Increased release of carbon dioxide emissions underground in Italy is linked to earthquakes

The amount of carbon dioxide dissolved in groundwater is so great that, in some cases, strong free carbon dioxide emissions are associated with water drainage. The emission in the image is located in the Plain of San Vitorino (Rieti) about 30 km from the epicenter of L’Aquila in April 2009. Credit: Giovanni Chiudini-INGV (1st author)

A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in Italy has found a possible link between increases in carbon dioxide emissions from groundwater and earthquakes in the Italian Apennine Mountains. In their research paper published in Science Advances, the group describes their decade-long study of carbon dioxide emissions in the region and what they learned about it.

Previous research has shown that carbon dioxide in the air can get trapped in rocks – the resulting rocks are known as carbonates. Additionally, carbon dioxide can be released into those rocks by heat from within the Earth and other tectonic forces. When carbon is released, it tends to get sequestered in underground pockets or in underground tanks. The carbon that makes its way into such reservoirs often ends up at near water level, and can rise to the surface through springs. In this new effort, the researchers studied fluctuations in the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from spring water at several locations in the Apennine Mountains near the site of the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. They did so 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 carbon dioxide emissions from spring water in the region increased when earthquakes occurred and then decreased again after the earthquakes ended. More specifically, they found that when earthquakes hit magnitude 6 or higher, levels of carbon dioxide emissions rose to an average of 600 metric tons per day. During calm periods, carbon dioxide emissions in the same region ranged between 400 and 500 metric tons per day.

The researchers suggest that the pressure from increases in carbon dioxide underground may be the factor that triggered the earthquakes. They also suggest that if carbon dioxide causes some earthquakes, measuring them may be a way to predict some of them. They also note that their findings highlight the source of carbon emissions in the atmosphere that should be added to global warming models.

In the Apennine Mountains (Italy), carbon dioxide emission of deep origin is closely related to the occurrence of earthquakes during the past decade. Indeed, during the period 2007-2019, seismic events (including the devastating ones of 2009 and 2016) were accompanied by apparent peaks in the amount of deep dissolved carbon dioxide carried by groundwater in the region. In the diagram, FCO2 (t d-1) denotes the total amount of CO2 discharged by large springs in tons per day. Credit: Giovanni Chiodini – INGV (First author) The study shows that global warming can drive methane emissions from wetlands by 50 to 80 per cent. More information: G. Chiodini et al. The relationship between Earth’s tectonic discharge of carbon dioxide and earthquakes has been revealed through a 10-year record in Apennines, Italy, Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126 / sciadv.abc2938

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Citation: Increased release of carbon dioxide emissions in Italy linked to earthquakes (2020, August 27) Retrieved August 27, 2020 from https://phys.org/news/2020-08-underground-co2-emissions-italy-tied. html

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