Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 165 (2007) 5 16

www.elsevier.com/locate/jvolgeores

Accidental gas emission from shallow pressurized aquifers at Alban

Hills volcano (Rome, Italy): Geochemical evidence
of magmatic degassing?
Maria Luisa Carapezza a,, Luca Tarchini b
a

INGV-Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Roma 1, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Rome, Italy
b
Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Universit di Roma Tre, Largo S. Leonardo Murialdo 1, 00146 Rome, Italy
Received 12 October 2006; accepted 23 April 2007
Available online 17 May 2007

Abstract
Recent studies suggested that Alban Hills (Rome) is a quiescent and not an extinct volcano, as it produced Holocene eruptions and
several lahars until Roman times by water overflow from the Albano crater lake. Alban Hills are presently characterized by high PCO2 in
groundwaters and by several cold gas emissions usually in sites where excavations removed the superficial impervious cover. Gas
consists mostly of CO2 with minor H2S and the diffuse CO2 soil flux is locally very high. Accidental gas blowouts, occurred during
shallow well drillings (tens to hundreds m depth) in zones with no surface gas manifestations, indicate the presence of gas pressurized
aquifers confined underneath impermeable layers, within both the volcanic rock pile and the underlying Pleistocene loose sediments.
Degassing mostly occurs in correspondence of bordering faults of buried horsts cut in the Mesozoic carbonate basement, hosting the
main aquifer. Carbon isotopic composition (13CCO2) suggests that CO2 is at least partly originated by thermal decarbonation of these
limestones. 3He/4He isotopic ratio of the gas (up to 1.9 Ra) is the same or even slightly higher than that of olivine and clinopyroxene fluid
inclusions of the Alban Hills volcanic products, indicating a possible magmatic source for the gas. Low R/Ra values, compared to
MORB and island arc magmas, are characteristic of the potassic Roman Comagmatic Province and reflect a deep involvement of crustal
material in the magma genesis. The lack of high temperature fumaroles can be explained by an efficient meteoric cold water penetration
and circulation in the volcano permeable terrains.
2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Alban Hills; magma degassing; CO2 fluxes; gas blowouts; C and He isotopes

1. Introduction
The Tyrrhenian margin of Central Italy, namely the
area extending from the geothermal field of Larderello
in Tuscany to the Alban Hills volcanic complex to the
southeast of Rome, is characterized by a very huge
CO2 degassing, as indicated by the high content of
Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 06 51860370; fax: +39 6 51860565.
E-mail address: carapezza@ingv.it (M.L. Carapezza).
0377-0273/$ - see front matter 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2007.04.008

dissolved inorganic carbon in groundwaters and by the

presence of many gas manifestations and of zones with
high diffuse CO 2 soil emissions (Chiodini and
Frondini, 2001; Chiodini et al., 2004; Gambardella
et al., 2004; and references therein). The greatest part
of the dissolved inorganic carbon and of the CO2 freegas has been attributed to a deep mantle source with
minor amounts coming from carbonate dissolution or
metamorphism and from the biogenic CO2 of the soils
(Chiodini et al., 2004). This area would then be

M.L. Carapezza, L. Tarchini / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 165 (2007) 516

affected substantially by a non-volcanic Earth degassing (Chiodini et al., 2004).

The Alban Hills volcanic complex belongs to the
Quaternary silica-undersaturated potassic Roman
Comagmatic Province and represents the southern part
of this large degassing structure of Central Italy. It is the
site of huge cold degassing (mostly of CO2 with minor
H2S). Sites like Cava dei Selci and Solforata, located on
faults cutting structural highs of the buried carbonate
basement (Fig. 1), emit a large quantity of CO2 and
create locally a serious gas hazard to people and animals
(Chiodini and Frondini, 2001; Carapezza et al., 2003,
2005). On October 2003 an uncontrolled gas emission
occurred from a shallow water well (55 m) located a few
kilometres to the NE of Cava dei Selci (Valle Cupella;
VC in Fig. 1) in an area where no surface anomalous gas
release had been recorded. A similar accident, although
from a slightly higher depth (230 m), occurred in
January 1986 from an exploratory geothermal gradient
well drilled SW of the Albano lake. These episodes
indicate that the degassing area of Alban Hills is much
wider than that shown only by the surface manifestations, as there are CO2 pressurized aquifers confined at
various depths under impermeable layers that prevent
gas to escape to the surface.
In this paper we describe in detail the October 2003
accident and the anomalous gas release from the soil
induced by it, until the well was sealed and safety
conditions restored. We compare chemical and isotopic
data of the gas emitted from the well with those of the

