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Fluorine speciation in topsoils of three active volcanoes of Sicily (Italy)

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Fluorine is one of the many environmental harmful elements released by volcanic activity. The content of total oxalate-extractable and water-extractable fluorine was determined in 96 topsoils of three active volcanic systems of southern Italy (Mt Etna, Stromboli and Vulcano). Total fluorine (F) content (F TOT) ranges from 112 to 7,430 mg kg−1, F extracted with oxalate (F OX) ranges from 16 to 2,320 mg kg−1 (2–93% of F TOT) and F extracted with distilled water ( \( F_{{{\text{H}}_{{\text{2}}} {\text{O}}}} \)) ranges from 1.7 to 159 mg kg−1 (0.2–40 % of F TOT). Fluorine in the sampled topsoils derives both from the weathering of volcanic rocks and ashes and from the enhanced deposition due to volcanic gas emissions either from open-conduit passive degassing (Mt Etna and Stromboli) or from a fumarolic field (Vulcano). Fluorine accumulation in the studied soils does not generally present particular environmental issues except for a few anomalous sites at Vulcano, where measured contents could be dangerous both for vegetation and for grazing animals.

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Acknowledgments

Claudia Bitetto, Lorenzo Brusca, Stefano Gullotti, Manfredi Longo and Claudio Onofaro are acknowledged for their support in the field and in the laboratory. Thanks to Lucio Gristina for the determination of the organic matter content at the laboratories of Dipartimento di Agronomia Ambientale e Territoriale, Palermo University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Palermo, via La Malfa 153, 90146, Palermo, Italy

    Walter D’Alessandro & Sergio Bellomo

  2. Dipartimento CFTA, Università di Palermo, via Archirafi 36, 90123, Palermo, Italy

    Francesco Parello

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  1. Walter D’Alessandro
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  2. Sergio Bellomo
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  3. Francesco Parello
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Correspondence to Walter D’Alessandro.

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D’Alessandro, W., Bellomo, S. & Parello, F. Fluorine speciation in topsoils of three active volcanoes of Sicily (Italy). Environ Geol 56, 413–423 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1179-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-1179-7

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