Mount Erebus Research Articles

Seismic Tomography of Erebus Volcano, Antarctica

Mount Erebus (77°32′S, 167°10′E; elevation 3794 meters) is the most active volcano in Antarctica and is well known for its persistent lava lake. The lake constitutes an “open window” into the conduit and underlying feeding system and offers a rare opportunity to observe a shallow convecting magmatic system.Imaging and modeling of the internal structure of Erebus volcano are best done through compiling information from arrays of seismometers positioned strategically around the volcano. From these data, the three‐dimensional (3‐D) structure of the conduit can be pieced together. Building this 3‐D model of Erebus was a main goal of the seismic tomographic experiment Tomo Erebus (TE). During the 2007–2008 austral field season, 23 intermediate‐period seismometers were installed to contribute data, through the winter, for the passive‐source aspect of the experiment. One year later, 100 three‐component short‐period stations were deployed to record 16 chemical blasts (see Figure 1).

Exploring the limits of identifying sub-pixel thermal features using ASTER TIR data

Understanding the characteristics of volcanic thermal emissions and how they change with time is important for forecasting and monitoring volcanic activity and potential hazards. Satellite instruments view volcanic thermal features across the globe at various temporal and spatial resolutions. Thermal features that may be a precursor to a major eruption, or indicative of important changes in an on-going eruption can be subtle, making them challenging to reliably identify with satellite instruments. The goal of this study was to explore the limits of the types and magnitudes of thermal anomalies that could be detected using satellite thermal infrared (TIR) data. Specifically, the characterization of sub-pixel thermal features with a wide range of temperatures is considered using ASTER multispectral TIR data. First, theoretical calculations were made to define a “thermal mixing detection threshold” for ASTER, which quantifies the limits of ASTER's ability to resolve sub-pixel thermal mixing over a range of hot target temperatures and % pixel areas. Then, ASTER TIR data were used to model sub-pixel thermal features at the Yellowstone National Park geothermal area (hot spring pools with temperatures from 40 to 90 °C) and at Mount Erebus Volcano, Antarctica (an active lava lake with temperatures from 200 to 800 °C). Finally, various sources of uncertainty in sub-pixel thermal calculations were quantified for these empirical measurements, including pixel resampling, atmospheric correction, and background temperature and emissivity assumptions.

Microbial biodiversity of thermophilic communities in hot mineral soils of Tramway Ridge, Mount Erebus, Antarctica

Tramway Ridge, located near the summit of Mount Erebus in Antarctica, is probably the most remote geothermal soil habitat on Earth. Steam fumaroles maintain moist, hot soil environments creating extreme local physicochemical differentials. In this study a culture-independent approach combining automated rRNA intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) and a 16S rRNA gene library was used to characterize soil microbial (Bacterial and Archaeal) diversity along intense physicochemical gradients. Statistical analysis of ARISA data showed a clear delineation between bacterial community structure at sites close to fumaroles and all other sites. Temperature and pH were identified as the primary drivers of this demarcation. A clone library constructed from a high-temperature site led to the identification of 18 novel bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs). All 16S rRNA gene sequences were deep branching and distantly (85-93%) related to other environmental clones. Five of the signatures branched with an unknown group between candidate division OP10 and Chloroflexi. Within this clade, sequence similarity was low, suggesting it contains several yet-to-be described bacterial groups. Five archaeal OTUs were obtained and exhibited high levels of sequence similarity (95-97%) with Crenarchaeota sourced from deep-subsurface environments on two distant continents. The novel bacterial assemblage coupled with the unique archaeal affinities reinvigorates the hypotheses that Tramway Ridge organisms are relics of archaic microbial lineages specifically adapted to survive in this harsh environment and that this site may provide a portal to the deep-subsurface biosphere.

