Self-limiting atmospheric lifetime of environmentally reactive elements in volcanic plumes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgenia Ilyinskaya ◽  
Emily Mason ◽  
Penny Wieser ◽  
Lacey Holland ◽  
Emma Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Atmospheric Dispersion ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Volcanic Plume ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Volcanic Emissions ◽  
Metal Pollutants ◽  
Volcanic Plumes ◽  
Pollutant Concentrations ◽  
Cadmium And Lead

<p>Volcanoes are a large global source of almost every element, including ~20 environmentally reactive trace elements classified as metal pollutants (e.g. selenium, cadmium and lead). Fluxes of metal pollutants from individual eruptions can be comparable to total anthropogenic emissions from large countries such as China.</p><p>The 2018 Lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea, Hawaii produced exceptionally high emission rates of major and trace chemical species compared to other basaltic eruptions over 3 months (200 kt/day of SO<sub>2</sub>; Kern et al. 2019). We tracked the volcanic plume from vent to exposed communities over 0-240 km distance using in-situ sampling and atmospheric dispersion modelling. This is the first time that trace elements in volcanic emissions (~60 species) are mapped over such distances. In 2019, we repeated the field campaign during a no-eruption period and showed that volcanic emissions had caused 3-5 orders of magnitude increase in airborne metal pollutant concentrations across the Island of Hawai’i.</p><p>We show that the volatility of the elements (the ease with which they are degassed from the magma) controls their particle-phase speciation, which in turn determines how fast they are depleted from the plume after emission. Elements with high magmatic volatilities (e.g. selenium, cadmium and lead) have up to 6 orders of magnitude higher depletion rates compared to non-volatile elements (e.g. magnesium, aluminium and rare earth metals).</p><p>Previous research and hazard mitigation efforts on volcanic emissions have focussed on sulphur and it has been assumed that other pollutants follow the same dispersion patterns. Our results show that the atmospheric fate of sulphur, and therefore the associated hazard distribution, does not represent an accurate guide to the behaviour and potential impacts of other species in volcanic emissions. Metal pollutants are predominantly volatile in volcanic plumes, and their rapid deposition (self-limited by their volatility) places disproportionate environmental burdens on the populated areas in the immediate vicinity of the active and, in turn, reduces the impacts on far-field communities.</p><p>Reference: Kern, C., T. Elias, P. Nadeau, A. H. Lerner, C. A. Werner, M. Cappos, L. E. Clor, P. J. Kelly, V. J. Realmuto, N. Theys, S. A. Carn, AGU, 2019; https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm19/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/507140.</p>

scholarly journals Rapid metal pollutant deposition from the volcanic plume of Kīlauea, Hawai’i

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgenia Ilyinskaya ◽  
Emily Mason ◽  
Penny E. Wieser ◽  
Lacey Holland ◽  
Emma J. Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wet Deposition ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Volcanic Plume ◽  
Volcanic Emissions ◽  
High Discharge ◽  
Metal Pollutants ◽  
Pollutant Deposition ◽  
Cadmium And Lead ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractLong-lived basaltic volcanic eruptions are a globally important source of environmentally reactive, volatile metal pollutant elements such as selenium, cadmium and lead. The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea, Hawai’i produced exceptionally high discharge of metal pollutants, and was an unprecedented opportunity to track them from vent to deposition. Here we show, through geochemical sampling of the plume that volatile metal pollutants were depleted in the plume up to 100 times faster than refractory species, such as magnesium and iron. We propose that this rapid wet deposition of complexes containing reactive and potentially toxic volatile metal pollutants may disproportionately impact localised areas close to the vent. We infer that the relationship between volatility and solubility is an important control on the atmospheric behaviour of elements. We suggest that assessment of hazards from volcanic emissions should account for heterogeneous plume depletion of metal pollutants.

scholarly journals Systematic investigation of bromine monoxide in volcanic plumes from space by using the GOME-2 instrument

