Erratum to: Fe-Oxide Microspherule Fragment from Chang’E-5 Soil Sample: Possible Evidence for Lunar Fumarole Activity

Nisyros Island, Greece, is a stratovolcano known for its intense hydrothermal activity. On June 2013, during a multidisciplinary field campaign, soil samples were collected in the caldera area to determinate the main mineralogical paragenesis and to investigate the distribution of trace elements concentrations and the possible relationship to the contribution of deep originated fluids. Soil samples were analysed with XRD and for the chemical composition of their leachable (deionized water) and near total (microwave digestion) fraction both for major and trace elements. All data were compared to a local background soil. The results allow to divide the samples in 2 groups: Lakki Plain and Stefanos Crater. The latter, where a fumarolic area is located, shows a mineralogical paragenesis dominated by phases typical of hydrothermal alteration. Their very low pH values (1.9 – 3.4) evidence the strong impact of fumarolic gases which are probably also the cause of strong enrichments in these soils of highly volatile elements like S, As, Se, Bi, Sb, Tl and Te. The soils of the Lakki Plain, being less exposed to the fumarolic activity, show minearalogical and chemical characteristics intermediate between the background soil and those of Stefanos Crater.

This paper presents a description of the fieldwork conducted in Krasheninnikov Bay on Paramushir Island in July–August 2025 by researchers from the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The fieldwork was carried out during the Russian Geographical Society’s expedition “Eastern Bastion – Kuril Ridge.” To study volcanic and hydrothermal activity in the area, rock samples were collected from formations composing the unified Pleistocene basement of the Chikurachki, Tatarinov, and Lomonosov volcanoes, as well as samples of lava from these volcanoes. At the summit of Tatarinov volcano, aerial and surface temperature surveys of the crater were performed using an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a thermal imaging camera. Mineralogical sampling of fumarolic fields on the volcano was also carried out. To determine the geochemical characteristics of geobiocenoses near active volcanoes, soil sampling and hydrochemical testing of major watercourses in Krasheninnikov Bay were conducted. The collected field material (samples of rocks, waters, and products of fumarolic activity) provides the basis for further mineralogical and geochemical studies.

In this study, concentrations of radon were measured for seventeen samples of soil distributed in three Sulphuric Spring, in addition to other regions as a background in Hit City in AL-Anbar Governorate. The radon concentrations in soil samples measured by using alpha-emitters registration that emits from radon (222Rn) in (CR-39) track detector. The concentrations values were calculated by a comparison with standard samples. The results show that the radon concentrations in first spring varies from (258.253- 347.762 Bq/m3), second spring (230.374-305.209 Bq/m3), third spring (292.002-336.023 Bq/m3) and the average radon concentration in other regions (187.821 Bq/m3). As a conclusion of the study radon concentration in Sulphuric Spring is relatively higher than the background.

In this study, concentrations of radon were measured for seventeen samples of soil distributed in three Sulphuric Spring, in addition to other regions as a background in Hit City in AL-Anbar Governorate. The radon concentrations in soil samples measured by using alpha-emitters registration that emits from radon (222Rn) in (CR-39) track detector. The concentrations values were calculated by a comparison with standard samples. The results show that the radon concentrations in first spring varies from (258.253- 347.762 Bq/m3), second spring (230.374-305.209 Bq/m3), third spring (292.002-336.023 Bq/m3) and the average radon concentration in other regions (187.821 Bq/m3). As a conclusion of the study radon concentration in Sulphuric Spring is relatively higher than the background.