main surface manifestations of Alban Hills in order to

show their common deep origin. In the light of the
isotopic composition we discuss the possibility that, at
least in this case, the CO2 may have a volcanic origin
from an actively degassing magma body, so reinforcing
the geological and geophysical evidence recently
provided on the still active though quiescent state of
the volcano. Finally, we present a structural-hydrogeological model that explains the lack of high-temperature
fumaroles in the degassing Alban Hills system.
2. Geological and hydrogeological setting of Alban
Hills
The volcanic activity of the Alban Hills is characterized by huge ignimbritic eruptions occurred between
0.50 and 0.35 Ma followed by a large caldera collapse.
The activity then resumed within the caldera and
continued, with a progressive reduction in the volume
of the emitted magma, until a late hydromagmatic phase
that produced a series of eccentric craters and maars on
the western sector, including the crater lakes of Albano
and Nemi (De Rita et al., 1995; Marra et al., 2003).
Evidence has been found recently of Holocene eruptions
and of lahars generated by water overflows from Albano
crater lake until Roman times (Funiciello et al., 2002,
2003). The Alban Hills volcanic complex is emplaced
on a buried structural high limited by NWSE
(Apenninic) trending faults. Other buried horsts SW of
the volcano have a NESW (anti-Apenninic) trend, like

Fig. 1. Digital elevation model of Alban Hills. a) Holocene lahars; b) Axes of the main buried structures of the carbonate basement (+ = highs, = lows)
evidenced by gravity anomalies; c) Strikeslip faults; d) Normal faults; e) Main gas emission sites (CS = Cava dei Selci, S = Solforata, AA = Acqua
Acetosa, a presently dry spring on the NE border of Lake Albano); f) Wells with gas blowout (VC = Valle Cupella; 203 = geothermal gradient well).

M.L. Carapezza, L. Tarchini / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 165 (2007) 516

the one above which the Solforata gas manifestation

occurs (Fig. 1). These horsts and grabens cut the buried
dense carbonate basement and are well evidenced by
gravity anomalies (Fig. 1) (Di Filippo and Toro, 1995).
During PliocenePleistocene the tectonic depressions
were totally filled by clastic sedimentary deposits (clays,
sands, conglomerates) that form the substratum of the
volcanic cover. The most recent explosive hydromagmatic activity is controlled by deep reaching fractures,
trending NWSE (Lake Albano) and NNESSW ( Lake
Nemi and Ariccia crater) (Fig. 1).
There are two main aquifers in the Alban Hills. The
first is hosted in the superficial volcanic complex that
has on average a good permeability either primary
(pyroclastic layers) or secondary (fractured lava flows).
The presence of low permeability interlayers (paleosoils, lahars, weathered tuffs) determines the formation
of several perched, sometimes confined, aquifers. This
shallow ground water circulation is mainly fed by
zenithal rainfalls and to a limited extent by lateral
infiltration from the calcareous rocks outcropping E and
NE of the volcanic complex. The latter represents the
main feeding mechanism of the deeper aquifer of
regional importance, which is hosted in the calcareous
rocks of the basement, whose permeability is partly
karstic and mostly due to fracturation produced by the
intense active tectonics of the area. The two aquifers are
separated by a low-permeability complex formed by the
mostly clayey Plio-Pleistocene deposits and by an
allocthonous mostly marly flysch, tectonically emplaced
above the calcareous basement (Boni et al., 1995;
Capelli et al., 2000). However, the Plio-Pleistocene
deposits contain permeable sands and conglomerates
that locally can host confined aquifers at an intermediate
depth between those hosted within the volcanic cover
and the calcareous basement (e.g., well 203, see Section
3). On the NW trending structural high beneath the
volcanic complex (from Lake Albano to Cava dei Selci
gas manifestation; Fig. 1), the top of the calcareous
basement is at only 500 m depth and it is lowered of
about 800 m by block faulting over a distance of 5 km to
either NE and SW.
In the Alban Hills area there are numerous water
springs, usually cold, with temperature rarely exceeding
20 C, associated to superficial hydrogeological circuits
within the volcanic complex. Waters have a low salinity
(TDS = 0.51 g/l) and a composition ranging from
bicarbonate to mild bicarbonatesulphate or sulphate.
The latters have low pH (b 4.0) and are the result of
interaction with a significant gas flux containing an
appreciable quantity of H2S which is oxydized at the
surface increasing the water sulphate content, as in the