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4749-4781 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Hörmann ◽  
H. Sihler ◽  
N. Bobrowski ◽  
S. Beirle ◽  
M. Penning de Vries ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Relationship ◽  
Close Correlation ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Volcanic Plume ◽  
Volcanic Emissions ◽  
Volcanic Origin ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Volcanic Plumes ◽  
Linear Fit

Abstract. During recent years, volcanic emissions turned out to be a natural source of bromine compounds in the atmosphere. While the initial formation process of bromine monoxide (BrO) has been successfully studied in local ground-based measurements at quiescent degassing volcanoes worldwide, literature on the chemical evolution of BrO on large spatial and temporal scales is sparse. The first space-based observation of a volcanic BrO plume following the Kasatochi eruption in 2008 demonstrated the capability of satellite instruments to monitor such events on a global scale. In this study, we systematically examined GOME-2 observations from January 2007 until June 2011 for significantly enhanced BrO slant column densities (SCDs) in the vicinity of volcanic plumes. In total, 772 plumes from at least 37 volcanoes have been found by using sulphur dioxide (SO2) as a tracer for a volcanic plume. All captured SO2 plumes were subsequently analysed for a simultaneous enhancement of BrO and the data were checked for a possible spatial correlation between the two species. Additionally, the mean BrO/SO2 ratios for all volcanic plumes have been calculated by the application of a bivariate linear fit. A total number of 64 volcanic plumes from at least 11 different volcanoes showed clear evidence for BrO of volcanic origin, revealing large differences in the BrO/SO2 ratios (ranging from some 10−5 to several 10−4) and the spatial distribution of both species. A close correlation between SO2 and BrO occurred only for some of the observed eruptions or just in certain parts of the examined plumes. For other cases, only a rough spatial relationship was found. We discuss possible explanations for the occurrence of the different spatial SO2 and BrO distributions in aged volcanic plumes.

scholarly journals Passive degassing at Nyiragongo (D.R. Congo) and Etna (Italy) volcanoes

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Calabrese ◽  
Sarah Scaglione ◽  
Silvia Milazzo ◽  
Walter D'Alessandro ◽  
Nicole Bobrowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Trace Element ◽  
Major And Trace Elements ◽  
Trace Element Composition ◽  
Bulk Deposition ◽  
Volcanic Plume ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Volcanic Emissions ◽  
Endemic Plant ◽  
The Impact

<p>Volcanoes are well known as an impressive large natural source of trace elements into the troposphere. Etna (Italy) and Nyiragongo (D.R. Congo) are two stratovolcanoes located in different geological settings, both characterized by persistent passive degassing from their summit craters. Here, we present some results on trace element composition in volcanic plume emissions, atmospheric bulk deposition (rainwater) and their uptake by the surrounding vegetation, with the aim to compare and identify differences and similarities between these two volcanoes. Volcanic emissions were sampled by using active filter-pack for acid gases (sulfur and halogens) and specific teflon filters for particulates (major and trace elements). The impact of the volcanogenic deposition in the surrounding of the crater rims was investigated by using different sampling techniques: bulk rain collectors gauges were used to collect atmospheric bulk deposition, and biomonitoring technique was carried out to collect gases and particulates by using endemic plant species. The estimates of the trace element fluxes confirm that Etna and Nyiragongo are large sources of metals into the atmosphere, especially considering their persistent state of passive degassing. The large amount of emitted trace elements has a strong impact on the close surrounding of both volcanoes. This is clearly reflected by in the chemical composition of rainwater collected at the summit areas both for Etna and Nyiragongo. Moreover, the biomonitoring results highlight that bioaccumulation of trace elements is extremely high in the proximity of the crater rim and decreases with the distance from the active craters.</p>

scholarly journals Simulations and parameterisation of shallow volcanic plumes of Piton de la Fournaise, La Réunion Island using Méso-NH version 4-9-3

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 8361-8397
Author(s):  
S. G. Sivia ◽  
F. Gheusi ◽  
C. Mari ◽  
A. Di Muro
Keyword(s):  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Eddy Diffusivity ◽  
Volcanic Plume ◽  
Volcanic Emissions ◽  
Summit Eruption ◽  
Piton De La Fournaise ◽  
Volcanic Plumes ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Convective Motions ◽  
La Réunion Island

