Rapid sensing of volcanic SO₂ fluxes using a dual ultraviolet camera system: new techniques and measurements at Southern Italian volcanoes

Volatiles carry crucial information on pre- to sin-eruptive processes at active volcanoes. Measurements of gas emission rates (crater plumes, fumaroles, diffuse soil degassing) therefore improve our understanding of degassing processes and subsurface magmatic and hydrothermal conditions, and contribute to eruption forecasting. Recent technological developments in spectroscopy have allowed, over the last 30 years, the remote sensing of magmatic volatile emissions from quiescent and erupting degassing volcanoes. These data-sets have contributed to discovering cyclic gas flux components due to periodic magma supply and replenishment in magma storage zones, and/or timescales of magma migration (and degassing) within the feeding conduit systems of volcanoes (chapter 2). In spite of these relevant achievements, a number of magmatic degassing processes have remained elusive to measure, as they occur at a faster rate than the time resolution of most available spectroscopic techniques. In this study, I take advantage of a novel technique - the UV camera (chapter 3) - to image SO2 emissions from the Italian volcanoes with improved high temporal resolution. The UV camera heralds the much awaited prospect of capturing transient (≤ tens of seconds) volcanic gas-driven phenomena, such as Strombolian explosions and puffing. Here, this technique has been updated to a new configuration (dual-camera system), which combines higher temporal resolution (0.5-1.2 Hz) and improved accuracy relative to the single-camera setup. During the first year of this PhD, the methodology has been extensively tested and improved, whilst developing a user-friendly control software (Vulcamera) and a calibration technique (in tandem DOAS-SO2 quartz cells calibration), which simplify instrument deployment, acquisition and data analysis (chapter 4). The results of the volcano applications of the UV camera are described in chapter 5. A first application (chapter 5.2) was focused on SO2 gas flux measurements at individual fumaroles from the La Fossa crater (Vulcano island, Italy) fumarolic field. There, the dual- UV camera technique allowed the simultaneous imaging of multiple-source emissions, discriminating between SO2 contributions from the four main fumarolic areas. The UV camera-derived individual fumarole SO2 fluxes have been used in tandem with MultiGASderived gas/SO2 molar ratios to accurately assess CO2, H2O, and H2S fluxes. Results highlight a factor ~2 increase in CO2 and H2O degassing during the La Fossa crater degassing/heating unrest event of November-December 2009. Bubbles nucleation (birth), coalescence (growth), outgassing and fragmentation (death), are stages of volatile's life within the magma. Our understanding of these processes mainly comes from modelling and textural studies. In this work, I have attempted to retrace part of the gas bubbles' life by measuring - at high rate - SO2 outgassing rates from two openvent volcanoes: Stromboli and Etna. On Stromboli (Chapter 5.3), the UV camera-derived data allowed the first simultaneous estimate of the SO2 flux contribution from the three main forms of degassing at Stromboli (passive degassing, 84-92 %; explosive degassing, 5-8 %; puffing, 3-8 %). The obtained high frequency SO2 flux time-series also revealed the existence of a periodic SO2 degassing pattern over timescales of minutes, modulated by rhythmic strombolian explosions. Also I report on systematic in tandem UV camera-geophysical observations. Among the key results, I provide experimental evidence for a positive correlation between seismic (very-long period; VLP) thermal, and gas (eruptive SO2 mass) signals irradiated by individual Strombolian explosions. During each strombolian event, onset of the SO2 flux emission systematically coincides with deflation of the conduit upon gas slug bursting during the explosion. At Mount Etna (Chapter 5.4), degassing mechanisms and rates have been studied during two field campaigns on Pizzi Dineri (northern rim of Valle del Bove), from which a clear view of the pulsate gas emissions (gas puffing) from the North-east crater was available. The >10 hour acquired SO2 flux time series highlighted a periodic degassing behaviour for this vent, with characteristic periods in the 60-250 s range. This allows deriving new constraints on model gas bubble distribution in a magmatic conduit. The data obtained here support a process of gas packaging into trains of discrete bubble-rich layers. This, coupled with time variations in ascent rate of individual gas bubble layers, may well account for the time-dependent periodicity of observed volcanic SO2 flux emissions

