Throughout the Mediterranean, salinization threatens water quality, especially in coastal areas. This salinization is the result of concomitant processes related to both seawater intrusion and water–rock interaction, which in some cases are virtually indistinguishable. In the Nurra region of northwestern Sardinia, recent salinization related to marine water intrusion has been caused by aquifer exploitation. However, the geology of this region records a long history from the Palaeozoic to the Quaternary, and is structurally complex and comprises a wide variety of lithologies, including Triassic evaporites. Determining the origin of the saline component of the Jurassic and Triassic aquifers in the Nurra region may provide a useful and more general model for salinization processes in the Mediterranean area, where the occurrence of evaporitic rocks in coastal aquifers is a common feature. In addition, due to intensive human activity and recent climatic change, the Nurra has become vulnerable to desertification and, in common with other Mediterranean islands, surface water resources periodically suffer from severe shortages. With this in mind, we report new data regarding brackish and surface waters (outcrop and lake samples) of the Na-Cl type from the Nurra region, including major ions and selected trace elements (B, Br, I, and Sr), in addition to isotopic data including δ¹⁸O, δD in water, and δ³⁴S and δ¹⁸O in dissolved SO₄. To identify the origin of the salinity more precisely, we also analysed the mineralogical and isotopic composition of Triassic evaporites. The brackish waters have Cl contents of up to 2025 mg L⁻¹ , and the ratios between dissolved ions and Cl, with the exception of the Br / Cl ratio, are not those expected on the basis of simple mixing between rainwater and seawater. The δ¹⁸O and δD data indicate that most of the waters fall between the regional meteoric water line and the global meteoric water line, supporting the conclusion that they are meteoric in origin. A significant consequence of the meteoric origin of the Na-Cl-type water studied here is that the Br / Cl ratio, extensively used to assess the origin of salinity in fresh water, should be used with care in carbonate aquifers that are near the coast. Overall, δ³⁴S and δ¹⁸O levels in dissolved SO₄ suggest that water–rock interaction is responsible for the Na-Cl brackish composition of the water hosted by the Jurassic and Triassic aquifers of the Nurra, and this is consistent with the geology and lithological features of the study area. Evaporite dissolution may also explain the high Cl content, as halite was detected within the gypsum deposits. Finally, these Na-Cl brackish waters are undersaturated with respect to the more soluble salts, implying that in a climate evolving toward semi-arid conditions, the salinization process could intensify dramatically in the near future.

Two distinct eruptive events characterize the volcanic activity at Mount Etna during the 2002 to 2005 period. We identified signals of magma ascent preceding these eruptions by geochemical monitoring of both chemical composition and He‐isotope ratio of gas emissions from five locations in the peripheral area of the volcano. The geochemical signals are interpreted using the models proposed by Caracausi et al. (2003a, 2003b) and allow identification of episodes of magma ascent and estimation of the pressures of degassing magma. As observed for the 2001 eruption (Caracausi et al., 2003b), magma ascent probably triggered the onset of the 2002–2003 eruption, and minor events of magma ascent were observed between May and December 2003. In contrast to the previous two eruptions, the 2004–2005 eruption was not preceded by significant geochemical signals of volcanic unrest, suggesting that this eruption was mainly triggered by the failure of the upper portion of the volcanic edifice under the magmatic hydrostatic pressure in the conduits. High ³He/⁴He ratio revealed new volatile‐rich magma accumulation. The 2002–2003 eruption was preceded by a much shorter period of new magma accumulation from deep levels of the feeding system. Few minor signals of magma migration were detected at some of the sites during the months preceding the 2004–2005 eruption, suggesting that the degassed ³He‐depleted magma resident in the volcanic conduits was not replaced by new volatile‐rich magma. This is in agreement with the lack of explosive activity during the 2004–2005 eruption and with petrologic observations that the parent magma probably erupted in 2000 and 2001. New geochemical signals of magma ascent from the deep reservoir have been identified since June 2005, indicating that the volcanic activity of Mount Etna is evolving toward new pre‐eruptive conditions.

Gas from mud volcanoes, dry mofettes, springs, and wells were sampled in a region of active tectonics and high seismicity in the southern Apennines (Italy), where there is a long history of disastrous earthquakes, with the latest (M_s = 6.9) occurring in 1980. The fluids consist of a mixture of mantle‐derived and crust‐derived volatiles, with a low atmosphere‐derived contribution, as identified by the He isotope signature and He/Ne ratio measurements. One year of monthly monitoring of the He concentrations and He isotopes revealed no seasonal modifications or variations induced by low seismicity. There are extraordinary high outputs of ⁴He produced in the crust in the area (up to 2.5 × 10²⁸ atoms yr⁻¹). These outputs cannot be solely due to the whole‐rock production rate and a long‐lasting diffusion degassing through the crust of the produced ⁴He. This study explored the relation between the volume of fractured rock and the related release of He. The results support that crustal degassing can be controlled by tectonic events resulting in earthquakes. The high seismicity in this sector of the Apennines provides the conditions necessary for a massive release of He that has accumulated in the rock over a long time period. We identified that the assessed high crustal ⁴He output can be attributed to an intense fracturing of a calculable volume of rock, which gives new constraints on the volume of rock involved in high‐magnitude earthquakes in the region.