Seismic imaging of the upper mantle under the Erebus hotspot in Antarctica

P-wave velocity images are determined under the Mount Erebus volcano, Antarctica by using teleseismic tomography. Our results show a prominent low-velocity (low-V) anomaly of nearly circular symmetry (about 250–300 km in diameter) to about 200 km depth under the Mount Erebus volcanic region, which further extends down to ~ 400 km as a narrow tilted column. The observed low-V anomaly beneath the Mount Erebus volcano can be expression of a thermal anomaly of deep origin. Combining the seismically imaged thermal anomaly with geochemical observation of rift-related volcanism in the region, we consider that the Mount Erebus is a hotspot due to West Antarctic Rift System linked with a mantle plume. In addition, high-velocity anomalies are imaged beneath the East Antarctic craton, being consistent with the previous studies.

Acoustic source characterization of impulsive Strombolian eruptions from the Mount Erebus lava lake

We invert for acoustic source volume outflux and momentum imparted to the atmosphere using an infrasonic network distributed about the erupting lava lake at Mount Erebus, Ross Island, Antarctica. By modeling these relatively simple eruptions as monopole point sources we estimate explosively ejected gas volumes that range from 1,000 m 3 to 24,000 m 3 for 312 lava lake eruptions recorded between January 6 and April 13, 2006. Though these volumes are compatible with bubble volumes at rupture (as estimated from explosion video records), departures from isotropic radiation are evident in the recorded acoustic wavefield for many eruptions. A point-source acoustic dipole component with arbitrary axis orientation and strength provides precise fit to the recorded infrasound. This dipole source axis, corresponding to the axis of inferred short-duration material jetting, varies significantly between events. Physical interpretation of dipole orientation as being indicative of eruptive directivity is corroborated by directional emissions of ejecta observed in Erebus eruption video footage. Although three azimuthally distributed stations are insufficient to fully characterize the eruptive acoustic source we speculate that a monopole with a minor amount of oriented dipole radiation may reasonably model the primary features of the recorded infrasound for these eruptions.

Satellite observations reveal little inter-annual variability in the radiant flux from the Mount Erebus lava lake

Satellite remote sensing represents a mature technology for long-term monitoring of volcanic activity at Mount Erebus, either independently or as a complement to field instrumentation. Observations made on 4290 discrete occasions over a six year period by NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) indicate that the radiant flux from the volcano's summit crater (and by inference, the lava lake contained therein), while variable on the time scale of days to weeks, has varied little on an inter-annual basis over this period. The average radiant flux from the lake during this time was 15 MW, with a maximum flux of 100 MW. Such heat flux time-series have been shown to act as a reliable proxy for general levels of activity at erupting volcanoes around the world, particularly when these time-series are of a long duration. The apparent stability of Erebus' power output is in marked contrast to fluxes observed at three other terrestrial volcanoes, Erta ‘Ale (Ethiopia), Nyiragongo (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Ambrym (Vanuatu), which, while also hosting active lava lakes, all exhibit much greater variability in radiant flux over the same period of time. The results presented in this paper are confluent with those obtained from geochemical considerations of the Erebus' degassing regime, and confirm that remarkably stable open-system volcanism appears to be characteristic of this long-active volcano.

Ground-based thermal imaging of lava lakes at Erebus volcano, Antarctica

Mount Erebus, a large intraplate stratovolcano dominating Ross Island, Antarctica, hosts the world's only active phonolite lava lakes. The main manifestation of activity at Erebus volcano in December 2004 was as the presence of two convecting lava lakes within an inner crater. The long-lived Ray Lake, ~ 1400 m 2 in area, was the site of up to 10 small Strombolian eruptions per day. A new but short-lived, ~ 1000–1200 m 2 lake formed at Werner vent in December 2004 sourced by lava flowing from a crater formed in 1993 by a phreatic eruption. We measured the radiative heat flux from the two lakes in December 2004 using a compact infrared (IR) imaging camera. Daily thermal IR surveys from the Main Crater rim provide images of the lava lake surface temperatures and identify sites of upwelling and downwelling. The radiative heat outputs calculated for the Ray and Werner Lakes are 30–35 MW and 20 MW, respectively. We estimate that the magma flux needed to sustain the combined heat loss is ~ 250–710 kg s − 1 , that the minimum volume of the magma reservoir is 2 km 3, and that the radius of the conduit feeding the Ray lake is ~ 2 m.

