Trends in volcanic degassing through eruption cycles: insights from satellite measurements

Author(s):  
Simon Carn ◽  
Vitali Fioletov ◽  
Chris McLinden ◽  
Nickolay Krotkov ◽  
Can Li

<p>Effective use of volcanic gas measurements for eruption forecasting and hazard mitigation at active volcanoes requires an understanding of long-term degassing behavior as context. Much recent progress has been made in quantifying global volcanic emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO<sub>2</sub>) and other gas species by expanding the coverage of ground-based sensor networks and through analysis of decadal-scale satellite datasets. Combined, these advances have provided valuable constraints on the magnitude and variability of SO<sub>2</sub> emissions at over 120 actively degassing volcanoes worldwide. Being less constrained by the style or location of volcanic activity, satellite measurements can provide greater insight into trends in volcanic degassing during eruption cycles. Here, we present an analysis of ~15 years of volcanic SO<sub>2</sub> measurements by the ultraviolet (UV) Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard NASA’s Aura satellite, focused on observed trends in SO<sub>2</sub> emissions spanning eruptions of varying magnitude. The Aura/OMI measurements have been used to estimate annual mean SO<sub>2</sub> emissions at ~100 volcanoes active between 2005 and 2020, around 80 of which erupted during the 15-year period. Superposed epoch analysis (SEA) of SO<sub>2</sub> emission trends for the erupting volcanoes (with eruption magnitudes ranging from Volcanic Explosivity Index [VEI] 2 to 4) provides evidence that volcanoes exhibiting higher levels of SO<sub>2</sub> emission in the years prior to eruption typically produce eruptions of lower magnitude, and vice versa. Post-eruptive SO<sub>2</sub> degassing exceeds pre-eruptive emissions for several years after eruptions with VEI 3-4 and may scale with eruption size; perhaps consistent with larger eruptions being supplied by larger magma intrusions which continue to degas in subsequent years. The SEA is most robust for eruptions of intermediate magnitude (VEI 3) which are the most common events in the recent global eruption record covered by the OMI measurements. Limited observations of larger eruptions (VEI 5+) suggest significant differences in degassing trends during these larger events. Future work will extend the satellite-based estimates of volcanic SO<sub>2</sub> emissions both forward and backward in time using other UV satellite instruments, generating longer records of SO<sub>2</sub> degassing (extending back to 1978 for the strongest volcanic sources of SO<sub>2</sub>) that will be used to further explore and constrain these relationships.  </p>

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Dinger ◽  
Stefan Bredemeyer ◽  
Santiago Arellano ◽  
Nicole Bobrowski ◽  
Ulrich Platt ◽  
...  

Abstract. Long-term measurements of volcanic gas emissions conducted during the recent decade suggest that under certain conditions the magnitude or chemical composition of volcanic emissions exhibits periodic variations with a period of about two weeks. A possible cause of such a periodicity can be attributed to the Earth tidal potential. The phenomenology of such a link has been debated for long, but no quantitative model has yet been proposed. The aim of this paper is to elucidate whether a causal link from the tidal forcing to variation in the volcanic degassing can be traced analytically. We model the response of a simplified magmatic system to the local tidal gravity variations and derive a periodical vertical magma displacement in the conduit with an amplitude of 0.1–1 m, depending on geometry and physical state of the magmatic system. We find that while the tide-induced vertical magma displacement has presumably no significant direct effect on the volatile solubility, the differential magma flow across the radial conduit profile may result in a significant increase of the bubble coalescence rate in a depth of several kilometres by up to several ten percent. Because bubble coalescence facilitates separation of gas from magma and thus enhances volatile degassing, we argue that the derived tidal variation may propagate to a manifestation of varying volcanic degassing behaviour. The presented model provides a first basic framework which establishes an analytical understanding of the link between the Earth tides and volcanic degassing.


Solid Earth ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 725-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Dinger ◽  
Stefan Bredemeyer ◽  
Santiago Arellano ◽  
Nicole Bobrowski ◽  
Ulrich Platt ◽  
...  

Abstract. Long-term measurements of volcanic gas emissions conducted during the last decade suggest that under certain conditions the magnitude or chemical composition of volcanic emissions exhibits periodic variations with a period of about 2 weeks. A possible cause of such a periodicity can be attributed to the Earth tidal potential. The phenomenology of such a link has been debated for long, but no quantitative model has yet been proposed. The aim of this paper is to elucidate whether a causal link between tidal forcing and variations in volcanic degassing can be traced analytically. We model the response of a simplified magmatic system to the local tidal gravity variations and derive a periodical vertical magma displacement in the conduit with an amplitude of 0.1–1 m, depending on the geometry and physical state of the magmatic system. We find that while the tide-induced vertical magma displacement presumably has no significant direct effect on the volatile solubility, the differential magma flow across the radial conduit profile may result in a significant increase in the bubble coalescence rate at a depth of several kilometres by up to several multiples of 10 %. Because bubble coalescence facilitates separation of gas from magma and thus enhances volatile degassing, we argue that the derived tidal variation may propagate to a manifestation of varying volcanic degassing behaviour. The presented model provides a first basic framework which establishes an analytical understanding of the link between the Earth tides and volcanic degassing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (44) ◽  
pp. eabb9103
Author(s):  
E. J. Liu ◽  
A. Aiuppa ◽  
A. Alan ◽  
S. Arellano ◽  
M. Bitetto ◽  
...  

