Open AccessRates of carbon dioxide plume degassing from Mount Etna volcano
Author(s) -
Aiuppa A.,
Federico C.,
Giudice G.,
Gurrieri S.,
Liuzzo M.,
Shinohara H.,
Favara R.,
Valenza M.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: solid earth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2006jb004307
Subject(s) - volcano , plume , impact crater , geology , carbon dioxide , volcanic gases , panache , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , mineralogy , seismology , meteorology , astrobiology , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry
We report here on the real‐time measurement of CO 2 and SO 2 concentrations in the near‐vent volcanic gas plume of Mount Etna, acquired by the use of a field portable gas analyzer during a series of periodic field surveys on the volcano's summit. During the investigated period (September 2004 to September 2005), the plume CO 2 /SO 2 ratio ranged from 1.9 to 10.8, with contrasting composition for Northeast and Voragine crater plumes. Scaling the above CO 2 /SO 2 ratios by UV spectroscopy determined SO 2 emission rates, we estimate CO 2 emission rates from the volcano in the range 0.9–67.5 kt d −1 (average, 9 kt d −1 ) . About 2 kt of CO 2 were emitted daily on average during quiescent passive degassing, whereas CO 2 emission rates from Etna's summit were 10–40 times larger during the 2004–2005 effusive event (with a cumulative CO 2 release of ∼3800 kt during the 6 months of the eruption). Such a syneruptive increase, ascribed to the replenishment of the shallow (<6 km) volcanic plumbing system by CO 2 ‐rich (0.25 wt %) more primitive magmas, supports the potential of CO 2 output rates as key parameters for volcanic hazard assessment.