Geochemistry and mineralogy of the phonolite lava lake, Erebus volcano, Antarctica: 1972–2004 and comparison with older lavas

Mount Erebus, Antarctica, is a large (3794 m) alkaline open-conduit stratovolcano that hosts a vigorously convecting and persistently degassing lake of anorthoclase phonolite magma. The composition of the lake was investigated by analyzing glass and mineral compositions in lava bombs erupted between 1972 and 2004. Matrix glass, titanomagnetite, olivine, clinopyroxene, and fluor-apatite compositions are invariant and show that the magmatic temperature (∼ 1000°C) and oxygen fugacity (ΔlogFMQ = − 0.9) have been stable. Large temperature variations at the lake surface (~ 400–500°C) are not reflected in mineral compositions. Anorthoclase phenocrysts up to 10 cm in length feature a restricted compositional range (An 10.3–22.9Ab 62.8–68.1Or 11.4–27.2) with complex textural and compositional zoning. Anorthoclase textures and compositions indicate crystallization occurs at low degrees of effective undercooling. We propose shallow water exsolution causes crystallization and shallow convection cycles the anorthoclase crystals through many episodes of growth resulting in their exceptional size. Minor variations in eruptive activity from 1972 to 2004 are decoupled from magma compositions. The variations probably relate to changes in conduit geometry within the volcano and/or variable input of CO 2-rich volatiles into the upper-level magma chamber from deeper in the system. Eleven bulk samples of phonolite lava from the summit plateau that range in age from 0 ± 4 ka to 17 ± 8 ka were analyzed for major and trace elements. Small compositional variations are controlled by anorthoclase content. The lavas are indistinguishable from modern bulk lava bomb compositions and demonstrate that Erebus volcano has been erupting lava and tephra from the summit region with the same bulk composition for ∼ 17 ka.

Volcanic emissions of metals and halogens from White Island (New Zealand) and Erebus volcano (Antarctica) determined with chemical traps

Volcanic emission rates of As, Sb, Pb, Hg, Se, Cl, and F were determined at Erebus volcano, Antarctica and White Island, New Zealand, using chemical traps. The trace metal fluxes were determined by combining the species to S ratios in the solutions with SO 2 emission rates measured by correlation spectrometry at the two volcanoes. At Erebus volcano, fluxes for the metals Pb and Hg were 2.0 × 10 − 4 and 8.1 × 10 − 6 kg s − 11 , respectively. Fluxes for Cl, F, As, Sb and Se (0.35, 0.15, 2.5 × 10 − 4 , 1.2 × 10 − 5 , and 4.5 × 10 − 6 kg s − 1 , respectively) agreed within error limits for values determined previously by the LiOH impregnated filter method [Zreda-Gostynska, G., Kyle, P., Finnegan, D., Prestbo, K., 1997. Volcanic gas emissions from Mount Erebus and their impact on the Antarctic environment. Journal of Geophysical Research, 102(B7): 15039–15055.], demonstrating the utility of the chemical trap method. A fall in the As/S ratio from 7 × 10 − 4 in 1997/1999 to 3 × 10 − 4 in 2000 at Erebus coincided with a change in the frequency and style of eruptive activity that may have been due to injection of magma into the system. At White Island, chemical trap data indicated fluxes of Cl = 0.90, F = 0.0079, Pb = 2.7 × 10 − 4 , Hg = 1.1 × 10 − 5 , As = 1.3 × 10 − 4 , Sb = 1.9 × 10 − 5 and Se = 1.5 × 10 − 5 kg s − 1 . Samples collected 600 m downwind of the active crater were comparable to samples collected adjacent to the main gas vent, showing that this method can still be used at some distance from a degassing vent.