stagnant water pools periodically associated to the gas

manifestations of Cava dei Selci and Solforata (Giggenbach et al., 1988). Groundwaters in the area of Cava
dei Selci gas emission have high dissolved CO2 content
(Chiodini and Frondini, 2001; Pizzino et al., 2002)
indicating that there is a wide area to the NW and SW of
Lake Albano interested by gas upraise from depth. In all
gas emissions (e.g. Cava dei Selci, Solforata) CO2 is by
far the main component, followed by N2 and with a H2S
content usually slightly lower than 1 vol.% (Chiodini
and Frondini, 2001; Carapezza et al., 2005).
3. Gas emissions and related hazard
The area extending from lake Albano toward Rome
(NW) and toward Solforata (SW) (see Fig. 1) has a flat
surface with a muddy impermeable cover made of the
lahars generated by lake overflowing (Giordano et al.,
2005). In many places over the buried NWSE trending
carbonate structural high, where this superficial impermeable lahar cover is removed by excavations, even
only a few meters deep (quarries, house cellars, roads)
or it is crossed by wells, gas escapes to the surface. This
is the origin of Cava dei Selci gas manifestation (Cava
means quarry) (Carapezza et al., 2003). A similar
situation occurs on another structural high, oriented
NESW, located on the southwestern flank of the
volcano, on which the Solforata gas emission site is
found, again in a mine excavation where the superficial
impervious cover has been removed (Carapezza et al.,
2005). Near Solforata, several gas emission points have
been observed during excavations for the emplacement
of a methane pipe in a few meters deep channel. Gas
emissions exist also on the bottom of Lake Albano and
on the NE rim of Albano crater (Acqua Acetosa in
Fig. 1; Carapezza et al., accepted for publication). The
quantity of free CO2 released at the surface is
impressive, considering that only from the manifestations of Cava dei Selci (1.2 ha), the nearby S. Maria
delle Mole (5.4 ha) and Solforata (3.5 ha) a total
emission of about 337 t/day has been estimated
(Carapezza et al., 2005). In periods of no wind, the
gas (CO2 and H2S), denser than air, accumulate near the
ground, especially in morphological depressions such as
channels and basements, creating hazardous conditions
and several lethal accidents have occurred to animals
and to a man (Carapezza et al., 2003, in press). In
addition the quantity of deep CO2 interacting with
Alban groundwaters has been estimated, from the
dissolved inorganic carbon coupled with hydrogeologic
balance, to be at least 500 t/day (Chiodini and Frondini,
2001). The widespread presence of gas pressurized

M.L. Carapezza, L. Tarchini / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 165 (2007) 516

aquifers at shallow depth, hosted and confined in

permeable layers within either the volcanic rock pile
or the underlying sedimentary Plio-Pleistocene sequence, represents another hazard for the possibility of
accidental gas blowouts from wells.
3.1. The 1986 accidental gas blowout
This accident occurred on 30 January 1986 from a
230 m deep well drilled for geothermal gradient
measurement during a geothermal exploration project
of Alban Hills conducted by ENEL, the national electric
company of Italy (Enel, 1990). The well (no. 203 in
Fig. 1) was located about 700 m SW of Lake Albano on
the same structural high hosting the Albano crater lake
and, more to NW, the Cava dei Selci manifestation. The
well crossed 180 m of volcanic deposits (pyroclastics
and lavas) and then entered the Pleistocene sediments
(clays, conglomerates and sands) that persisted down to
total depth. During drilling, with bentonitic mud, some
partial circulation losses were recorded both in the
volcanic pile and in the underlying sedimentary
sequences, with two total circulation losses at 49 m
and 149 m depth; this confirms the usual alternance of
high and low permeability layers typical of the shallow
hydrogeology of the Alban Hills. A total circulation loss
occurred from 200 m to total depth, when the well
probably entered Pleistocene sands, as suggested by the
material brought to the surface by the emitted fluid. The
emission from the well, that had no gas blowout
preventer (BOP), of a mixture of gas and water began
when 60 m of drill rods had been extracted. The gas was
reported to be made mostly of CO2 with minor H2S.
Cultivated land was damaged over a surface of about

4 ha and 70 persons were evacuated from nearby houses

for eight days, until the well was totally sealed by a
complex operation of cement injection. The fluid
pressure of the formation was estimated to 17 atm.
This accident demonstrates the existence of a confined
gas pressurized aquifer at about 200 m depth within
Pleistocene sands. It is not possible to establish if some
of the shallower permeable layers where total circulation
losses occurred (e.g. at 49 and 149 m depth) also contain
gas-rich pressurized aquifers, as the density of the
bentonitic drilling mud was high enough to prevent
fluids to escape.
Another accidental gas blowout, that only by chance
did not cause human casualties, but that killed many
small animals, is described in the next section.
4. The 2003 accidental gas blowout
An uncontrolled gas emission occurred on 27
September 2003 from a well deepened for water
purposes from 30 to 55 m and rudimentally cased with
an uncemented PVC tube. The well (VC in Fig. 1) was
located a few kms to the NE of Cava dei Selci gas
manifestation on the same structural high, in an area
(Via di Valle Cupella) pertaining to Rome Municipality.
The outcropping rocks belong to a pyroclastic flow unit
emplaced 360 Ka ago; the volcanic pile has in this zone
a thickness of about 130 m and includes alternating
pyroclastic layers, lava flows, gravels, pozzolan and
paleosoils (Ventriglia, 1990; De Rita et al., 1992).
Evidently the well crossed an impervious layer
confining a pressurized aquifer. This caused the violent
release of a gas jet several meters high above the well
that had no gas blowout preventer (BOP) nor a wellhead

Fig. 2. Schematic planimetric map of the area affected by the gas blowout. The well site, the nearest houses, the railroad, the main roads, the
depression where small animals were killed (dotted ellipse), the site of the automatic station (open square) are indicated. The measuring points of the 4
October survey, with the respective CO2 flux ranges (g/m2 day, ln values), are also indicated (open circles: fluxes within the natural degassing
background).

