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Subducción y reciclaje de nitrógeno a lo largo del margen centroamericano
Tobias P Fischer1, David R Hilton, Mindy M Zimmer
1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. fischer@unm.edu
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|August 17, 2002
Resumen
Los gases volcánicos de América Central revelan firmas distintas de nitrógeno (N) y helio (He). Los volcanes guatemaltecos muestran N pesado de sedimentos subducidos, mientras que los costarricenses tienen N más ligero, lo que indica diferentes fuentes de manto.
Área de la Ciencia:
- La geoquímica es la geoquímica.
- La geoquímica de los isótopos es la geoquímica de los isótopos.
- Volcanología Volcanología.
Sus antecedentes:
- Las emisiones volcánicas proporcionan información sobre los procesos profundos de la Tierra.
- Los isótopos de nitrógeno (N) y helio (He) en los gases volcánicos pueden rastrear las fuentes del manto y el reciclaje de la corteza.
- El arco volcánico centroamericano ofrece un entorno único para estudiar la dinámica de la zona de subducción.
Objetivo del estudio:
- Caracterizar las características isotópicas y de abundancia relativa del nitrógeno (N) y el helio (He) de los volátiles de dos segmentos del arco volcánico centroamericano.
- Para identificar la fuente de nitrógeno (N) en el volcanismo de arco.
- Para evaluar el papel de las zonas de subducción en el ciclo de nitrógeno (N) entre la superficie y el manto.
Principales métodos:
- Análisis de los isótopos de N y He y las proporciones de N2/He en muestras de gas volcánico.
- Comparación de datos isotópicos y de abundancia entre los arcos volcánicos guatemalteco y costarricense.
- Cálculos del balance de masas para modelar el ciclo del nitrógeno (N).
Principales resultados:
- Los gases volcánicos guatemaltecos exhiben valores positivos de delta15N y altas proporciones de N2/He (hasta 25.000).
- Los gases volcánicos de Costa Rica muestran valores negativos de delta15N y bajas proporciones de N2/He (máximo 1483).
- Los sedimentos hemipelágicos poco profundos subducidos en el manto guatemalteco se identifican como la fuente de N. pesado.
Conclusiones:
- Los sedimentos subducidos son una fuente significativa de nitrógeno atmosférico (N) a través del volcanismo de arco.
- Las zonas de subducción actúan como barreras, limitando la transferencia de nitrógeno sedimentario (N) al manto más profundo.
- Las distintas firmas isotópicas reflejan diferentes procesos de subducción y contribuciones de sedimentos en los arcos de Guatemala y Costa Rica.
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