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Unravelling the processes controlling gas emissions from the central and northeast craters of Mt. Etna
Language
English
Obiettivo Specifico
1.2. TTC - Sorveglianza geochimica delle aree vulcaniche attive
Status
Published
JCR Journal
JCR Journal
Peer review journal
Yes
Title of the book
Issue/vol(year)
3-4/198 (2010)
Publisher
Elsevier
Pages (printed)
368-376
Issued date
2010
Keywords
Abstract
We measured volcanic gas emissions from the northeast crater (NEC) and central crater (CC) of Mount Etna
on 21st July 2008, and 3rd and 31st August 2009, using a novel, lightweight open-path Fourier transform
infrared spectrometry (OP-FTIR) in active mode with a portable infrared lamp. Contemporaneously we
measured the SO2 flux of the total gas emission released by the combined summit craters 14 km downwind
and the SO2 flux emitted by the NEC measured at the summit. Combining these data we determined the flux of
the major volcanic components H2O, CO2, SO2, HCl and HF emitted individually from CC and NEC craters. The
results reveal similar SO2/HCl ratios but distinct CO2/SO2 ratios (1.3 and 10.9 for NEC and CC, respectively) and
an order of magnitude greater CO2 flux from the CC compared with the NEC. A simple model in which the NEC
branches from a central feeding conduit at a depth of ~2 km can reproduce these observations. We highlight
that in such a system short-term variations in CO2/SO2 ratios at each crater can occur due to minor variations
in the magma/gas flux entering each conduit at the branch, without an overall change in magma supply. CO2/
SO2 variations measured at individual craters may therefore be unrepresentative of the volcanic system and
require cautious interpretation. Monitoring of the total CO2 and SO2 fluxes emitted from each crater is, on the contrary, an optimal monitoring strategy and can be achieved using a combination of CO2/SO2 instruments and SO2 imaging cameras
on 21st July 2008, and 3rd and 31st August 2009, using a novel, lightweight open-path Fourier transform
infrared spectrometry (OP-FTIR) in active mode with a portable infrared lamp. Contemporaneously we
measured the SO2 flux of the total gas emission released by the combined summit craters 14 km downwind
and the SO2 flux emitted by the NEC measured at the summit. Combining these data we determined the flux of
the major volcanic components H2O, CO2, SO2, HCl and HF emitted individually from CC and NEC craters. The
results reveal similar SO2/HCl ratios but distinct CO2/SO2 ratios (1.3 and 10.9 for NEC and CC, respectively) and
an order of magnitude greater CO2 flux from the CC compared with the NEC. A simple model in which the NEC
branches from a central feeding conduit at a depth of ~2 km can reproduce these observations. We highlight
that in such a system short-term variations in CO2/SO2 ratios at each crater can occur due to minor variations
in the magma/gas flux entering each conduit at the branch, without an overall change in magma supply. CO2/
SO2 variations measured at individual craters may therefore be unrepresentative of the volcanic system and
require cautious interpretation. Monitoring of the total CO2 and SO2 fluxes emitted from each crater is, on the contrary, an optimal monitoring strategy and can be achieved using a combination of CO2/SO2 instruments and SO2 imaging cameras
Sponsors
INGV-DPC “Sicilia” Project (Gas plumeTask).
References
Aiuppa, A., Inguaggiato, S., McGonigle, A.J.S., O'Dwyer, M., Oppenheimer, C., Padgett, M.J.,
Rouwet, D., Valenza, M., 2005.H2S fluxes fromMt. Etna, Stromboli, and Vulcano (Italy)
and implications for the sulphur budget at volcanoes. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 69,
1861–1871.
Aiuppa, A., Federico, C., Giudice, G., Guerrieri, S., Liuzzo, M., Shinohara, H., Favara, R.,
Valenza, M., 2006. Rates of carbon dioxide plume degassing from Mount Etna
volcano. J. Geophys. Res. 111, B09207. doi:10.1029/2006JB004307.
Aiuppa, A., Giudice, G., Guerrieri, S., Liuzzo,M., Burton,M., Caltabiano, T., McGonigle, A.J.S.,
Salerno, G., Shinohara, H., Valenza, M., 2008. The total volatile flux from Mount Etna
and implications for the geochemicalmonitoring of basaltic volcanoes. Geophys. Res.
Lett. 35, L24302. doi:10.1029/2008GL035871.
Allard, P., 1997. Endogenous magma degassing and storage at Mount Etna. Geophys.
Res. Lett. 24 (17), 2219–2222.