An FTIR study of hydrogen in anorthoclase and associated melt inclusions

High-resolution Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been used to document the presence of hydrogen, to estimate its concentration, and to document its oxygen speciation in anorthoclase crystals and associated melt inclusions from Mount Erebus, Antarctica. Synchrotron-generated infrared radiation, 100 to 1000 times brighter than globar-generated infrared radiation, permits rapid collection of maps that depict relative intensities of a chosen FTIR band across the mapped area. Spectra and/or compositional maps showing variations in water concentration were collected from anorthoclase megacrysts and melt inclusions in the megacrysts. Studies of anorthoclase megacrysts involved collection of spectra from three mutually perpendicular sections cut from the crystals. FTIR spectra of anorthoclase crystals are characterized by a broad absorption band at approximately 3200 cm{sup -1} in the mid-IR range. The universal mass absorption coefficient for mid-IR range feldspar spectra, established by Johnson and Rossman (2003), was used for quantitative estimates of water concentrations in the feldspar crystals based on integrated area under the 3200 cm{sup -1} band. Water concentration in the anorthoclase sample was approximately 126 ppm, with an overall error of approximately {+-}30%. FTIR spectra of melt inclusions are characterized by a broad asymmetric absorption band at {approx}3550 cm{sup -1} that was used tomore » calculate total water concentration. The absence of a band at 1630 cm{sup -1} suggests that water in the melt inclusions occurs as OH{sup -} rather than as molecular H{sub 2}O. Absorption coefficients established by Mandeville et al. (2002) for H species in glass were used to calculate water concentrations in the melt inclusions. Melt inclusions in the Mt. Erebus anorthoclase have water concentrations ranging from 0.12 to 0.39 wt%, with an overall error of approximately {+-}15%. The ratio of water in anorthoclase crystals to water in the melt from which the crystals formed, based on this study, and at these low melt water concentrations, is approximately 1:10. However, water concentration varies significantly from one melt inclusion to another, possibly suggesting initial melt water heterogeneity. Maps of water concentration show that variations in water concentration within melt inclusions are associated with fractures that cut the melt inclusions and in some cases do not extend out into surrounding crystals or into crystal inclusions. Thin ({approx}50 {micro}m thick) zones of elevated water concentrations on the boundaries of the crystals in contact with melt inclusions suggest that water has diffused into the crystals from the melt inclusions.« less

Monitoring rapid temporal change in a volcano with coda wave interferometry

Multiply–scattered waves typically dominate the late part of the seismic coda in local earthquake seismograms. Small medium changes that have no detectable influence on the first arrivals are amplified by multiple scattering and may thus be readily observed in the coda. We exploit this idea using Coda Wave Interferometry to monitor temporal changes at Mount Erebus Volcano, Antarctica. Erebus is one of the few volcanoes on Earth with a long–lived convecting lava lake. Large exsolved gas bubbles generate impulsive Strombolian explosions that provide a repeating seismic source of seismic energy propagating through the strongly scattering geology of the volcano. We examined these signals during a particularly active eruptive two–month period between December, 1999 and February, 2000. Early seismograms are highly reproducible throughout this period. During the first month this is also the case for the coda. Approximately midway through this period, however, the seismic coda decorrelates rapidly over a period of several days. This indicates a rapid change in the scattering properties of the volcano, likely reflecting subtle changes in the near–summit magma/conduit system that would not be discernible using direct– or single–scattered seismic wave methods.

GPS evidence for a coherent Antarctic plate and for postglacial rebound in Marie Byrd Land

GPS measurements collected between 1999 and 2002 in Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica indicate no significant present motion between East and West Antarctica greater than 1–2 mm/year. Low strain rates imply that the Ross Sea rift is either inactive or active at a very low rate. This result indicates that the two subcontinents are likely joined as a single coherent lithospheric plate. They could have been joined since the end of Adare Trough spreading in Oligocene time. The volcanic activity in the Ross Sea sector at present such as at Mount Erebus is most likely related to mantle upwelling and not associated with continental rifting. GPS measurements of vertical rates indicate postglacial rebound of up to 12±4 mm/year in western Marie Byrd Land (wMBL). Errors are scaled 1 σ. The rock uplift rates are consistent with postglacial rebound models of significant ice thinning in the eastern Ross Ice Shelf in the late Holocene.