M.L. Carapezza, L. Tarchini / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 165 (2007) 516

strong H2S smell was felt for hundreds of meters around

the well. As a consequence the leaves of some trees
yellowed in a few days and vegetables of the garden
died. A CO2 air concentration of 0.5 vol.% was measured close to the well one meter above the soil (the
normal CO2 concentration in air is 0.033 vol.%). Higher
values of air [CO2], up to 0.8 vol.%, were found outside
the fence in a low area where the gas accumulated in no
wind conditions. It is in this depressed area that small
animals (one fox, one cat and many birds) were killed by
the gas shortly after the gas blowout when [CO2] and/or
[H2S] near the soil had evidently reached lethal values
(N8% and N250 ppm respectively; Baxter, 2000).
A first CO2 soil flux survey (37 measurement points)
with an accumulation chamber (see Chiodini et al.,
1998; Carapezza and Granieri, 2004 for the method
description) was performed on 4 October over an area of
40,000 m2. Unfortunately the measurement points could
not be distributed over a regular grid because of the
urbanization of the site and this prevented to obtain a
reliable soil flux map and to estimate the total CO2
output. A wide range of soil CO2 flux values was found
from 4 to 54,200 g/m2 day (Table 1 and Fig. 3), with an

valve. The gas, mainly constituted by CO2 with minor

H2S, chemically identical to that emitted from other sites
of the Alban Hills (e.g. Cava dei Selci and Solforata; see
Section 5), dispersed in air for hundreds of meters
around the well causing the death of many little animals
and creating an environmental hazard in the inhabited
area nearby, where an important railroad is also present
(Fig. 2). With a coordinated intervention by the Rome
Municipality Civil Protection, Roma Tre University and
INGV, the well was sealed by cement injection on 18
October to restore safety conditions. The gas emission
was monitored before, during and after the sealing
operations.
4.1. Monitoring of CO2 soil flux around the well
The first investigation on the gas emission was
carried out on 4 October. The well, located in a private
lawn only a few meters from a house (Fig. 2), had been
fenced and in order to reduce the gas emission it had
been partially occluded by a rudimental pile of tiles and
a tar canvas placed over the PVC pipe sticking out of the
soil. Some gas was anyway emitted from the pipe and a

Table 1
Geochemical and environmental parameters recorded during Valle Cupella well intervention
Before well sealing

After well sealing

Portable accumulation chamber CO2 soil flux

(g/m2 day)

(A)
1st survey (4 Oct)

2nd survey (25 Oct)

3rd survey (24 Nov)

Range
Avg.
Point no.
Range
Avg.
Point no.
Range
Avg.
Point no.

(B)

(1854,200) a
(4483) a
(25) a

454,200
3325
37

1.4143
26.5
25
1.562
18.5
16

Automatic station
1st period: 1318 Oct
2

CO2 soil flux (g/m day)

Air CO2 (ppm)
Air H2S (ppm)

Range
Avg.
Range
Range

380021,200
9484
30045,000
05.6

(042,000)
(14,490) b
(30072,000) b
(061.3) b

2nd period: 19 Oct3 Nov

Last day: 24 Nov

83360
155
Normal air conc.
Normal air conc.

1428
22
Normal air conc.
Normal air conc.

Environmental parameters

Air relative humidity (%)

Air temperature (C)
Air pressure (hPa)
a
b

minmax

(avg.)

1698
2.925.3
9811004

(77)
(14)
(996)

Data recalculated on the 25 points of the 2nd survey.

Data recorded during the well sealing operations.

Wind speed (m/s)

Soil water content (%)
Soil temperature (C)

minmax

(avg.)

