 set off earthquakes, measuring can be a way to predict some of them. They also note that their findings highlight a source of carbon emissions in the atmosphere that needs to be added to global warming models.
2 of deep origin is well correlated with occurrence of earthquakes in the last decades. In fact, during 2007-2019 the seismic events (including the destructive events of 2009 and 2016) were accompanied by obvious peaks in the amount of deep CO2 dissolved and transported by the groundwater in the area. In the diagram FCO2 (e.g.-1) indicates the total amount of CO2 discharged by the large wells in tons daily. Credit: Giovanni Chiodini – INGV (first author) “/>Research shows that global warming could push methane emissions from wetlands 50 to 80 percent higher
G. Chiodini et al. Correlation between tectonic CO2 Earth gasification and seismicity is revealed by a 10-year record in the Apennines, Italy, Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126 / sciadv.abc2938
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Quote: Extension of underground CO2 emissions in Italy linked to earthquakes (2020, 27 August) Retrieved 28 August 2020 from https://phys.org/news/2020-08-underground-co2-emissions-italy-tied.html
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