A Low-Cost Smartphone Sensor-Based UV Camera for Volcanic SO2 Emission Measurements

Recently, we reported on the development of low-cost ultraviolet (UV) cameras, based on the modification of sensors designed for the smartphone market. These units are built around modified Raspberry Pi cameras (PiCams; ≈USD 25), and usable system sensitivity was demonstrated in the UVA and UVB spectral regions, of relevance to a number of application areas. Here, we report on the first deployment of PiCam devices in one such field: UV remote sensing of sulphur dioxide emissions from volcanoes; such data provide important insights into magmatic processes and are applied in hazard assessments. In particular, we report on field trials on Mt. Etna, where the utility of these devices in quantifying volcanic sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions was validated. We furthermore performed side-by-side trials of these units against scientific grade cameras, which are currently used in this application, finding that the two systems gave virtually identical flux time series outputs, and that signal-to-noise characteristics of the PiCam units appeared to be more than adequate for volcanological applications. Given the low cost of these sensors, allowing two-filter SO2 camera systems to be assembled for ≈USD 500, they could be suitable for widespread dissemination in volcanic SO2 monitoring internationally

Passive vs. active degassing modes at an open-vent volcano (Stromboli, Italy)

We report here on a UV-camera based field experiment performed on Stromboli volcano during 7 days in 2010 and 2011, aimed at obtaining the very first simultaneous assessment of all the different forms (passive and active) of SO2 release from an open-vent volcano. Using the unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution of the UV camera, we obtained a 0.8 Hz record of the total SO2 flux from Stromboli over a timeframe of 14 h, which ranged between 0.4 and 1.9 kg s 1 around a mean value of 0.7 kg s 1 and we concurrently derived SO2 masses for more than 130 Strombolian explosions and 50 gas puffs. From this, we show erupted SO2 masses have a variability of up to one order of magnitude, and range between 2 and 55 kg (average 20 kg), corresponding to a time integrated flux of 0.0570.01 kg s 1. Our experimental constraints on individual gas puff mass (0.03–0.42 kg of SO2, averaging 0.19 kg) are the first of their kind, equating to an emission rate ranging from 0.02 to 0.27 kg s 1. On this basis, we conclude that puffing is two times more efficient than Strombolian explosions in the magmatic degassing process, and that active degassing (explosionsþpuffing) accounts for 23% (ranging from 10% to 45%) of the volcano’s total SO2 flux, e.g., passive degassing between the explosions contributes the majority ( 77%) of the released gas. We furthermore integrate our UV camera gas data for the explosions and puffs, with independent geophysical data (infrared radiometer data and very long period seismicity), to offer key and novel insights into the degassing dynamics within the shallow conduit systems of this open-vent volcano

Volcanic Lakes in Africa: The VOLADA_Africa 2.0 Database, and Implications for Volcanic Hazard

