Geogenic Gases in a Red Wood-Ant Nest and Soil in the Neuwied Basin, Germany 2016

Geochemical tracers of crustal fluids (CO2, He, Rn) provide a useful tool for the identification of buried fault structures. We acquired geochemical data during 7 months of continual sampling to identify causal processes underlying correlations between ambient air and degassing patterns of three gases (CO2, He, Rn) in a nest of red wood ants (Formica polyctena; “RWA”) and the soil at Goloring in the Neuwied Basin, a part of the East Eifel Volcanic Field (EEVF). We explored whether temporal relations and degassing rhythms in soil and nest gas concentrations could be indicators of hidden faults through which the gases migrate to the surface from depth. In nest gas, the coupled system of CO2-He and He concentrations exceeding atmospheric standards 2-3 fold suggested that RWA nests may be biological indicators of hidden degassing faults and fractures at small scales. Equivalently periodic degassing infradian rhythms in the RWA nest, soil, and three nearby mineral springs suggested NW-SE and NE-SW tectonic linkages. Because volcanic activity in the EEVF is dormant, more detailed information on the EEVF’s tectonic, magmatic, and degassing systems and its active tectonic fault zones are needed. Such data could provide additional insights into earthquake processes that are related to magmatic processes at the lower crust.