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Globally Significant CO 2 Emissions From Katla, a Subglacial Volcano in Iceland
Author(s) -
Ilyinskaya Evgenia,
Mobbs Stephen,
Burton Ralph,
Burton Mike,
Pardini Federica,
Pfeffer Melissa Anne,
Purvis Ruth,
Lee James,
Bauguitte Stéphane,
Brooks Barbara,
Colfescu Ioana,
Petersen Gudrun Nina,
Wellpott Axel,
Bergsson Baldur
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2018gl079096
Subject(s) - volcano , caldera , earth science , geology , unrest , flux (metallurgy) , natural (archaeology) , atmospheric sciences , seismology , chemistry , paleontology , law , organic chemistry , politics , political science
Volcanoes are a key natural source of CO 2 , but global estimates of volcanic CO 2 flux are predominantly based on measurements from a fraction of world's actively degassing volcanoes. We combine high‐precision airborne measurements from 2016 and 2017 with atmospheric dispersion modeling to quantify CO 2 emissions from Katla, a major subglacial volcanic caldera in Iceland that last erupted 100 years ago but has been undergoing significant unrest in recent decades. Katla's sustained CO 2 flux, 12–24 kt/d, is up to an order of magnitude greater than previous estimates of total CO 2 release from Iceland's natural sources. Katla is one of the largest volcanic sources of CO 2 on the planet, contributing up to 4% of global emissions from nonerupting volcanoes. Further measurements on subglacial volcanoes worldwide are urgently required to establish if Katla is exceptional, or if there is a significant previously unrecognized contribution to global CO 2 emissions from natural sources.