Measurement of Trace Elements in Volcanic Materials: Consequences for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction, Geoneutrinos and the Origin of the Hawaii's Archipelago

Pedro V. Guillaumon; Iuda D. Goldman; Eric B. Norman; Keenan J. Thomas; Paulo R. Pascholati; Ross E. Meyer; Jordan L. Sabella; Alan R. Smith

arXiv · 2503.19921

Measurement of Trace Elements in Volcanic Materials: Consequences for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction, Geoneutrinos and the Origin of the Hawaii's Archipelago

Pedro V. Guillaumon·Iuda D. Goldman·Eric B. Norman·Keenan J. Thomas·Paulo R. Pascholati·Ross E. Meyer·Jordan L. Sabella·Alan R. Smith

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Abstract

Seventeen representative samples of volcanic origin were collected from Ecuador (Pichincha Volcano), Iceland (Eyjafjallaj\"okull Volcano), India (Deccan Traps), Hawaii, Kilimanjaro, Mt. Etna, Rwanda (Virunga Mountains), and Uganda (Virunga Mountains). Neutron activation analysis (NAA) was performed to determine the concentration of 33 chemical elements, including 21 trace elements, 20 heavy metals, and 9 rare earth elements: Al, As, Ba, Ca, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Dy, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Mg, Mn, Na, Nd, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, Ti, U, Yb, Zn, and Zr. Correlation analysis of the abundance of samples from different islands in the Hawaii archipelago (Kauai, Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Haleakala) confirmed that the islands were likely formed by two different lava sources. Additionally, the upper limit of iridium was determined in 11 of these samples using Bayesian analysis, which does not support the hypothesis that volcanic activity caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. We also discuss how the abundance of thorium and uranium in lava from different geological formations and depths can contribute to building a better map of natural radioisotope occurrences on Earth, which is important for geoneutrino experiments. A high abundance of rare elements was reported in some of the analyzed locations, indicating potential commercial interest and the possibility of exploring volcanoes as sources of chemical elements used in electronic devices.

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Pedro V. Guillaumon, Iuda D. Goldman, Eric B. Norman, Keenan J. Thomas, Paulo R. Pascholati, Ross E. Meyer, Jordan L. Sabella, Alan R. Smith. 2025-03-11. Measurement of Trace Elements in Volcanic Materials: Consequences for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction, Geoneutrinos and the Origin of the Hawaii's Archipelago. https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.19921

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