04.7
37.4100
0.719.9

(0.6)
(58.7)
(13.9)

10

M.L. Carapezza, L. Tarchini / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 165 (2007) 516

Fig. 3. Results of the three CO2 soil flux surveys (g/m2 day, ln values) projected on a NESW profile passing through VC well.

average of 3325 g/m2 day. Values higher than 2500 g/m2

day were all found within a few tens of meters from the
well and data space distribution shows two preferential
NW and SW directions of gas diffusion in the soil from
the well (Fig. 2), likely corresponding to zones of higher
permeability near the surface (microfractures).
The second CO2 soil flux survey was performed on
25 October, 2 days after the complete sealing of the well
by cement squeezing, on a smaller grid of 25 points
where the highest flux values had been previously
found. The gas emission had strongly diminished (Fig. 3
and Table 1): the average CO2 flux lowered from
4483 g/m2 day (calculated only on the flux values of the
same 25 points of the second survey) to 26.5 g/m2 day
(Table 1) and only a weak anomaly persisted near the
well, with four CO2 flux values ranging from 70 to
143 g/m2 day.
The last survey was carried out one month later, on
24 November, on 16 points of the grid; CO2 fluxes had
now an average value of 18.5 g/m2 day (Table 1 and

Fig. 3), indicating the substantial return to normal

conditions and the positive effects of the well cementing
operations.
The effectiveness of the well sealing operations in
reducing the CO2 soil flux can be appreciated in Fig. 4,
where the probability plots of the flux ln values obtained
in the three surveys are reported. The natural degassing
background of the zone can be best appreciated from the
result of the last survey carried out one month after the
cement squeezing in the well. It has a ln flux maximum
value of 3.14 corresponding to 23.2 g/m2 day. This is a
reasonable value that fits the flux background maxima
estimated in other CO2 flux surveys in Italian volcanic
and geothermal areas (Chiodini et al., 1998, 1999). In
the first survey, before the well sealing, only 16% of the
CO2 soil fluxes had values within the natural background; they increased to 80 % and 81% in the 2nd and
3rd survey (Fig. 4) and flux maxima lowered from
54,000 g/m2 day to 143 and 62 g/m2 day respectively
(Table 1). The curves of Fig. 4 furtherly suggest that,

Fig. 4. Log probability plot of the CO2 soil flux values of the three surveys. The ln value of the natural background for the area (3.14) is indicated.

M.L. Carapezza, L. Tarchini / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 165 (2007) 516

11

Fig. 5. Soil CO2 flux recorded from 13 October to 3 November by the automatic station. The insert shows the flux variation recorded during the initial
well sealing operations of 18 October from 5 to 8 p.m. The marked CO2 flux decrease followed the well collapse.

before the well sealing, also the points farer from the
well were likely slightly affected by the anomalous gas
diffusion, although CO2 flux values remained within the
background range.
Results clearly show that once the confinement of the
shallow pressurized aquifer had been restored by well
cementation, CO2 was not able to reach the surface as no
anomalous gas flux values were anymore recorded.
That the observed anomalous CO2 soil flux had been
produced by the gas rising from the well, is further
evidenced by data recorded by a continuous automatic
CO2 soil flux station. From 13 October to 3 November
2003, a multiparametric automatic station was installed
near the well to study the variation with time of the soil gas
emission and particularly to appreciate the changes
produced by the well sealing operations. The station
was installed inside the garden on the point with the
highest CO2 flux value (21,000 g/m2 day) identified with
a specific survey (Fig. 2). A second short period of
recording (24 November) was carried out during the last
CO2 soil flux survey to control the effective sealing of the
well and the consequent end of any anomalous gas
emission at the surface. The station measured, every
30 minutes, the CO2 flux from the soil and some relevant
geochemical and environmental parameters: CO2 and
H2S concentrations in air at 0.3 and 1.5 m from the soil
respectively, temperature and humidity of soil and air,
atmospheric pressure, direction and speed of the wind.
With the exception of very short intervals (hours) during
which the station did not work because of battery
shortage, it recorded a continuous set of data covering
all the well sealing operations. A total of 988 measures
was acquired with just a 0.01% of lost data. In the second
period 151 measurements were recorded over 3 days.
Fig. 5 shows the variations in the CO2 soil flux from
13 October to 3 November. During the first recording

period, before the sealing operations, fluxes were high

and fluctuated from 3800 to 21,200 g/m2 day, with an
average value of 9240 g/m2 day. These fluctuations can
be explained mostly by the strong variations in the
environmental parameters that affect the gas soil flux,
such as atmospheric pressure and soil moisture (Rogie
et al., 2000; Granieri et al., 2003; Carapezza and
Granieri, 2004), produced by some heavy storms (see
Table 1 for the variation ranges of recorded environmental parameters). Similarly in the same period, [CO2]
and [H2S] in the air above the station strongly
fluctuated (Fig. 6), but most of the values were higher
than in the normal air, with peaks up to 4.5 vol.% for
CO2 and 6 ppm for H2S.
After the well collapse, occurred on 18 October, CO2
soil fluxes recorded by the station decreased to a few
hundreds of g/m2 day (avg. = 155 g/m2 day) (Fig. 5 and
Table 1). Finally, on 24 November, one month after the
well cementation, CO2 flux values were almost all
within the natural background threshold of the area
(Table 1). The same behaviour was shown by air [CO2]
and [H2S] that returned to normal values (Fig. 6).
Particularly interesting are the flux variations recorded by the station in the afternoon of 18 October,
during the initial well sealing operations (see insert in
Fig. 5). No data were recorded for 5 h from 10.30 am
because of a battery lack, but the station was perfectly
functioning when the sealing operations started at 4.00
pm. As soon as the pile of tiles was removed and the
well could freely discharge all its gas into the atmosphere, the soil flux fell to zero, whereas air [CO2] and
[H2S] reached values as high as 7.2 vol.% and 61 ppm,
largely exceeding the short term safety STEL thresholds that are 5 vol.% and 15 ppm respectively. Then
the CO2 soil flux quickly rose to over 40,000 g/m2 day,
the maximum value recorded by the station, once a