Abstract. In mesoscale models (resolution ~1 km) used for regional dispersion of pollution plumes, the heat sources, the induced atmospheric convective motions and the volcanic emissions of gases and aerosols are all sub-grid scale processes (mostly true for effusive eruptions) which need to be parameterized. We propose a modified formulation of the EDMF scheme (Eddy Diffusivity-Mass Flux) proposed by Pergaud et al. (2009) which is based on a single updraft. It is used to represent volcano induced updrafts tested for a case study of January 2010 summit eruption of Piton de la Fournaise (PdF) volcano. The validation of this modified formulation using large eddy simulation (LES) focuses on the ability of the model to transport tracer concentrations up to 1–2 km in the lower troposphere as is the case of majority of PdF eruptions. The modelled volcanic plume agrees well with the SO2 (sulphur dioxide) tracer concentrations found with LES and a sensitivity test performed for the modified formulation of the EDMF scheme emphasizes the sensitivity of the parameterisation to entrainment at the plume base.

scholarly journals Systematic investigation of bromine monoxide in volcanic plumes from space by using the GOME-2 instrument

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 29325-29389 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Hörmann ◽  
H. Sihler ◽  
N. Bobrowski ◽  
S. Beirle ◽  
M. Penning de Vries ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Relationship ◽  
Close Correlation ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Volcanic Plume ◽  
Volcanic Emissions ◽  
Volcanic Origin ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Volcanic Plumes ◽  
Linear Fit

Abstract. During recent years, volcanic emissions turned out to be a natural source of bromine compounds in the atmosphere. While the inital formation process of bromine monoxide (BrO) has been successfully studied in local ground-based measurements at quiescent degassing volcanoes worldwide, literature on the chemical evolution of BrO on large spatial and temporal scales is sparse. The first space-based observation of a volcanic BrO plume following the Kasatochi eruption in 2008 demonstrated the capability of satellite instruments to monitor such events on a global scale. In this study, we systematically examined GOME-2 observations from January 2007 until June 2011 for significantly enhanced BrO slant column densities (SCDs) in the vicinity of volcanic plumes. In total, 772 plumes from at least 37 volcanoes have been found by using sulphur dioxide (SO2) as a tracer for a volcanic plume. All captured SO2 plumes were subsequently analysed for a simultaneous enhancement of BrO and the data were checked for a possible spatial correlation between the two species. Additionally, the mean BrO/SO2 ratios for all volcanic plumes have been calculated by the application of a bivariate linear fit. A total number of 64 volcanic plumes from at least 11 different volcanoes showed clear evidence for BrO of volcanic origin, revealing large differences in the BrO/SO2 ratios (ranging from some 10−5 to several 10−4) and the spatial distribution of both species. A close correlation between SO2 and BrO occurred only for some of the observed eruptions or just in certain parts of the examined plumes. For other cases, only a rough spatial relationship was found. We discuss possible explanations for the occurrence of the different spatial SO2 and BrO distributions in aged volcanic plumes.

scholarly journals Facing metal stress by multiple strategies: morphophysiological responses of cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) grown in hydroponics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina Sorrentino ◽  
Fiore Capozzi ◽  
Chiara Amitrano ◽  
Gaetano De Tommaso ◽  
Carmen Arena ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal Contamination ◽  
Photosynthetic Pigment ◽  
Metal Stress ◽  
Cynara Cardunculus ◽  
Antioxidant Power ◽  
Metal Pollutants ◽  
Multiple Strategies ◽  
Photosynthetic Pigment Content ◽  
Cadmium And Lead ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractThe contamination of environments by heavy metals has become an urgent issue causing undesirable accumulations and severe damages to agricultural crops, especially cadmium and lead which are among the most widespread and dangerous metal pollutants worldwide. The selection of proper species is a crucial step in many plant-based restoration approaches; therefore, the aim of the present work was to check for early morphophysiological responsive traits in three cultivars of Cynara cardunculus (Sardo, Siciliano, and Spagnolo), helping to select the best performing cultivar for phytoremediation. For all three tested cultivars, our results indicate that cardoon displays some morphophysiological traits to face Cd and Pb pollution, particularly at the root morphology level, element uptake ability, and photosynthetic pigment content. Other traits show instead a cultivar-specific behavior; in fact, stomata plasticity, photosynthetic pattern, and antioxidant power provide different responses, but only Spagnolo cv. achieves a successful strategy attaining a real resilience to metal stress. The capacity of Spagnolo plants to modify leaf structural and physiological traits under heavy metal contamination to maintain high photosynthetic efficiency should be considered an elective trait for its use in contaminated environments.