40Ar/39Ar dating of the eruptive history of Mount Erebus, Antarctica: volcano evolution

Mt. Erebus, a 3,794-meter-high active polygenetic stratovolcano, is composed of voluminous anorthoclase-phyric tephriphonolite and phonolite lavas overlying unknown volumes of poorly exposed, less differentiated lavas. The older basanite to phonotephrite lavas crop out on Fang Ridge, an eroded remnant of a proto-Erebus volcano and at other isolated locations on the flanks of the Mt. Erebus edifice. Anorthoclase feldspars in the phonolitic lavas are large (~10 cm), abundant (~30–40%) and contain numerous melt inclusions. Although excess argon is known to exist within the melt inclusions, rigorous sample preparation was used to remove the majority of the contaminant. Twenty-five sample sites were dated by the 40Ar/39Ar method (using 20 anorthoclase, 5 plagioclase and 9 groundmass concentrates) to examine the eruptive history of the volcano. Cape Barne, the oldest site, is 1,311±16 ka and represents the first of three stages of eruptive activity on the Mt. Erebus edifice. It shows a transition from sub-aqueous to sub-aerial volcanism that may mark the initiation of proto-Erebus eruptive activity. It is inferred that a further ~300 ky of basanitic/phonotephritic volcanism built a low, broad platform shield volcano. Cessation of the shield-building phase is marked by eruptions at Fang Ridge at ~1,000 ka. The termination of proto-Erebus eruptive activity is marked by the stratigraphically highest flow at Fang Ridge (758±20 ka). Younger lavas (~550–250 ka) on a modern-Erebus edifice are characterized by phonotephrites, tephriphonolites and trachytes. Plagioclase-phyric phonotephrite from coastal and flank flows yield ages between 531±38 and 368±18 ka. The initiation of anorthoclase tephriphonolite occurred in the southwest sector of the volcano at and around Turks Head (243±10 ka). A short pulse of effusive activity marked by crustal contamination occurred ~160 ka as indicated by at least two trachytic flows (157±6 and 166±10 ka). Most anorthoclase-phyric lavas, characteristic of Mt. Erebus, are less than 250 ka. All Mt. Erebus flows between about 250 and 90 ka are anorthoclase tephriphonolite in composition.

40Ar/39Ar dating of the eruptive history of Mount Erebus, Antarctica: summit flows, tephra, and caldera collapse

Eruptive activity has occurred in the summit region of Mount Erebus over the last 95 ky, and has included numerous lava flows and small explosive eruptions, at least one plinian eruption, and at least one and probably two caldera-forming events. Furnace and laser step-heating 40Ar/39Ar ages have been determined for 16 summit lava flows and three englacial tephra layers erupted from Mount Erebus. The summit region is composed of at least one or possibly two superimposed calderas that have been filled by post-caldera lava flows ranging in age from 17 ± 8 to 1 ± 5 ka. Dated pre-caldera summit flows display two age populations at 95 ± 9 to 76 ± 4 ka and 27 ± 3 to 21 ± 4 ka of samples with tephriphonolite and phonolite compositions, respectively. A caldera-collapse event occurred between 25 and 11 ka. An older caldera-collapse event is likely to have occurred between 80 and 24 ka. Two englacial tephra layers from the flanks of Mount Erebus have been dated at 71 ± 5 and 15 ± 4 ka. These layers stratigraphically bracket 14 undated tephra layers, and predate 19 undated tephra layers, indicating that small-scale explosive activity has occurred throughout the late Pleistocene and Holocene eruptive history of Mount Erebus. A distal, englacial plinian-fall tephra sample has an age of 39 ± 6 ka and may have been associated with the older of the two caldera-collapse events. A shift in magma composition from tephriphonolite to phonolite occurred at around 36 ka.