Allard, P., Burton, M., Mure, F., 2005. Spectroscopic evidence for a lava fountain driven
by previously accumulated magmatic gas. Nature 433, 407–410.
Behncke, B., Neri, M., Pecora, E., Zanon, V., 2006. The exceptional activity and growth of the
Southeast Crater, Mount Etna (Italy), between 1996 and 2001. Bull. Volcanol. 69 (2),
149–173. doi:10.1007/s00445-006-0061-x.
Branca, S., Ferrara, V., 2001. An example of river pattern evolution produced during the
lateral growth of a central polygenic volcano: the case of the Alcantara river system,
Mt. Etna (Italy). Catena 45 (2), 85–102.
Burton, M. (2009), FTIR_FIT: Software for analysis of FTIR absorption spectra for
volcanological applications, J. Volcan. Geotherm. Res., submitted.
Burton, M.R., Oppenheimer, C., Horrocks, L.A., Francis, P.W., 2000. Remote sensing of CO2
and H2O emissions rates fromMasaya Volcano, Nicaragua. Geology 28 (10), 915–918.
Burton, M., Allard, P., Murè, F., Oppenheimer, C., 2003. FTIR remote sensing of fractional
magma degassing at Mount Etna, Sicily. Volcanic Degassing: Geol. Soc. Spec.
Pub.,213, pp. 281–293.
Burton, M., Allard, P., Murè, F., La Spina, A., 2007. Magmatic gas composition reveals the
source depth of slug-driven Strombolian explosive activity. Science 317.
Caltabiano, T., Romano, R., Budetta, G., 1994. SO2 flux measurements at Mount Etna,
Sicily. J. Geophys. Res. 99 (D6), 12809–12819.
Clocchiatti, R., Metrich, N., 1984. Témoignages de la contamination dans les produits
des eruptions explosives des Mts. Silvestri (1892) et Mts. Rossi (1669), Mt. Etna.
Bull. Volcanol. 47/2, 909–928.
Collins, S.J., Pyle, D.M.,Maclennan, J., 2009.Melt inclusions track pre-eruption storage and
dehydration of magmas at Etna. Geology 37 (6), 571–574. doi:10.1130/G30040A.1.
Corsaro, R.M., Pompilio, M., 2004. Magma dymanics in the shallow plumbing system of
Mt. Etna as recorded by compositional variations in volcanics of recent summit
activity (1995–1999). J. Volcan. Geotherm. Res. 137, 55–71.
Cristofolini, R., Lentini, F., Patanè, G., Rasà, R., 1979. Integrazione dei dati geologici,
geofisici e petrologici per la stesura di un profilo crostale in corrispondenza
dell'Etna. Boll. Soc. Geol. It. 98, 239–247.
Di Grazia, G., Cannata, A., Montalto, P., Patané, D., Privitera, E., Zuccarello, L., 2009. A
multiparameter approach to volcano monitoring based on 4D analyses of seismovolcanic
and acoustic signals: the 2008 Mt. Etna eruption. Geophys. Res. Lett. 36,
L18307. doi:10.1029/2009GL039567.
Edmonds, M., Gerlach, T.M., 2007. Vapor segregation and loss in basaltic melts. Geology
35 (8), 751–754. doi:10.1130/G23464A.1.
Edmonds, M., Pyle, D., Oppenheimer, C., 2002. HCl emissions at Soufriere Hills Volcano,
Monserrat, West Indies, during a second phase of dome building: November 1999
to October 2000. Bull. Volcanol. 64, 21–30.
Ferrara, V., 1991. Modificazioni indotte dallo sfruttamento delle acque sotterranee
sull'equilibrio idrodinamico e idrochimico dell'acquifero vulcanico dell'Etna. Mem.
Soc. Geol. It. 47, 619–630.
Francis, P., Chaffin, C., Maciejewski, A., Oppenheimer, C., 1996a. Remote determination
of SiF4 in volcanic plumes: a new tool for volcano monitoring. Geophys. Res. Lett.
23 (3), 249–252.
Francis, P., Maciejewski, A., Oppenheimer, C., Chaffin, C., 1996b. New methods make
volcanology research less hazardous. EOS Trans. AGU 77 (393), 396–397.
Francis, P., Burton, M.R., Oppenheimer, C., 1998. Remote measurement of volcanic gas
compositions by solar occultation spectroscopy. Nature 396, 567–570.
La Delfa, S., Patane, G., Clocchiatti, R., Joronb, J.L., Tanguy, J.C., 2001. Activity of Mount
Etna preceding the February 1999 fissure eruption: inferred mechanism from
seismological and geochemical data. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res 105, 121–139.