scholarly journals Ensemble Forecasting of Volcanic Emissions in Hawai’i

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Kristofer Pattantyus ◽  
Steven Businger
Keyword(s):  
Deterministic Model ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Dispersion Model ◽  
Probabilistic Forecast ◽  
Model Forecast ◽  
Volcanic Emissions ◽  
Ensemble Forecasts ◽  
Pollutant Concentrations ◽  
Ensemble Mean ◽  
Initial Comparison

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="section"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Deterministic model forecasts do not convey to the end users the forecast uncertainty the models possess as a result of physics parameterizations, simplifications in model representation of physical processes, and errors in initial conditions. This lack of understanding leads to a level of uncertainty in the forecasted value when only a single deterministic model forecast is available. Increasing computational power and parallel software architecture allows multiple simulations to be carried out simultaneously that yield useful measures of model uncertainty that can be derived from ensemble model results. The Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integration Trajectory and Dispersion model has the ability to generate ensemble forecasts. A meteorological ensemble was formed to create probabilistic forecast products and an ensemble mean forecast for volcanic emissions from the Kilauea volcano that impacts the state of Hawai’i. The probabilistic forecast products show uncertainty in pollutant concentrations that are especially useful for decision-making regarding public health. Initial comparison of the ensemble mean forecasts with observations and a single model forecast show improvements in event timing for both sulfur dioxide and sulfate aerosol forecasts. </span></p></div></div></div></div><p> </p>

scholarly journals Detection of Volcanic Plumes by GPS: the 23 November 2013 Episode on Mt. Etna

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Aranzulla ◽  
Flavio Cannavò ◽  
Simona Scollo
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Explosive Eruptions ◽  
Volcanic Plume ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Volcanic Plumes ◽  
Gps Network ◽  
Mt Etna ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Aviation Operations

<p>The detection of volcanic plumes produced during explosive eruptions is important to improve our understanding on dispersal processes and reduce risks to aviation operations. The ability of Global Position-ing System (GPS) to retrieve volcanic plumes is one of the new challenges of the last years in volcanic plume detection. In this work, we analyze the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) data from 21 permanent stations of the GPS network of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Etneo, that are located on the Mt. Etna (Italy) flanks. Being one of the most explosive events since 2011, the eruption of November 23, 2013 was chosen as a test-case. Results show some variations in the SNR data that can be correlated with the presence of an ash-laden plume in the atmosphere. Benefits and limitations of the method are highlighted.</p>

Impacts of COVID-19 lockdown strategies on NOx, CO and CO2 surface observations on two megacities: focus on the traffic sector in Mexico City (Mexico) and Paris (France)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Tran ◽  
Michel Ramonet ◽  
Thomas Lauvaux ◽  
Philippe Ciais ◽  
Olivier Laurent ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mexico City ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Atmospheric Dispersion ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Capital Cities ◽  
Pollutant Concentrations ◽  
Travel Restrictions ◽  
Co Concentrations