Real‐time data received from Mount Erebus Volcano, Antarctica

Internal and eruptive volcano processes involve complex interactions of multi‐phase fluids with the solid Earth and the atmosphere, and produce diverse geochemical, visible, thermal, elastic, and anelastic effects. Multidisciplinary experimental agendas are increasingly being employed to meet the challenge of understanding active volcanoes and their hazards [e.g.,Ripepe et al., 2002; Wallace et al., 2003].Mount Erebus is a large (3794 m) stratovolcano that forms the centerpiece of Ross Island, Antarctica, the site of the principal US. (McMurdo) and New Zealand (Scott) Antarctic bases. With an elevation of 3794 m and a volume of ∼1670 km3, Erebus offers exceptional opportunities for extended study of volcano processes because of its persistent, low‐level, strombolian activity (Volcano Explosivity Index 0–1) and exposed summit magma reservoir (manifested as a long‐lived phonolitic lava lake). Key scientific questions include linking conduit processes to near‐field deformations [e.g., Aster et al., 2003] ,explosion physics [ e.g., Johnson et al., 2003], magmatic differentiation and residence [e.g., Kyle et al., 1992], and effects on Antarctic atmospheric and ice geochemistry [e.g., Zreda‐Gostynska et al., 1997]. The close proximity of Erebus (35 km) to McMurdo, and its characteristic dry, windy, cold, and high‐elevation Antarctic environment, make the volcano a convenient test bed for the general development of volcano surveillance and other instrumentation under extreme conditions.

Rayleigh-wave group velocity distribution in the Antarctic region

We determined 2D group velocity distribution of Rayleigh waves at periods of 20–150 s in the Antarctic region using a tomographic inversion technique. The data are recorded by both permanent networks and temporary arrays. In East Antarctica the velocities are high at periods of 90–150 s, suggesting that the root of East Antarctica is very deep. The velocities in West Antarctica are low at all periods, which may be related to the volcanic activity and the West Antarctic Rift System. Low velocity anomalies appear at periods of 40–140 s along the Southeastern Indian Ridge and the western part of the Pacific Antarctic Ridge. The velocities are only slightly low around the Atlantic Indian Ridge, Southwestern Indian Ridge, and the eastern part of the Pacific Antarctic Ridge, where the spreading rates are small. Around two hotspots, the Mount Erebus and Balleny Islands, the velocity is low at periods of 50–150 s.

Very long period oscillations of Mount Erebus Volcano

The exposed top of the conduit system at Mount Erebus Volcano, Ross Island, Antarctica, is a convecting lava (magma) lake hosting Strombolian eruptions caused by the explosive decompression of large (up to 5 m radius) gas slugs. Short‐period (SP; f ≥1 Hz) seismoacoustic eruption seismograms are accompanied by oscillatory very long period (VLP) signals observed in the near field by broadband seismometers 0.7 to 2.5 km from the lava lake. A variable VLP onset, preceding eruptions by several seconds, is followed by a repeatable VLP coda that persists for several minutes until the lava lake recovers to its preeruptive level. VLP signals are dominated by distinct decaying nonharmonic modes, the largest at periods of 20.7, 11.3, and 7.8 s, with respective source Q values of approximately 11, 18, and 4. Particle motions indicate a temporally evolving source producing increasingly vertical posteruptive displacements as the signal decays. VLP scalar moments, up to ∼5×1011 N m, exceed SP moments by an order of magnitude or more, suggesting distinct, though genetically related, SP and VLP source mechanisms. We conclude that VLP signals arise from excitation of a quasi‐linear resonator that is intimately associated with the conduit system and is excited by gravity and inertial forces associated with gas slug ascent, eruption, and magma recharge. VLP signal stability across hundreds of eruptions spanning 5 years, the persistence of the lava lake, and the rapid posteruptive lava lake recovery indicate a stable near‐summit magma reservoir and VLP source process.

