Surf's Up Dude!
Posted on 12/31/2002 4:57:09 PM PST by John H K
December 16, 1996, Penn State Science News Services
San Francisco, Calif. -- The often lethal carbon dioxide springs that dot central and south-central Italy, may hold the key to understanding current and ancient levels of this greenhouse gas, according to Penn State geoscientists.
"Generally, when researchers compute total non-anthropogenic carbon dioxide flux, non-volcanic sources such as central and south-central Italy are ignored," says Dr. Derrill Kerrick, professor of geoscience. "However, the contribution from areas like Italy can be quite sizable."
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contributes to greenhouse warming and climate change. Volcanoes have long been thought the major contributor of carbon dioxide, but there are large areas with vents expelling non-volcanic carbon dioxide in Italy, California and other places. While volcanoes produce the gas from magma, the carbon dioxide vents in Italy are expelling gas generated at depth from metamorphism of rocks that were formed by marine organisms and are composed of calcium carbonate.
The 200-mile area of Italy between Florence and Naples produces an enormous amount of carbon dioxide, yet no one has tried to measure the amount before, the researchers told attendees today (Dec. 17) at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. We don't have a sense of how much is going into the atmosphere, they said.
"People have known about these springs for a long time," says John D. Rogie, graduate student in geosciences. "At Acqua Terme, the boiling water and carbon dioxide geyser is encased in glass and is part of a spa resort." In one location, the researchers note, a spring has been cased and tapped to supply carbon dioxide to a Coca Cola bottling plant.
"These sites are locally known, but not generally publicized outside of Italy," says Kerrick. "Some produce virtually 100 percent carbon dioxide and are quite lethal. The area around such vents is typically littered with animal carcasses and people have died in these areas." One reason these places are so lethal is that carbon dioxide is invisible and heavier than air. The gas sits on the ground and flows to low areas. Animals and humans caught in these areas can be killed before they have time to leave.
Kerrick and Rogie are working with a team of Italian scientists including G. Chiodini and F. Frondini from the Dipartmento Scienza Della Terra, University of Perugia;
Franceso Parello of the University of Palermo and Angelo Minissale of the University of Florence. The Italians already have a home-made device for measuring the flow of carbon dioxide from vents and the researchers have made a variety of devices to measure the diffuse degassing through the soil.
"We estimate that there are between 150 and 200 carbon dioxide vents in this area of Italy," says Kerrick. "One vent east of Naples emits over 200 tons of carbon dioxide per day."
The researchers note that emissions from some vents are equivalent to that of some volcanoes. The flux from the vent east of Naples is equivalent to the combined crater and diffuse flux from Vulcano, a volcanic island near Sicily.
When looking at diffuse degassing, the researchers found one area that measured less than a tenth of a square mile, yet emits 150 tons of carbon dioxide per day.
The researchers note that Mt. Etna, a volcano which produces 35,000 tons of carbon dioxide per day and is the largest single source of natural carbon dioxide in the world, is located in this area of Italy. Unlike many other volcanoes, Etna is not in an area where tectonic plates meet.
Assuming that most carbon dioxide in the past came from areas of subduction vulcanism may not be the way to model carbon dioxide production, according to the researchers. There is a great deal of gas coming from carbon dioxide vents and the area around these vents that must be taken into consideration.
EDITORS:
Dr. Kerrick may be reached at (814) 865-7574.
Surf's Up Dude!
Stromboli 1 pkg yeast
2 tsp sugar
1/3 cup warm water
4 cup flour
3 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1 cup cold water
1 lb ricotta
1/2 cup Parmesan
1/2 lb Mozzarella, sliced
1/2 lb pepperoni
2 Tbsp butter, melted
sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 200 degrees for 15 minutes and turn off. Combine yeast, sugar and warm water in a small mixing bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes until foamy. In the workbowl of a food processor, add flour, butter pieces and salt. Process for 20 seconds. Add ice water to yeast. With the processor running, add yeast-water mixture gradually, until all of the moisture is absorbed and the dough leaves the side of the bowl. Process for an additional 60 seconds. Transfer dough from the workbowl to a large greased mixing bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in warm off oven. Allow to rise until doubled, approximately 1 1/2 hours. Combine the ricotta and Parmesan. Punch down the risen dough and transfer to a floured rolling surface. With quick, hard strokes, roll dough into a large rectangle, approximately 1/2 inch thick. Layer one- half of the mozzarella cheese evenly down the center leaving approximately three inches of exposed dough on either side. Top with the ricotta mixture and pepperoni, and the remaining mozzarella. Overlap the exposed dough over the cheese mixture and pinch well on all sides to seal. Transfer to a large cookie sheet, seam side up. Cover with a kitchen towel and return to the warmed oven. Allow to rise until doubled, approximately 45 minutes. Brush loaf with melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until loaf is well browned and hollow sounding when thumped.
Do(ug)h you say?
Tanke!
Surfs up dudes & dudettes.
Trajan88; TAMU Class of '88; Law Hall (may it R.I.P.) Ramp 9 Mule; f.u.p.
LOL interesting choice of words.
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