Looking for natural hydrogen in Albania and Kosova
A regional geochemistry field study was conducted in Albania and Kosova to spot natural H2 occurrences related to ophiolite massifs. A total of 21 sites, mainly consisting of natural springs, were studied, and nine were sampled for analyzing associated free gas and C and H isotopes of CH4 and H2 whe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Earth Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2023.1167634/full |
| _version_ | 1827965840056647680 |
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| author | Dan Lévy Molly Boka-Mene Avni Meshi Islam Fejza Thomas Guermont Benoît Hauville Nicolas Pelissier |
| author_facet | Dan Lévy Molly Boka-Mene Avni Meshi Islam Fejza Thomas Guermont Benoît Hauville Nicolas Pelissier |
| author_sort | Dan Lévy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A regional geochemistry field study was conducted in Albania and Kosova to spot natural H2 occurrences related to ophiolite massifs. A total of 21 sites, mainly consisting of natural springs, were studied, and nine were sampled for analyzing associated free gas and C and H isotopes of CH4 and H2 when possible. Four springs showed gas with H2 occurrence, one particularly reaching 16% of H2 in the north of Kosova in a location named Vuçe, which makes it the fifth gas seep most enriched in H2 in the Dinarides, after H2-rich gas seeps in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This gas seep is associated with hyperalkaline water having a pH of about 10.7. This would favor the assumption that H2 is derived from the serpentinization of peridotites, a process which is likely still ongoing. H2 is associated mainly with N2 and CH4, like the other H2-rich gas springs in the Dinarides. Based on C and H isotopes, CH4 is abiotic or microbial. H isotopes suggest a formation of H2 at about a 2-km depth. Another hyperalkaline spring was found in the south of Albania, at the border of the Korça Basin, with less than 200 ppm of H2. No relation between H2 and He was identified at the scale of Albania and Kosova, nor at the scale of the whole Dinarides. This work provides a completed map of the H2 occurrences in the Dinarides and allows to highlight some hot spots for H2 exploration, mainly located inside the ophiolite massifs like in other ophiolites (such as Oman, New Caledonia, and The Philippines), and not on major faults like in the Pyrenees. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:40:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8ad8a8fea4b146f8bd2b518e5bd40963 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-6463 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:40:47Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Earth Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-8ad8a8fea4b146f8bd2b518e5bd409632023-04-17T05:52:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Earth Science2296-64632023-04-011110.3389/feart.2023.11676341167634Looking for natural hydrogen in Albania and KosovaDan Lévy0Molly Boka-Mene1Avni Meshi2Islam Fejza3Thomas Guermont4Benoît Hauville5Nicolas Pelissier6LFCR, Laboratoire des Fluides Complexes et Leurs Réservoirs, CNRS, E2S UPPA—Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, Pau, France45-8 Energy, Metz, FranceFaculty of Geology and Mining, Polytechnic University of Tirana, Tirana, AlbaniaFaculty of Geosciences, University “Isa Boletini”, Mitrovica, Kosova45-8 Energy, Metz, France45-8 Energy, Metz, France45-8 Energy, Metz, FranceA regional geochemistry field study was conducted in Albania and Kosova to spot natural H2 occurrences related to ophiolite massifs. A total of 21 sites, mainly consisting of natural springs, were studied, and nine were sampled for analyzing associated free gas and C and H isotopes of CH4 and H2 when possible. Four springs showed gas with H2 occurrence, one particularly reaching 16% of H2 in the north of Kosova in a location named Vuçe, which makes it the fifth gas seep most enriched in H2 in the Dinarides, after H2-rich gas seeps in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This gas seep is associated with hyperalkaline water having a pH of about 10.7. This would favor the assumption that H2 is derived from the serpentinization of peridotites, a process which is likely still ongoing. H2 is associated mainly with N2 and CH4, like the other H2-rich gas springs in the Dinarides. Based on C and H isotopes, CH4 is abiotic or microbial. H isotopes suggest a formation of H2 at about a 2-km depth. Another hyperalkaline spring was found in the south of Albania, at the border of the Korça Basin, with less than 200 ppm of H2. No relation between H2 and He was identified at the scale of Albania and Kosova, nor at the scale of the whole Dinarides. This work provides a completed map of the H2 occurrences in the Dinarides and allows to highlight some hot spots for H2 exploration, mainly located inside the ophiolite massifs like in other ophiolites (such as Oman, New Caledonia, and The Philippines), and not on major faults like in the Pyrenees.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2023.1167634/fullH2AlbaniaKosovaDinaridesophioliteserpentinization |
| spellingShingle | Dan Lévy Molly Boka-Mene Avni Meshi Islam Fejza Thomas Guermont Benoît Hauville Nicolas Pelissier Looking for natural hydrogen in Albania and Kosova Frontiers in Earth Science H2 Albania Kosova Dinarides ophiolite serpentinization |
| title | Looking for natural hydrogen in Albania and Kosova |
| title_full | Looking for natural hydrogen in Albania and Kosova |
| title_fullStr | Looking for natural hydrogen in Albania and Kosova |
| title_full_unstemmed | Looking for natural hydrogen in Albania and Kosova |
| title_short | Looking for natural hydrogen in Albania and Kosova |
| title_sort | looking for natural hydrogen in albania and kosova |
| topic | H2 Albania Kosova Dinarides ophiolite serpentinization |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2023.1167634/full |
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