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic imposed countries to apply stringent policies to slow down the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. During the Spring time, most countries had announced a national lockdown that had important consequences on many capital cities such as Mexico City and Paris. The shutdown of many of these economic activities had a direct impact on the traffic sector. Travel restrictions led to a drastic decrease of major air pollutants in those two cities. From each local air quality monitoring network, we discriminated background, urban and traffic sites. By looking at the differences between urban sites versus background sites, we observed in Mexico City a decrease of 51%, 58&amp;#160;% and 44&amp;#160;% for &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#916;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NO&lt;/span&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;span&gt;x&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;span&gt;, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#916;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;CO&lt;/span&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;span&gt;2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;span&gt; and &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#916;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;CO concentrations, respectively, during the lockdown. Markedly, their concentrations remained below typical levels after the end of the lockdown until September. Then, from September to the end of the year, the pollutants concentrations increased back to the same level as before the lockdown. The same behavior was seen at Paris. During the spring lockdown period, we observed a decrease of 72&amp;#160;%, 70&amp;#160;% and 88&amp;#160;% for &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#916;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NO&lt;/span&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;span&gt;x&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;span&gt;, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#916;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;CO&lt;/span&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;span&gt;2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;span&gt; and &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#916;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;CO concentrations, respectively. Until the end of the summer, the concentrations of those pollutants remained at the same level as during the lockdown. From September, we observed an increase of pollutants concentrations to the levels of previous years. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Despite road traffic increases by the end of the lockdown in both megacities, the remainly low concentrations seen for those pollutants until September might be an effect of the atmospheric dispersion combined with a slow reactivation of anthropogenic activities. Nevertheless, a second lockdown period imposed in France (from Oct. 30 to Dec. 15) have clearly not shown the same impact on pollutant concentrations as the first one exhibited. On the contrary, no significant changes in pollutant concentrations were observed during the second lockdown, and moreover, peaks of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#916;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;NO&lt;/span&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;span&gt;x&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;span&gt;, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#916;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;CO&lt;/span&gt;&lt;sub&gt;&lt;span&gt;2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/sub&gt;&lt;span&gt; and &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#916;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;CO concentrations were seen during the last weekends of the lockdown of up to 32&amp;#160;% of increase, compared to the weekday-level during the 2nd lockdown. This can be explained by less stringent travel restrictions combined with pre-Christmas preparations in Paris. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Tracking and quantifying volcanic SO<sub>2</sub> with IASI, the September 2007 eruption at Jebel at Tair

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (24) ◽  
pp. 7723-7734 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Clarisse ◽  
P. F. Coheur ◽  
A. J. Prata ◽  
D. Hurtmans ◽  
A. Razavi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brightness Temperature ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Estimation Method ◽  
Optimal Estimation ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Analytical Relation ◽  
Volcanic Plume ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Volcanic Plumes ◽  
Volcanic Aerosols

Abstract. In this paper we demonstrate the potential of the infrared Fourier transform spectrometer IASI in analysing volcanic eruptions, using the September 2007 eruption at Jebel at Tair as an illustrative example. Detailed radiative transfer calculations are presented, simulating IASI-like transmittance spectra for a variety of volcanic plumes. We analyse the sensitivity of IASI to SO2 at different altitudes and demonstrate that IASI is in principle capable of sensing SO2 down to the surface. Using the brightness temperature difference of well chosen SO2 channels as a filter, we are able to track the plume of the Jebel at Tair eruption for 12 days, on a par with state of the art UV sounders. A method is presented for quickly estimating the altitude of a volcanic plume based on the relative intensities of the SO2 absorption lines. Despite recent advances, it is still very challenging to retrieve vertical profiles of SO2 from nadir viewing satellites. Currently the most accurate profiles in nadir are retrieved using backtracking of the plume with atmospheric transport models. Via full inverse retrievals using the optimal estimation method, we show the possibility of extracting medium coarse vertical profiles from IASI data. The retrieval allows us to present an evolution of the total mass of SO2 in the plume for the Jebel at Tair eruption. An analytical relation is derived between brightness temperature differences and concentrations, which fits the experimental data very well. The spectral range of IASI also allows retrieval of volcanic aerosols. In the initial plume of the Jebel at Tair eruption, volcanic aerosols were found in the form of ice particles, for which we derived particle sizes.

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