Variations of Soil Temperature, CO2Flux, and Meteorological Parameters

Abstract

The detailed analysis carried out on the data, acquired in two continuous monitoring stations during the 2002―2003 Stromboli eruption, integrated by daily field observations of the scientific personnel working at the volcanological observatory, showed that CO 2 flux and soil temperature are strictly related to volcanic events. Furthermore, the recorded signals showed a strong correlation with wind speed and direction, revealing that during the eruption, in the summit area of Stromboli, air movements were related not only to atmospheric circulation, but were also significantly affected and, in certain cases, caused by volcanic activity. The possible volcanic origin of a peculiar type of air circulation identified in the summit area of Stromboli suggests that the separation between volcanic and atmospheric signals might not be obvious, requiring monitoring of atmospheric parameters over a wide area, rather than a single location.