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Airborne volcanic plume measurements using a FTIR spectrometer, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
Author(s) -
McGee Kenneth A.,
Gerlach Terrence M.
Publication year - 1998
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 - 10.1029/98gl00356
Subject(s) - plume , volcano , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , spectrometer , volcanism , geology , panache , sulfur dioxide , rift zone , environmental science , mineralogy , remote sensing , rift , meteorology , geochemistry , chemistry , optics , physics , seismology , tectonics , inorganic chemistry
A prototype closed‐path Fourier transform infrared spectrometer system (FTIR), operating from battery power and with a Stirling engine microcooler for detector cooling, was successfully used for airborne measurements of sulfur dioxide at Kilauea volcano. Airborne profiles of the volcanic plume emanating from the erupting Pu′u′O′o vent on the East Rift of Kilauea revealed levels of nearly 3 ppm SO 2 in the core of the plume. An emission rate of 2,160 metric tons per day of sulfur dioxide was calculated from the FTIR data, which agrees closely with simultaneous measurements by a correlation spectrometer (COSPEC). The rapid spatial sampling possible from an airborne platform distinguishes the methodology described here from previous FTIR measurements.