Comparing satellite and ground-based observations of paroxysmal degassing events at Etna volcano, Italy

Mount Etna, Italy, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, and is also regarded as one of the strongest volcanic sources of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions to the atmosphere. Since October 2004, an automated ultraviolet (UV) spectrometer network (FLAME) has provided ground-based SO2 measurements with high temporal resolution, providing an opportunity to validate satellite SO2 measurements at Etna. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the NASA Aura satellite, which makes global daily measurements of trace gases in the atmosphere, was used to compare SO2 amount released by the volcano during paroxysmal lava-fountaining events from 2004 to present. We present the first comparison between SO2 emission rates and SO2 burdens obtained by the OMI transect technique and OMI Normalized Cloud-Mass (NCM) technique and the ground-based FLAME Mini-DOAS measurements. In spite of a good data set from the FLAME network, finding coincident OMI and FLAME measurements proved challenging and only one paroxysmal event provided a good validation for OMI. Another goal of this work was to assess the efficacy of the FLAME network in capturing paroxysmal SO2 emissions from Etna, given that the FLAME network is only operational during daylight hours and some paroxysms occur at night. OMI measurements are advantageous since SO2 emissions from nighttime paroxysms can often be quantified on the following day, providing improved constraints on Etna’s SO2 budget

Caractérisation des sédiments d’un bassin de retenue-décantation des eaux pluviales et éléments pour la gestion

National audienceStormwater runoffs are loaded with metals, PAHs, pesticides and pathogenic bacteria, conveyed for many in particulate form. One of the techniques used to manage this contaminated stormwater is to use retention basins in order to allow settling of the suspended solids. The deposits thus set up represent zones of contamination and a particular waste. The deposits thus constituted represent waste that must be managed. The objectives of this paper are: i) to characterize the sediments of a stormwater retention basin, ii) to identify the variability and heterogeneity of its microbiological, physical, chemical and ecotoxicological characteristics and to highlight the key factors that could explain this variability, iii) establish correlations between characteristics and identify trends in the change of sediment quality. The deriving results show that the median diameter of the sediments is between 50 and 150 μm. They are mostly contaminated with PAH, metals and 4-n-nonylphenol. Concerning the microbiological characterization, the bacteria “cores” observed in the sediments are composed of the bacterial genus which may contain pathogenic forms: Mycobacteria, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Nocardia. Nocardia counts are higher in sediments composed of fine and light particles (grain size between 1.1 and 3.3 μm). The ecotoxicity analysis of these sediments using the “ostracodes” test revealed that “fresh” sediments collected during a storm event were more ecotoxic than old ones. Sediment characteristics trended to become homogenous after 5 years of monitoring. Regarding investigations on the identification of the sources of microbiological contaminants observed in the retention basin, socio-urban observations revealed a direct relationship between the microbiological contamination of runoff and the presence of items and marks leave by socio-economic activities undertaken on the watershed. These results are useful for the managers in order to guide the choice or to stimulate the development of sectors or strategies of treatment and valorization of these sediments