Lentini, F., 1982. The geology of the Mt Etna basement. In: Romano, R. (Ed.), Mt. Etna
Volcano: Mem. Soc. Geol. It., 23, pp. 7–26.
Martin, R.S., Mather, T.A., Pyle, D.M., Power, M., Allen, A.G., Aiuppa, A., Horwell, C.J.,
Ward, E.P., 2008. Composition-resolved size distributions of volcanic aerosols in the
Mt. Etna plumes. J. Geophys. Res. 113, D17211.
McGonigle, A.J.S., Oppenheimer, C., Galle, B., Mather, T.A., Pyle, D.M., 2002. Walking
traverse and scanning DOAS measurements of volcanic gas emission rates.
Geophys. Res. Lett. 29, 20.
Menand, T., Phillips, J.C., 2007. Gas segregation in dykes and sills. J. Volcanol. Geotherm.
Res. 159, 393–408. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2006.08.003.
Métrich, N., Clocchiatti, R., Mosbah, M., Chaussidon, M., 1993. The 1989–1990 activity of
Etna magma mingling and ascent of H2O–Cl–S-rich basaltic magma. Evidence from
melt inclusions. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 59, 131–144.
Métrich, N., Allard, P., Spilliaert, N., Andronico, D., Burton, M., 2004. 2001 flank eruption
of the alkali- and volatile-rich primitive basalt responsible for Mount Etna's
evolution in the last three decades, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 228, 1–17.
Moretti, R. (2001), Volatiles solubilitywith particular regardto sulphur species: theoretical
aspects and application to Etnean volcanics, PhD Thesis, Univ. of Pisa, Italy.
Mori, T., Burton, M., 2006. The SO2 camera: a simple, fast and cheap method for groundbased
imaging of SO2 in volcanic plumes. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, L24804. doi:10.1029/
2006GL027916.
Neri, M. and M. Rossi (2002), Geometria e volume dell'apparato vulcanico etneo: il
contributo offerto dall'uso di mappe digitali. INGV, Quaderni di Geofisica, 20.
Newman, S., Lowenstern, J.B., 2002. VolatileCalc: a silicate melt–H2O–CO2 solution
model written in Visual Basic for Excel. Comput. Geosci. 28 (5), 597–604.
Patané, D., Di Grazia, G., Cannata, A., Montalto, P., Boschi, E., 2008. Shallow magma
pathway geometry at Mt. Etna Volcano. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 9, Q12021.
doi:10.1029/2008GC002131.
Salerno, G.G., Burton, M.R., Oppenheimer, C., Caltabiano, T., Tsanev, V., Bruno, N., 2009.
Novel retrieval of volcanic SO2 abundance from ultraviolet spectra. J. Volcanol.
Geotherm. Res. 181, 141–153. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2009.01.009.
Shinohara, H., Aiuppa, A., Giudice, G., Gurrieri, S., Liuzzo,M., 2008. Variation of H2O/CO2 and
CO2/SO2 ratios of volcanic gases discharged by continuous degassing of Mount Etna
volcano, Italy. J. Geophys. Res. 113, B09203. doi:10.1029/2007JB005185.
Spilliaert, N., Allard, P., Métrich, N., Sobolev, A.V., 2006a. Melt inclusion record of the
conditions of ascent, degassing and extrusion of volatile-rich alkali basalt during
the powerful 2002 flank eruption of Mount Etna (Italy). J. Geophys. Res. 111,
B04203. doi:10.1029/2005/JB003934.
Spilliaert, N., Métrich, N., Allard, P., 2006b. S–Cl–F degassing pattern of water-rich alkali
basalt: modelling and relationship with eruption styles on Mount Etna volcano.
Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 248, 772–786.
Symonds, R.B., Gerlach, T.M., Reed, M.H., 2001. Magmatic gas scrubbing: implication for
volcano monitoring. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 108, 303–341.
Rouwet, D., Valenza, M., 2005.H2S fluxes fromMt. Etna, Stromboli, and Vulcano (Italy)
and implications for the sulphur budget at volcanoes. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 69,
1861–1871.
Aiuppa, A., Federico, C., Giudice, G., Guerrieri, S., Liuzzo, M., Shinohara, H., Favara, R.,
Valenza, M., 2006. Rates of carbon dioxide plume degassing from Mount Etna
volcano. J. Geophys. Res. 111, B09207. doi:10.1029/2006JB004307.
