H₂O and CO₂ volatiles degassing during Proterozoic igneous activity in Kirana Hills, Punjab, Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15659423Keywords:
Kirana Hills, Atmospheric Fugacity, Volume of Kirana Hills, Climate ChangeAbstract
Tecto-magmatic activity had curved the land of the Rodina Supercontinent during the Proterozoic EON. These processes ejected dissolved gases along with other internal material onto the surface. Besides numerous other impacts, atmospheric fugacity is an important aspect of volcanic eruptions, resulting in both long-term and short-term effects on the atmosphere and environment. The present research is an attempt to estimate atmospheric fugacity during igneous activity in Kirana Hills, located in Punjab, Pakistan. H2O and CO2 volatile concentration is measured by FTIR at the National Center of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar. These results are then calculated with the estimated volume of Kirana Hills to estimate the total atmospheric loading of H2O and CO2 during Proterozoic igneous activity. However, Kirana hills have a total volume of about 2642906332.30 cubic meters. It was calculated through x, y, and z values of each pixel of the Digital Elevation Model (DEM). It was then converted into Kilograms, which is 4.61 × 1012 Kg. It was estimated that the prehistoric eruptions at Kirana Hills had released about 1.75 × 107 Kg of H2O and 4.33 × 107 Kg of CO2, equal to 1.75 × 104 and 4.33 × 104 tons of H2O, CO2, respectively. It is found that the Hachi volcanic group released more gases into the atmosphere than the Taguwali formation. It is also found that the estimated amount of CO2 is greater than the released amount of CO2 during the formation of the Deccan traps. Thus, it is concluded that the released amount of greenhouse gas (CO2) would contribute to climate change by altering atmospheric physical and chemical properties. And climate change would result in drastic environmental changes on this planet.
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