Volcanic lakes pose specific hazards inherent to the presence of water: phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions, lahars, limnic gas bursts and dispersion of brines in the hydrological network. Here we introduce the updated, interactive and open-access database for African volcanic lakes, country by country. The previous database VOLADA (VOlcanic LAke DAta Base, Rouwet et al., Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2014, 272, 78–97) reported 96 volcanic lakes for Africa. This number is now revised and established at 220, converting VOLADA_Africa 2.0 in the most comprehensive resource for African volcanic lakes: 81 in Uganda, 37 in Kenya, 33 in Cameroon, 28 in Madagascar, 19 in Ethiopia, 6 in Tanzania, 2 in Rwanda, 2 in Sudan, 2 in D.R. Congo, 1 in Libya, and 9 on the minor islands around Africa. We present the current state-of-the-art of arguably all the African volcanic lakes that the global experts and regional research teams are aware of, and provide hints for future research directions, with a special focus on the volcanic hazard assessment. All lakes in the updated database are classified for their genetic origin and their physical and chemical characteristics, and level of study. The predominant rift-related volcanism in Africa favors basaltic eruptive products, leading to volcanoes with highly permeable edifices, and hence less-developed hydrothermal systems. Basal aquifers accumulate under large volcanoes and in rift depressions providing a potential scenario for phreatomagmatic volcanism. This hypothesis, based on a morphometric analysis and volcanological research from literature, conveys the predominance of maar lakes in large monogenetic fields in Africa (e.g. Uganda, Cameroon, Ethiopia), and the absence of peak-activity crater lakes, generally found at polygenetic arc-volcanoes. Considering the large number of maar lakes in Africa (172), within similar geotectonic settings and meteoric conditions as in Cameroon, it is somewhat surprising that “only” from Lake Monoun and Lake Nyos fatal CO2 bursts have been recorded. Explaining why other maars did not experience limnic gas bursts is a question that can only be answered by enhancing insights into physical limnology and fluid geochemistry of the so far poorly studied lakes. From a hazard perspective, there is an urgent need to tackle this task as a community

Protocols for UV camera volcanic SO2 measurements

Ultraviolet camera technology offers considerable promise for enabling 1 Hz timescale acquisitions of volcanic degassing phenomena, providing two orders of magnitude improvements on sampling frequencies from conventionally applied scanning spectrometer systems. This could, for instance enable unprecedented insights into rapid processes, such as strombolian explosions, and non-aliased corroboration with volcano geophysical data. The uptake of this technology has involved disparate methodological approaches, hitherto. As a means of expediting the further proliferation of such systems, we here study these diverse protocols, with the aim of suggesting those we consider optimal. In particular we cover: choice and set up of hardware, calibration for vignetting and for absolute concentrations using quartz SO2 cells, the retrieval algorithm and whether one or two filters, or indeed cameras, are necessary. This work also involves direct intercomparisons with narrowband observations obtained with a scanning spectrometer system, employing a differential optical absorption spectroscopic evaluation routine, as a means of methodological validation

A novel and inexpensive method for measuring volcanic plume water fluxes at high temporal resolution

© 2017 by the authors.Water vapour (H2O) is the dominant species in volcanic gas plumes. Therefore,measurements of H2O fluxes could provide valuable constraints on subsurface degassing and magmatic processes. However, due to the large and variable concentration of this species in the background atmosphere, little attention has been devoted to monitoring the emission rates of this species from volcanoes. Instead, the focus has been placed on remote measurements of SO2, which is present in far lower abundances in plumes, and therefore provides poorer single flux proxies for overall degassing conditions. Here, we present a new technique for the measurement of H2O emissions at degassing volcanoes at high temporal resolution (≈1 Hz), via remote sensing with low cost digital cameras. This approach is analogous to the use of dual band ultraviolet (UV) cameras for measurements of volcanic SO2 release, but is focused on near infrared absorption by H2O. We report on the field deployment of these devices on La Fossa crater, Vulcano Island, and the North East Crater of Mt. Etna, during which in-plume calibration was performed using a humidity sensor, resulting in estimated mean H2O fluxes of ≈15 kg·s-1 and ≈34 kg·s-1, respectively, in accordance with previously reported literature values. By combining the Etna data with parallel UV camera and Multi-GAS observations, we also derived, for the first time, a combined record of 1 Hz gas fluxes for the three most abundant volcanic gas species: H2O, CO2, and SO2. Spectral analysis of the Etna data revealed oscillations in the passive emissions of all three species, with periods spanning ≈40-175 s, and a strong degree of correlation between the periodicity manifested in the SO2 and H2O data, potentially related to the similar exsolution depths of these two gases. In contrast, there was a poorer linkage between oscillations in these species and those of CO2, possibly due to the deeper exsolution of carbon dioxide, giving rise to distinct periodic degassing behaviour