Aiuppa, A., Giudice, G., Guerrieri, S., Liuzzo,M., Burton,M., Caltabiano, T., McGonigle, A.J.S.,
Salerno, G., Shinohara, H., Valenza, M., 2008. The total volatile flux from Mount Etna
and implications for the geochemicalmonitoring of basaltic volcanoes. Geophys. Res.
Lett. 35, L24302. doi:10.1029/2008GL035871.
Allard, P., 1997. Endogenous magma degassing and storage at Mount Etna. Geophys.
Res. Lett. 24 (17), 2219–2222.
Allard, P., Burton, M., Mure, F., 2005. Spectroscopic evidence for a lava fountain driven
by previously accumulated magmatic gas. Nature 433, 407–410.
Behncke, B., Neri, M., Pecora, E., Zanon, V., 2006. The exceptional activity and growth of the
Southeast Crater, Mount Etna (Italy), between 1996 and 2001. Bull. Volcanol. 69 (2),
149–173. doi:10.1007/s00445-006-0061-x.
Branca, S., Ferrara, V., 2001. An example of river pattern evolution produced during the
lateral growth of a central polygenic volcano: the case of the Alcantara river system,
Mt. Etna (Italy). Catena 45 (2), 85–102.
Burton, M. (2009), FTIR_FIT: Software for analysis of FTIR absorption spectra for
volcanological applications, J. Volcan. Geotherm. Res., submitted.
Burton, M.R., Oppenheimer, C., Horrocks, L.A., Francis, P.W., 2000. Remote sensing of CO2
and H2O emissions rates fromMasaya Volcano, Nicaragua. Geology 28 (10), 915–918.
Burton, M., Allard, P., Murè, F., Oppenheimer, C., 2003. FTIR remote sensing of fractional
magma degassing at Mount Etna, Sicily. Volcanic Degassing: Geol. Soc. Spec.
Pub.,213, pp. 281–293.
Burton, M., Allard, P., Murè, F., La Spina, A., 2007. Magmatic gas composition reveals the
source depth of slug-driven Strombolian explosive activity. Science 317.
Caltabiano, T., Romano, R., Budetta, G., 1994. SO2 flux measurements at Mount Etna,
Sicily. J. Geophys. Res. 99 (D6), 12809–12819.
Clocchiatti, R., Metrich, N., 1984. Témoignages de la contamination dans les produits
des eruptions explosives des Mts. Silvestri (1892) et Mts. Rossi (1669), Mt. Etna.
Bull. Volcanol. 47/2, 909–928.
Collins, S.J., Pyle, D.M.,Maclennan, J., 2009.Melt inclusions track pre-eruption storage and
dehydration of magmas at Etna. Geology 37 (6), 571–574. doi:10.1130/G30040A.1.
Corsaro, R.M., Pompilio, M., 2004. Magma dymanics in the shallow plumbing system of
Mt. Etna as recorded by compositional variations in volcanics of recent summit
activity (1995–1999). J. Volcan. Geotherm. Res. 137, 55–71.
Cristofolini, R., Lentini, F., Patanè, G., Rasà, R., 1979. Integrazione dei dati geologici,
geofisici e petrologici per la stesura di un profilo crostale in corrispondenza
dell'Etna. Boll. Soc. Geol. It. 98, 239–247.
Di Grazia, G., Cannata, A., Montalto, P., Patané, D., Privitera, E., Zuccarello, L., 2009. A
multiparameter approach to volcano monitoring based on 4D analyses of seismovolcanic
and acoustic signals: the 2008 Mt. Etna eruption. Geophys. Res. Lett. 36,
L18307. doi:10.1029/2009GL039567.
Edmonds, M., Gerlach, T.M., 2007. Vapor segregation and loss in basaltic melts. Geology
35 (8), 751–754. doi:10.1130/G23464A.1.
Edmonds, M., Pyle, D., Oppenheimer, C., 2002. HCl emissions at Soufriere Hills Volcano,
Monserrat, West Indies, during a second phase of dome building: November 1999
to October 2000. Bull. Volcanol. 64, 21–30.
Ferrara, V., 1991. Modificazioni indotte dallo sfruttamento delle acque sotterranee
sull'equilibrio idrodinamico e idrochimico dell'acquifero vulcanico dell'Etna. Mem.
Soc. Geol. It. 47, 619–630.
Francis, P., Chaffin, C., Maciejewski, A., Oppenheimer, C., 1996a. Remote determination
of SiF4 in volcanic plumes: a new tool for volcano monitoring. Geophys. Res. Lett.
