Particle geochemistry of volcanic plumes of Etna and Mount St. Helens

Abstract

Particles in volcanic plumes include vapor condensates and reaction products of ash with vapors or condensed liquids, in addition to abundant silicate particles. In the 1980 Mount St. Helens plume we detected abundant (Na, K) Cl crystals as well as Ca sulfates, the latter commonly as overgrowths on ash or anthropogenic particles. Many of the chloride particles contained zinc and cadmium. High‐temperature fumarolic incrustations showed strong enrichments of arsenic, zinc, alkalis, and iron. At Etna we did not detect chloride crystals but found abundant Al, Fe, and Ca sulfates. Sulfuric acid droplets were ubiquitous in both plumes. Bulk analyses of fumarole incrustations at Etna showed an enrichment in the rare earth elements (REE). The chemical and textural data of the plume particles indicate that chloride particles form relatively early and react later with sulfuric acid droplets to form sulfates. At Etna, aluminum as well as some REE are probably transported as volatile fluorine compounds. The differences in plume chemistry between Etna and Mount St. Helens are most likely related to differences in F/Cl ratios of the vapors. Based on the abundance of particulate chlorine in plumes, we suggest that only a small fraction of the total chlorine released during an eruption might reach the stratosphere in the vapor phase.