Mercury emissions from soils and fumaroles of Nea Kameni volcanic centre, Santorini (Greece)

There have been limited studies to date targeting mercury emissions from volcanic fumarolic systems, and no mercury flux data exist for soil or fumarolic emissions at Santorini volcanic complex, Greece. We present results from the first geochemical survey of Hg and major volatile (CO2, H2S, H2O and H2) concentrations and fluxes in the fumarolic gases released by the volcanic/hydrothermal system of Nea Kameni islet; the active volcanic center of Santorini. These data were obtained using a portable mercury spectrometer (Lumex 915+) for gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) determination, and a Multi-component Gas Analyzer System (Multi-GAS) for major volatiles. Gaseous Elemental Mercury (GEM) concentrations in the fumarole atmospheric plumes were systematically above background levels (~4 ng GEM m-3), ranging from ~4.5 to 121 ng GEM m-3. Variability in the measured mercury concentrations may result from changes in atmospheric conditions and/or unsteady gas release from the fumaroles. We estimate an average GEM/CO2 mass ratio in the fumarolic gases of Nea Kameni of approximately 10-9, which falls in the range of values obtained at other low-T (100°C) volcanic/hydrothermal systems (~10-8); our measured GEM/H2S mass ratio (10-5) also lies within the accepted representative range (10-4 to 10-6) of non-explosive volcanic degassing. Our estimated mercury flux from Nea Kameni's fumarolic field (2.56 × 10-7 t yr-1), while making up a marginal contribution to the global volcanic non-eruptive GEM emissions from closed-conduit degassing volcanoes, represents the first available assessment of mercury emissions at Santorini volcano, and will contribute to the evaluation of future episodes of unrest at this renowned volcanic complex

Unmanned aerial vehicle measurements of volcanic carbon dioxide fluxes

We report the first measurements of volcanic gases with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The data were collected at La Fossa crater, Vulcano, Italy, during April 2007, with a helicopter UAV of 3 kg payload, carrying an ultraviolet spectrometer for remotely sensing the SO2 flux (8.5 Mg d−1), and an infrared spectrometer, and electrochemical sensor assembly for measuring the plume CO2/SO2 ratio; by multiplying these data we compute a CO2 flux of 170 Mg d−1. Given the deeper exsolution of carbon dioxide from magma, and its lower solubility in hydrothermal systems, relative to SO2, the ability to remotely measure CO2 fluxes is significant, with promise to provide more profound geochemical insights, and earlier eruption forecasts, than possible with SO2 fluxes alone: the most ubiquitous current source of remotely sensed volcanic gas data

UV camera measurements of fumarole field degassing (La Fossa crater, Vulcano Island)

The UV camera is becoming an important new tool in the armory of volcano geochemists to derive high time resolution SO2 flux measurements. Furthermore, the high camera spatial resolution is particularly useful for exploring multiple-source SO2 gas emissions, for instance the composite fumarolic systems topping most quiescent volcanoes. Here, we report on the first SO2 flux measurements from individual fumaroles of the fumarolic field of La Fossa crater (Vulcano Island, Aeolian Island), which we performed using a UV camera in two field campaigns: in November 12, 2009 and February 4, 2010. We derived ~ 0.5 Hz SO2 flux time-series finding fluxes from individual fumaroles, ranging from 2 to 8.7 t d−1, with a total emission from the entire system of ~ 20 t d−1 and ~ 13 t d−1, in November 2009 and February 2010 respectively. These data were augmented with molar H2S/SO2, CO2/SO2 and H2O/SO2 ratios, measured using a portable MultiGAS analyzer, for the individual fumaroles. Using the SO2 flux data in tandem with the molar ratios, we calculated the flux of volcanic species from individual fumaroles, and the crater as a whole: CO2 (684 t d−1 and 293 t d−1), H2S (8 t d−1 and 7.5 t d−1) and H2O (580 t d−1 and 225 t d−1).Published47-52JCR Journalrestricte