12

M.L. Carapezza, L. Tarchini / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 165 (2007) 516

Fig. 6. Variation of the CO2 and H2S air concentrations recorded by the automatic station. The highest concentrations (7.2% of CO2 and 61 ppm of
H2S) were recorded on 18 October when the well was freely discharging to the atmosphere.

wellhead unit was installed over the casing and its valve
closed, so that all the pressurized gas could diffuse
laterally through the permeable soil in contact with the
uncemented PVC tube. It is at this time that gas samples
were collected from the wellhead. Successively, during
an attempt to extract the PVC tube, the well wall
collapsed at 10 m depth obstructing the borehole. At this
time the CO2 soil flux decreased again and remained
low for the following days (from 80 to 360 g/m2 day)
until the well was definitively sealed on 23 October by
cement squeezing at 55 m depth. Then the CO2 soil flux,
after the remaining gas diffusing from the well had been
totally eliminated, lowered to values representing the
natural background of the CO2 flux in that site (Table 1).
Data recorded by the automatic station indicate that
the anomalous CO2 soil fluxes were clearly caused by
lateral infiltration of gas from the well when it was
partly closed by the tile pile. In a few days CO2
penetrated the soil up to a distance of about 200 m (see
Fig. 2). The permeable ground layer permeated by the
gas was very shallow, less than 10 m deep, as the

anomalous soil fluxes nearly disappeared when the well

collapsed at that depth. The highest CO2 soil flux value
(42,000 g/m2 day) was recorded when the wellhead unit
had been installed and the well totally closed. This value
was nearly the double of that measured when the well
was only partially closed by the tile pile, and the first
CO2 soil flux field survey was carried out. Finally it is
clear that the pressurized aquifer at a depth of about
50 m was perfectly confined beneath an impervious
layer and that the presence of such a gas rich layer, even
though at such a shallow depth, could have not been
even suspected, should the accidental gas blowout have
not occurred.
5. Chemical and isotopic composition and origin of
the gas
Gas was sampled from VC well on 18 October 2003
and chemically and isotopically analyzed. Results are
shown in Table 2, where the composition of representative samples of some gas manifestations of Alban Hills

Table 2
Chemical and isotopic analyses of Alban Hills gases
Sample

VC 1
VC 2
VC 3
VC 4
CS
S
S
AA b

Date

CO2

H2 S

CH4

H2

N2

He

CO

He/4He

(day/month/year)

(% vol)

(% vol)

(% vol)

(ppm)

(% vol)

(ppm)

(ppm)

(R/Ra)

18/10/2003
18/10/2003
18/10/2003
18/10/2003
15/03/2000
16/03/2000
21/09/2004
21/09/2004

98.20
98.25
98.00
n.a.
98.10
99.20
98.91
89.70

0.48
0.50
0.42
n.a.
0.80
n.a.
1.13 a
n.a.

0.050
0.044
0.047
n.a.
0.042
0.011
0.009
n.d.

6.0
7.0
8.0
n.a.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.

0.85
0.87
0.90
n.a.
1.60
0.80
0.87
10.29

2
3
n.a.
1.56
2.65
5.30
8.14
4.39

n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.a.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d
0.8

n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
1.90
1.46
0.95
0.94
1.21

He/20Ne

13CCO2
( vs.PBD)

n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
34.75
9.80
84.60
n.a.
0.59

VC: Valle Cupella well, CS: Cava dei Selci, S: Solforata di Pomezia, AA: Acqua Acetosa; n.d.: not detectable; n.a.: not analyzed.
a
Measured on the field; R/Ra values are corrected for air contamination.
b
Corrected for air contamination.

