The laboratory is located at the IGG Pisa headquarter, within the Pisa Research Area. The Rare Gas Laboratory's research and services focus on determining the isotopic composition of noble gases to trace the origins of fluids present in various tectonic environments.
The Laboratory
The five stable noble gases or "rare gases"—helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon—are chemically inert and excellent tracers of physical processes. Due to their high volatility, they have a strong affinity for the gaseous phase. The noble gases also provide a group of 23 stable isotopes widely used to study physical processes in nature (both on Earth and in extraterrestrial systems).
Three large terrestrial reservoirs contribute to the inventory of noble gases in terrestrial fluids (water, gas, oil):
- Air and air dissolved in water (ASW)
- The Earth's crust where radiogenic noble gases are produced by the radioactive decay of elements such as the radioactive chain of U and Th and K, dispersed in the rock matrix and/or in embedded fluids or by nucleogenic production
- he Earth's mantle, which has a significantly different signature from other reservoirs mainly due to its high enrichment in 3He.
All these reservoirs have their own characteristic isotopic signature that allows us to efficiently trace their relative contribution in the various geological matrices.
Noble gases have found widespread application as tracers in: hydrogeological exploration/exploitation, geothermal energy, volcanology, management of geothermal and hydrocarbon reservoirs, evaluation and monitoring of sites for the geological storage of CO2, origin of paleofluids trapped in fluid inclusions in rocks and minerals, in ice cores, sediment pore fluids for the study of both degassing/mixing processes during the formation of the solar system and the Earth and of climate variations.
Instruments
The research and services of the Rare Gas Laboratory focus on determining the isotopic composition of noble gases to trace the origin of fluids present in different tectonic environments.
The Rare Gases Laboratory consists of a system of mass spectrometers, capable of precise isotopic measurements of noble gases, consisting of:
- A Mass Analyzer Products Ltd. MAP215-50 noble gas magnetic mass spectrometer, equipped with ion counting.
- A SpectraLab200 quadrupole mass spectrometer.
- A UHV system for purifying and separating noble gases from the chemically reactive matrix, equipped with a cryostat (minimum temperature of approximately 13 K). The UHV system was designed to be versatile and adaptable to extract noble gases from various materials (rocks, gases, water).
Staff and Contacts
The staff of the isotopic chemical laboratory is composed of:
- Dr. Fabrizio Gherardi (Researcher – Laboratory Manager)
- Dr. Gianluca Facca (CTER)
- Dr. Gabriella Magro (Research Associate)
Contacts:
- +39 Dr. Fabrizio Gherardi: 050 6212316, fabrizio.gherardi@igg.cnr.it
Methods and Applications
The method has been applied over the years to:
- Volcanic surveillance and risk mitigation,
- Origins and tectonic environments of noble gases in water and associated free gases
- Geochemical exploration for minerals, geothermal energy and petroleum resources
- Geothermal and hydrocarbon/oil field management.
Scientific Projects and Interests
Project:
- Over the past few years, the IGG Rare Gas Laboratory has been actively involved in various scientific projects funded by:
- IAEA (IAEA TC Project No. PHI/8/023 “Geochemistry for Geothermal Resources Management in the Philippines”)
- European Union: CEE EV5V-CTP3-0285 “Geochemistry Laboratory: Santorini Volcano”, ERB-CHRX-CT94-0567 (KATRIN) “A comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to groundwater in karst areas and its consequences on water resources and environmental studies”, DESCRAMBLE (Horizon 2020) “Drilling in supercritical geothermal conditions”
- Oil companies (ENI)
- Geothermal energy research and exploitation companies (ENEL)
Main scientific interests:
- Noble gases in supercritical fluids
- Noble gases in enhanced geothermal systems
- Noble gases as fingerprints of hydrocarbons in different tectonic settings
- Noble gases associated with mud volcanoes and saline waters
Publications
- Bellani, S, Magro,G. and Gherardi, F.(2015) Heat Flow and Helium Isotopes in the Geothermal Areas of Tuscany (Central Italy) GRC Transactions, Vol. 39, 399-405
- Magro, G., Gherardi, F., Bayon, F.E.B. (2013) Noble and reactive gases of Palinpinon geothermal field (Philippines): Origin, reservoir processes and geodynamic implications. Chemical Geology, 339, 4-15.
- Magro, G., Gherardi, F., Bellani, S. (2010) Noble gases in karstic and thermal waters of Strimon basin (Greece-Bulgaria) Water-Rock Interaction – Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Water-Rock Interaction, WRI-13, 345-348.
- Magro, G., Bellani, S., Della Vedova, B. (2009) The deep roots of the Larderello geothermal field (Italy) from heat flux and 3He anomalies Transactions – Geothermal Resources Council, 33, pp. 360-365.
- Bayon, F.E.B., See, F.S., Magro, G., Pennisi, M. (2008) Noble gas and boron isotopic signatures of the Bacon-Manito geothermal fluid, Philippines. Geofluids, 8 (4), 230-238.
- Aguilera, E., Cioni, R., Gherardi, F., Magro, G., Marini, L., Pang, Z. (2005) Chemical and isotope characteristics of the Chachimbiro geothermal fluids (Ecuador) Geothermics, 34 (4), 495-517.
- Dallai, L., Magro, G., Petrucci, E., Ruggieri, G. (2005) Stable isotope and noble gas isotope compositions of inclusion fluids from Larderello geothermal field (Italy): Constraints to fluid origin and mixing processes Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 148 (1-2), 152-164.
- Magro, G., G. Ruggieri, G. Gianelli, S. Bellani, and G. Scandiffio, (2003) Helium isotopes in paleofluids and present-day fluids of the Larderello geothermal field: Constraints on the heat source, J. Geophys. Res., 108(B1), 2003, doi:10.1029/2001JB001590, 2003.
- Minissale, A., Kerrick, D.M., Magro, G., Murrell, M.T., Paladini, M., Rihs, S., Sturchio, N.C., Tassi, F., Vaselli, O. (2002) Geochemistry of Quaternary travertines in the region north of Rome (Italy): Structural, hydrologic and paleoclimatic implications. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 203 (2),709-728.
- Vaselli, O., Minissale, A., Tassi, F., Magro, G., Seghedi, I., Ioane, D., Szakacs, A. (2002) A geochemical traverse across the Eastern Carpathians (Romania): Constraints on the origin and evolution of the mineral water and gas discharges Chemical Geology, 182 (2-4), 637-654.
- Minissale, G. Magro, G. Martinelli, O. Vaselli, G.F. Tassi, (2000) Fluid geochemical transect in the Northern Apennines (central-northern Italy): fluid genesis and migration and tectonic implications, Tectonophysics, Volume 319, Issue 3, 199-222
- Minissale, A., Vaselli, O., Chandrasekharam, D., Magro, G., Tassi, F., Casiglia, A. (2000) Origin and evolution of ‘intracratonic’ thermal fluids from central-western peninsular India Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 181 (3), 377-394.