Lead, Ba and Bi in Antarctic Law Dome ice corresponding to the 1815 AD Tambora eruption: an assessment of emission sources using Pb isotopes

Lead, Ba and Bi concentrations and Pb isotopic compositions have been measured in Antarctic Law Dome (66.8°S, 112.4°E) ice dated from 1814 AD to 1819 AD by thermal ionisation mass spectrometry to investigate the possible deposition of heavy metals from the 1815 AD eruption of Tambora volcano (8.5°S, 117.4°E) in Indonesia. Although volcanic S emissions from Tambora (observed as SO 4 2−) are present in the Antarctic ice core record, there are grounds to question the origin of the Pb and Bi also deposited at Law Dome from late 1817, as the Pb isotope data suggest this Pb originated from Mount Erebus (77.5°S, 167.2°E) on Ross Island, Antarctica. It is shown that at least 97% of any Pb and Bi emitted from Tambora was removed from the atmosphere within the 1.6 year period required to transport aerosols from Indonesia to Antarctica. Consequently, increased Pb and Bi concentrations observed in Law Dome ice about 1818 AD are attributed to either increased heavy metal emissions from Mount Erebus, or increased fluxes of heavy metals to the Antarctic ice sheet resulting from climate and meteorological modifications following the Tambora eruption. Elevated Ba concentrations, observed from mid-1816 to mid-1818, indicate increased atmospheric loading of rock and soil dust also occurred at the time.

Carbon dioxide emissions from fumarolic ice towers, Mount Erebus volcano, Antarctica

Abstract Degassing at Mount Erebus occurs as a plume from a persistent convecting anorthoclase phonolite lava lake, and by flank degassing through warm ground and fumarolic ice towers within the summit caldera. The fumarolic ice towers offer a unique and simple approach to quantifying the flank CO 2 emissions. Carbon dioxide effluxes were determined at openings in the ice towers by measuring the CO 2 concentration, air-flow velocity, and size of the exit orifice. Fluxes ranged from <0.0001 to 0.034 kg s −1 at 43 actively degassing ice towers. Small patches of steaming warm ground contributed 0.010 kg s −1 . The δ 13 C isotopic compositions of the CO 2 samples ranged from −2.1 to −4.7‰, suggesting a magmatic origin for the CO 2 . Fumarolic ice towers allow diffuse degassing to be visually identified, providing a strong advantage in determining the total flux rate of these passive emissions. The estimated output of flank CO 2 degassing is 0.46 kg s −1 (40 Mg d −1 ). Compared with direct airborne measurements of the volcanic plume, passive flank emissions constitute less than 2% of the total volcanic CO 2 budget emitted from Mount Erebus.

Year‐round records of bulk and size‐segregated aerosol composition and HCl and HNO3 levels in the Dumont d'Urville (coastal Antarctica) atmosphere: Implications for sea‐salt aerosol fractionation in the winter and summer

Year‐round composition of bulk and size‐segregated aerosol was examined at a coastal Antarctic site (Dumont d'Urville). Sea‐salt particles display a summer depletion of chloride relative to sodium, which reaches ∼10%. The mass chloride loss is maximum on 1‐ to 3‐μm‐diameter particles, nitrate being often the anion causing the chloride loss. The summer SO42−/Na+ ratio exceeds the seawater value on submicron particles due to biogenic sulfate and on coarse particles due to ornithogenic (guano‐enriched soils) sulfate and to heterogeneous uptake of SO2 (or H2SO4). HCl levels range from 47 ± 28 ng m−3 in the winter to 130 ± 110 ng m−3 in the summer, being close to the mass chloride loss of sea‐salt aerosols. In the winter, sea‐salt particles exhibit Cl−/Na+ and SO42−/Na+ mass ratios of 1.9 ± 0.1 and 0.13 ± 0.04, respectively. Resulting from precipitation of mirabilite during freezing of seawater, this sulfate‐depletion‐relative sodium takes place from May to October. From March to April, warmer temperatures and/or smaller sea ice extent offshore the site limit the phenomenon. A range of 14–50 ng m−3 of submicron sulfate is found, confirming the existence of nssSO42− in the winter at a coastal Antarctic site, highest values being found in the winters of 1992–1994 due to the Pinatubo volcanic input. Apart from these three winters, nssSO42− levels range between 15 and 30 ng m−3, but its origin is still unclear (quasi‐continuous SO2 emissions from the Mount Erebus volcano or local wintertime dimethyl sulfide [DMS] oxidation, in addition to long‐range transported by‐product of DMS oxidation).