n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
1.30
1.39
1.23
n.a.
0.40

M.L. Carapezza, L. Tarchini / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 165 (2007) 516

is reported for comparison. The VC gas, as in all Alban

Hills degassing sites, is mostly made of CO2 (over
98 vol.%) followed by N2 and H2S (Giggenbach et al.,
1988; Chiodini and Frondini, 2001; Carapezza et al.,
2003, 2005). The low content of CH4 suggests the
absence of significant organic components. The low
concentration of N2 and the high 4He/20Ne ratio indicate
a low air contamination, lower than in many other sites.
Apart from this, all gases are substantially identical (see
Table 2). The isotopic composition of the CO2 carbon
(13CCO2) is the same of the Cava dei Selci gas and falls
in the variation range of the natural manifestations of the
volcanic and geothermal areas of Central Italy (Latium
and Tuscany) (Minissale et al., 1997). The values (1.30
1.40 PBD) are significantly more positive than in the
fumarolic gases of the active volcanoes of Southern Italy
(Capasso et al., 1997; Tedesco, 1997; Giammanco et al.,
1998; Parello et al., 2000; Federico et al., 2002) and
suggest that marine carbonates (13C = from 1 to
+ 2; Craig, 1963) could be involved in the generation
of the Alban Hills CO2.
Of relevant interest for the origin of the gas is its
helium isotopic composition. VC gas has a 3He/4He
ratio of 1.90 Ra (where Ra is the 3He/4He atmospheric
value of 1.39 10 6; Farley and Neroda, 1998). This is
the highest 3He/4He value measured in the gases of the
Alban Hills region and in those of the volcanic
complexes north of Rome, also belonging to the
Quaternary Roman Comagmatic Province, with the
only exception of Cesano gas (Minissale et al., 1997;
Martelli et al., 2004 and references therein). These
values are very low compared with the 3He/4He ratios of
ocean ridge basalts (MORB) (R/Ra = 8 1), oceanic
islands and volcanic arcs fluids and lavas (Hilton et al.,
1993, 2002). Several studies on the isotopic composition of fumarolic gases of the Italian volcanic and
geothermal areas have shown a marked northward
decrease of the 3He/4He ratio with a simultaneous,
though less evident, increase of 13CCO2 (Hooker et al.,
1985; Tedesco et al., 1990; Minissale et al., 1997;
Tedesco, 1997; Parello et al., 2000; Federico et al.,
2002). This has been attributed to an increasing
involvement of continental crust in the genesis of the
magmas. Similar evidences of a northward increase of
crustal contamination in the mantle feeding the Roman
Comagmatic Province magmas, possibly by fluids
derived from the subducting slab, or the existence of a
mixing process between a subducted component and a
partly depleted mantle, have been found studying the
major and trace elements geochemistry of the erupted
products (Ellam et al., 1989; Peccerillo and Panza, 1999;
Gasperini et al., 2002).

13

A recent systematic study of 3He/4He ratios in

pyroclastics and lavas (fluid inclusions in olivine and
clinopyroxene) (Martelli et al., 2004) has confirmed this
systematic northward decrease of the helium R/Ra
values in the volcanism of the Roman Comagmatic
Province and has shown that the highest R/Ra values
measured in the gas emitted at each volcanic complex
are equal to those measured in the phenocryst fluid
inclusions of the associated volcanic rocks. In two
samples of Alban Hills volcanics (a pyroclastic rock and
a lava) Martelli et al. (2004) found 3He/4He ratios
ranging from 1.17 to 1.73 Ra, apart a low value of
0.44 Ra found in the fluid inclusion of the lava
clinopyroxene that was attributed to crustal assimilation
during fractional crystallization and/or to He ingrowths
(Hilton et al., 2002) in the Alban Hills magma chamber.
These values are somewhat lower than those of the
presently emitted gas, particularly of the 1.90 R/Ra
value found in the VC well gas. This is somewhat
surprising considering that magmatic gases, which
should have the He isotopic signature of the magma
releasing them, should rather tend to have their R/Ra
ratios lowered during upraise by the possible mixing or
dilution with shallower fluids richer in crustal radiogenic or atmospheric helium. Obviously it cannot be
excluded that further He isotopic analyses of Alban Hills
rocks may give R/Ra values higher than those found in
the two samples analysed by Martelli et al. (2004). In
any case the presently available He isotopic data clearly
indicate that the gas rising from depth on Alban Hills
volcanic complex may well have a mostly magmatic
origin, with part of its CO2 likely produced by limestone
decarbonation.
6. Conclusions
The deep structure of Alban Hills volcanic complex
is characterized by the presence of an horst limited by a
series of extensional faults, along which the recentmost
volcanic activity occurred generating a series of
hydromagmatic craters including those hosting the
lakes of Albano and Nemi (Fig. 1). Recent stratigraphic
and geochronological evidence (Funiciello et al., 2002,
2003) has brought to rejuvenate the activity of the
volcano that, having produced Holocene eruptions and
several lahar generating water overflows from lake
Albano until Roman time, has now to be considered
not extinct but in a quiescent state. This is suggested
also by the frequent occurrence of shallow earthquake
swarms underneath Albano crater and by a recent uplift
of the volcanic edifice (Chiarabba et al., 1997; Anzidei
et al., 1998). The question is of relevant importance