23 (3), 249–252.
Francis, P., Maciejewski, A., Oppenheimer, C., Chaffin, C., 1996b. New methods make
volcanology research less hazardous. EOS Trans. AGU 77 (393), 396–397.
Francis, P., Burton, M.R., Oppenheimer, C., 1998. Remote measurement of volcanic gas
compositions by solar occultation spectroscopy. Nature 396, 567–570.
La Delfa, S., Patane, G., Clocchiatti, R., Joronb, J.L., Tanguy, J.C., 2001. Activity of Mount
Etna preceding the February 1999 fissure eruption: inferred mechanism from
seismological and geochemical data. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res 105, 121–139.
Lentini, F., 1982. The geology of the Mt Etna basement. In: Romano, R. (Ed.), Mt. Etna
Volcano: Mem. Soc. Geol. It., 23, pp. 7–26.
Martin, R.S., Mather, T.A., Pyle, D.M., Power, M., Allen, A.G., Aiuppa, A., Horwell, C.J.,
Ward, E.P., 2008. Composition-resolved size distributions of volcanic aerosols in the
Mt. Etna plumes. J. Geophys. Res. 113, D17211.
McGonigle, A.J.S., Oppenheimer, C., Galle, B., Mather, T.A., Pyle, D.M., 2002. Walking
traverse and scanning DOAS measurements of volcanic gas emission rates.
Geophys. Res. Lett. 29, 20.
Menand, T., Phillips, J.C., 2007. Gas segregation in dykes and sills. J. Volcanol. Geotherm.
Res. 159, 393–408. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2006.08.003.
Métrich, N., Clocchiatti, R., Mosbah, M., Chaussidon, M., 1993. The 1989–1990 activity of
Etna magma mingling and ascent of H2O–Cl–S-rich basaltic magma. Evidence from
melt inclusions. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 59, 131–144.
Métrich, N., Allard, P., Spilliaert, N., Andronico, D., Burton, M., 2004. 2001 flank eruption
of the alkali- and volatile-rich primitive basalt responsible for Mount Etna's
evolution in the last three decades, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 228, 1–17.
Moretti, R. (2001), Volatiles solubilitywith particular regardto sulphur species: theoretical
aspects and application to Etnean volcanics, PhD Thesis, Univ. of Pisa, Italy.
Mori, T., Burton, M., 2006. The SO2 camera: a simple, fast and cheap method for groundbased
imaging of SO2 in volcanic plumes. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, L24804. doi:10.1029/
2006GL027916.
Neri, M. and M. Rossi (2002), Geometria e volume dell'apparato vulcanico etneo: il
contributo offerto dall'uso di mappe digitali. INGV, Quaderni di Geofisica, 20.
Newman, S., Lowenstern, J.B., 2002. VolatileCalc: a silicate melt–H2O–CO2 solution
model written in Visual Basic for Excel. Comput. Geosci. 28 (5), 597–604.
Patané, D., Di Grazia, G., Cannata, A., Montalto, P., Boschi, E., 2008. Shallow magma
pathway geometry at Mt. Etna Volcano. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 9, Q12021.
doi:10.1029/2008GC002131.
Salerno, G.G., Burton, M.R., Oppenheimer, C., Caltabiano, T., Tsanev, V., Bruno, N., 2009.
Novel retrieval of volcanic SO2 abundance from ultraviolet spectra. J. Volcanol.
Geotherm. Res. 181, 141–153. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2009.01.009.
Shinohara, H., Aiuppa, A., Giudice, G., Gurrieri, S., Liuzzo,M., 2008. Variation of H2O/CO2 and
CO2/SO2 ratios of volcanic gases discharged by continuous degassing of Mount Etna
volcano, Italy. J. Geophys. Res. 113, B09203. doi:10.1029/2007JB005185.
Spilliaert, N., Allard, P., Métrich, N., Sobolev, A.V., 2006a. Melt inclusion record of the
conditions of ascent, degassing and extrusion of volatile-rich alkali basalt during
the powerful 2002 flank eruption of Mount Etna (Italy). J. Geophys. Res. 111,
B04203. doi:10.1029/2005/JB003934.
Spilliaert, N., Métrich, N., Allard, P., 2006b. S–Cl–F degassing pattern of water-rich alkali
basalt: modelling and relationship with eruption styles on Mount Etna volcano.
Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 248, 772–786.
Symonds, R.B., Gerlach, T.M., Reed, M.H., 2001. Magmatic gas scrubbing: implication for
volcano monitoring. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 108, 303–341.
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