Total fluxes of sulfur dioxide from the Italian volcanoes Etna, Stromboli, and Vulcano measured by differential absorption lidar and passive differential optical absorption spectroscopy

Abstract

The total flux of sulfur dioxide from the Italian volcanoes Etna, Stromboli, and Vulcano was determined using the differential absorption lidar technique. The measurements were performed from an oceanographic research ship making traverses under the volcanic plumes with the lidar system sounding vertically. By combining the integrated gas concentration over the plume cross section with wind velocity data, it was possible to determine the total fluxes of SO2 from the three volcanoes, all measured within a 3‐day period in September 1992. We found total fluxes of about 25, 180, and 1300 t/d for Vulcano, Stromboli, and Etna, respectively. These data, collected with an active remote‐sensing technique, were compared with simultaneous recording with passive differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) using the sky radiation as the light source. Since the geometry of the light paths crossing the volcanic plume is not well defined in the passive measurements, a correction to the DOAS data is required. The SO2 results are also compared with previously available data from correlation spectroscopy measurements. Lidar measurements on atomic mercury were also made for the plumes from Stromboli and Vulcano, but the system sensitivity and range only allowed estimates of upper limits for the Hg fluxes.