14

M.L. Carapezza, L. Tarchini / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 165 (2007) 516

considering the dense urbanization of the volcano flanks

and its proximity to Rome. In addition the data here
presented and those of Chiodini and Frondini (2001)
and Carapezza et al. (2003, 2005, in press) show that
Alban Hills volcanic complex is a site of very huge
degassing. The isotopic composition indicates that the
gas rising from depth is probably of mostly magmatic
origin as its 3He/4He values are equal or even slightly
higher than those measured in the fluid inclusions of the
associated volcanic rocks. Gas geochemistry therefore
provides an additional evidence suggesting that a
degassing magma body could be present at depth
underneath this quiescent volcano.
The lack of high temperature fumaroles or thermal
springs can be explained by the hydrogeological setting.
Alban Hills complex is in fact interested by significant
cold meteoric recharge both through direct vertical
infiltration of rainwater in the highly permeable volcanic
rocks of the central upper part of the volcano and
through lateral circulation from the karstic and fractured
limestones outcropping to the NE and SE of the volcano
that likely feeds permeable layers at any depth (Boni
et al., 1995), i.e. in the volcanic pile, in the underlying
loose sediments and in the fractured limestones of the
basement (Fig. 7). Consequently, any heat flux from
depth is obscured by this extensive cold water circulation and actually the geothermal gradients measured at

shallow depth in the geothermal exploration of the area

are only slightly above the normal (temperature ranges
from 26.1 to 32.7 C at depths comprised between 220
and 241 m; the slim-hole Falcognana 1 drilled in 1990
found only 41 C at 610 m depth; Enel, 1990). Also the
very low hydrogen content of the emitted gas suggests
prolonged residence of the rising fluid in a low-temperature environment (T b 50 C; Giggenbach et al., 1988).
All these data lead to propose the hydrogeologicalstructural model of Fig. 7. Magmatic gas rises from
depth preferentially along the extensional faults bordering the structural highs. The dominant CO2 is probably
partly released from the magma and partly originated by
thermal decarbonation of the marine limestones of the
basement (as suggested by the 13CCO2 values and by
the abundance of metamorphic carbonate ejecta in the
Alban Hills pyroclastic products; Funiciello and Parotto,
1978). The top of the buried limestone horsts is the
preferential site for gas accumulation, as suggested by
the gas caps frequently found in that position by the
geothermal wells drilled in Latium volcanic areas
(Chiodini et al., 1995; Sabatelli and Mannari, 1995).
During its further raise to the surface along faults, gas
dissolves and accumulates in any confined aquifer
encountered, either in the sedimentary sequence (e.g.
203 well, 200 m depth) and in the volcanic sequence
(e.g. VC well, 50 m depth) up to very shallow depth as at

Fig. 7. Hydrogeological section across Alban Hills indicating the main underground water and hydrothermal circuits (modified after Boni et al.,
1995). a) Outcropping volcanic rocks; b) Shallow perched aquifers, locally confined and pressurized in volcanic rocks and Quaternary sands;
c) Aquiclude: flysch and Plio-Quaternary shales and marls (PQ); d) Main regional pressurized aquifer in limestones (dots indicate gas caps at the top
of structural highs); e) Faults; f) Meteoric vertical recharge; g) Circuit in karstic and fractured limestones; h) Hydrothermal circuit and zones of gas
upraise.

M.L. Carapezza, L. Tarchini / Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 165 (2007) 516

Cava dei Selci, Solforata and in the many excavations of

the area, revealing the existence of a huge degassing
structure and creating locally a relevant gas hazard in all
zones where CO2 and H2S emitted through fissures
accumulate in natural or man-made depressions and
where gas pressurized shallow aquifers are reached by
drillings. A part of Alban Hills district is comprised into
a critical area for water resources, where the drilling of
new wells is forbidden. This restriction is aimed at the
protection of groundwater resources from overexploitation, and not at gas hazard mitigation. Many zones, like
the one where VC well was drilled, are outside the
restricted area. In order to reduce gas hazard we
recommended to local Authorities some technical
prescriptions to be imposed to anyone that will apply
for permission to drill a new well or for deepening an
existing one. Prescriptions include the permanent use of
a BOP, the use of dense drilling mud and a good well
cementation in, at least, the first 5 m.
Acknowledgements
This study has been carried out with the financial
support of the INGV National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and of the Civil Protection
Department (project V5 Diffuse degassing in Italy
Research units coordinated by M.L. Carapezza and F.
Barberi). The work on VC well has been sponsored by
the Civil Protection of Rome Municipality. Chemical
analyses of gas were made at CNR-IGC, Pisa and
isotopic analyses at INGV-Palermo, through the courtesy of Roberto Cioni and Salvatore Inguaggiato. The
paper benefited of the helpful suggestions of Giovanni
Chiodini.
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