The environmental and living conditions of a region are shaped by its relief, geology and climate, and control factors like hydrology and soil formation. While long-term climatic fluctuations and associated changes in environmental conditions are commonly viewed as the dominant natural factor in human evolution, the role of geological and pedological processes has so far received little attention. However, it makes a big difference to consider the effects of large-scale environmental changes in a homogeneous "static" landscape or to include the multitude of dynamic landscape factors that can lead to strong local effects with regard to the structure of the landscape and the availability of water and food.The NE Aegean is a key region of Pleistocene hominin presence at the crossroad between Africa, Asia and Europe situated in a geologically highly unstable region. Rodafnidia, an open-air Lower Paleolithic site on Lesbos, has revealed a unique Acheulean assemblage from excavated fluvio-lacustrine deposits dated between 476 and 164 ka BP. This site and its surrounding region represent a key location to study hominin subsistence and mobility and to investigate potential trans-Aegean migration corridors during Pleistocene sea-level lowstands. Geologically, Rodafnidia is situated on middle Pleistocene fluvial sediments consisting mainly of reworked early Miocene ignimbrites, and Pliocene marly limestones and marls, whereas the wider region is characterized by strong geochemical and pedochemical contrasts including nutritionally depleted soils on ophiolitic rocks, highly productive soils on marshy coastal deposits along the Kalloni Gulf, and a series of fault-controlled thermal sulfur springs at Lisvori and Polichnitos. We hypothesize that the attractiveness of Rodafnidia site for hominin presence was influenced by the local geology and tectonic activity controlling the long-term soil nutritional status of the region. We employ a combined geological-pedological study to unravel the paleoenvironmental conditions of the wider region. Our approach offers, in return, valuable insights into hominin-landscape interaction, relevant to landuse, resource exploitation and dispersal potential.Our systematic sampling and analysis of rocks, soil and water offers clues to the soil nutritional characteristics of the main lithological units exposed in the wider Rodafnidia area. Results reveal distinct differences in the nutritional status of soils developed on different geological substrates. While volcanic soils in the immediate Rodafnidia region and marshy soils along the coast comprise well-balanced nutritional levels, serpentinite soils dominating the ophiolitic highlands display highly problematic properties such as low Ca/Mg ratios and enhanced heavy metal concentrations. Soils on hot spring deposits are puzzling as they display both beneficial characteristics (high soil organic carbon, high calcium) and potentially harmful enhanced heavy metal levels.In a pedological context, Rodafinidia is located in a narrow zone of highly productive, nutrient rich soils in a wider region of geologically induced nutrient deficiencies. During sea-level lowstands, hominins along with other continental fauna could have crossed terrestrial passages between western Asia and the Eastern Aegean, and sites like Rodafnidia emerge as likely beneficial locations for hominin subsistence strategies. 

Balamuthia mandrillaris is an emerging cause of encephalitis in humans. The transmission dynamics are poorly understood due to the high fatality rate and the sporadic nature of cases. Seventy-two soil samples were collected from beaches and the banks of lagoons, rivers, ponds, mineral springs and streams from across Jamaica and assayed for the presence of B. mandrillaris. Seventy-nine sites were sampled and the mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene of B. mandrillaris was amplified and sequenced to confirm the presence of the amoeba. One isolate of B. mandrillaris was recovered from soil from mineral spring which hosts an informal therapeutic mud bath business. Although B. mandrillaris is less frequently isolated from soil than other free-living amoebae, rubbing mud containing the organism onto the skin increases the likelihood of exposure and infection. This first report on the isolation of B. mandrillaris in the Caribbean and its presence in soil where human contact is likely warrants further investigation using serological methods to elucidate exposure patterns.

An amoeba was isolated from a soil sample collected at the edge of a fumarole of the volcano Ceboruco in the state of Nayarit, Mexico. The trophozoites of this new isolate have eruptive pseudopodes and do not transform into flagellates. The strain forms cysts that have a double wall. This thermophilic amoeba grows at temperatures up to 50°C. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) places the amoeba into the Heterolobosea. The closest relatives are Paravahlkampfia spp. Like some other heterolobosean species, this new isolate has a group I intron in the SSU rDNA. Because of its position in the molecular phylogenetic tree, and because there is no species found in the literature with similar morphological and physiological characteristics, this isolate is described as a new genus and a new species, Fumarolamoeba ceborucoi gen. nov., sp. nov.

Extraction of DNA from Acidic, Hydrothermally Modified Volcanic Soils

The behavior of mercury (Hg) in water, sediments, air, dwarf bamboo leaves, and soils around the fumarolic area of Mt. Myoko, Japan, was investigated. Although some of the hot spring water samples contained over 1 µg/L total-Hg, overall, the total-Hg concentrations in the water samples decreased rapidly as the water flowed into a river. The total-Hg concentrations decreased not only due to simple dilution, but also to co-precipitation of Hg2+ with Fe(OH)3. The highest atmospheric Hg concentration, 91.7 ng/m3, was detected near the fumarole, and the concentrations decreased with distance from the fumarolic area. This tendency was also confirmed in the total-Hg concentrations of plant leaf samples. Total-Hg, methylmercury (MeHg), and ethylmercury (EtHg) concentrations in the soil surface layer (n = 13) ranged from 0.19 to 21.7 mg/kg, 0.3 to 9.3 µg/kg, and undetected to 7.7 µg/kg, respectively. The total-Hg concentrations in the surface layer soil samples decreased with distance from the fumarolic area, while the vertical distribution of total-Hg concentrations in the core and outcrop samples showed no clear trends. However, the MeHg and EtHg concentrations had no relationship with the total-Hg concentrations and were higher in the upper layer soils. The results suggest that MeHg and EtHg not only migrate with other Hg species from the volcanic gases, but are also generated on site. It was also confirmed that EtHg occurs in soil at the same level as MeHg in the study area.