Volcanic emissions are a critical pathway in Earth’s carbon cycle. Here, we show that aerial measurements of volcanic gases using unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) transform our ability to measure and monitor plumes remotely and to constrain global volatile fluxes from volcanoes. Combining multi-scale measurements from ground-based remote sensing, long-range aerial sampling, and satellites, we present comprehensive gas fluxes—3760 ± [600, 310] tons day−1 CO2 and 5150 ± [730, 340] tons day−1 SO2—for a strong yet previously uncharacterized volcanic emitter: Manam, Papua New Guinea. The CO2/ST ratio of 1.07 ± 0.06 suggests a modest slab sediment contribution to the sub-arc mantle. We find that aerial strategies reduce uncertainties associated with ground-based remote sensing of SO2 flux and enable near–real-time measurements of plume chemistry and carbon isotope composition. Our data emphasize the need to account for time averaging of temporal variability in volcanic gas emissions in global flux estimates.


Solar Physics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 296 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan O. Milligan

AbstractAs the Lyman-alpha (Ly$\upalpha $ α ) line of neutral hydrogen is the brightest emission line in the solar spectrum, detecting increases in irradiance due to solar flares at this wavelength can be challenging due to the very high background. Previous studies that have focused on the largest flares have shown that even these extreme cases generate enhancements in Ly$\upalpha $ α of only a few percent above the background. In this study, a superposed-epoch analysis was performed on ≈8500 flares greater than B1 class to determine the contribution that they make to changes in the solar EUV irradiance. Using the peak of the 1 – 8 Å X-ray emission as a fiducial time, the corresponding time series of 3123 B- and 4972 C-class flares observed in Ly$\upalpha $ α emission by the EUV Sensor on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 15 (GOES-15) were averaged to reduce background fluctuations and improve the flare signal. The summation of these weaker events showed that they produced a 0.1 – 0.3% enhancement to the solar Ly$\upalpha $ α irradiance on average. For comparison, the same technique was applied to 453 M- and 31 X-class flares, which resulted in a 1 – 4% increase in Ly$\upalpha $ α emission. Flares were also averaged with respect to their heliographic angle to investigate any potential center-to-limb variation. For each GOES class, the relative enhancement in Ly$\upalpha $ α at the flare peak was found to diminish for flares that occurred closer to the solar limb due to the opacity of the line and/or foreshortening of the footpoints. One modest event included in the study, a C6.6 flare, exhibited an unusually high increase in Ly$\upalpha $ α of 7% that may have been attributed to a failed filament eruption. Increases of this magnitude have hitherto only been associated with a small number of X-class flares.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Engebretson ◽  
Lidiya Y. Ahmed ◽  
Vyacheslav A. Pilipenko ◽  
Erik S. Steinmetz ◽  
Mark B. Moldwin ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 2177-2186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu. I. Yermolaev ◽  
N. S. Nikolaeva ◽  
I. G. Lodkina ◽  
M. Yu. Yermolaev

Abstract. A comparison of specific interplanetary conditions for 798 magnetic storms with Dst <−50 nT during 1976–2000 was made on the basis of the OMNI archive data. We categorized various large-scale types of solar wind as interplanetary drivers of storms: corotating interaction region (CIR), Sheath, interplanetary CME (ICME) including both magnetic cloud (MC) and Ejecta, separately MC and Ejecta, and "Indeterminate" type. The data processing was carried out by the method of double superposed epoch analysis which uses two reference times (onset of storm and minimum of Dst index) and makes a re-scaling of the main phase of the storm in a such way that all storms have equal durations of the main phase in the new time reference frame. This method reproduced some well-known results and allowed us to obtain some new results. Specifically, obtained results demonstrate that (1) in accordance with "output/input" criteria the highest efficiency in generation of magnetic storms is observed for Sheath and the lowest one for MC, and (2) there are significant differences in the properties of MC and Ejecta and in their efficiencies.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Manney ◽  
W. H. Daffer ◽  
K. B. Strawbridge ◽  
K. A. Walker ◽  
C. D. Boone ◽  
...  

Abstract. The first three Arctic winters of the ACE mission represented two extremes of winter variability: Stratospheric sudden warmings (SSWs) in 2004 and 2006 were among the strongest, most prolonged on record; 2005 was a record cold winter. Canadian Arctic Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) Validation Campaigns were conducted at Eureka (80° N, 86° W) during each of these winters. New satellite measurements from ACE-Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS), Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER), and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), along with meteorological analyses and Eureka lidar temperatures, are used to detail the meteorology in these winters, to demonstrate its influence on transport, and to provide a context for interpretation of ACE-FTS and validation campaign observations. During the 2004 and 2006 SSWs, the vortex broke down throughout the stratosphere, reformed quickly in the upper stratosphere, and remained weak in the middle and lower stratosphere. The stratopause reformed at very high altitude, near 75 km. ACE measurements covered both vortex and extra-vortex conditions in each winter, except in late-February through mid-March 2004 and 2006, when the strong, pole-centered vortex that reformed after the SSWs resulted in ACE sampling only inside the vortex in the middle through upper stratosphere. The 2004 and 2006 Eureka campaigns were during the recovery from the SSWs, with the redeveloping vortex over Eureka. 2005 was the coldest winter on record in the lower stratosphere, but with an early final warming in mid-March. The vortex was over Eureka at the start of the 2005 campaign, but moved away as it broke up. Disparate temperature profile structure and vortex evolution resulted in much lower (higher) temperatures in the upper (lower) stratosphere in 2004 and 2006 than in 2005. Satellite temperatures agree well with lidar data up to 50–60 km, and ACE-FTS, MLS and SABER show good agreement in high-latitude temperatures throughout the winters. Consistent with a strong, cold upper stratospheric vortex and enhanced radiative cooling after the SSWs, MLS and ACE-FTS trace gas measurements show strongly enhanced descent in the upper stratospheric vortex in late January through March 2006 compared to that in 2005.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Joiner ◽  
Y. Yoshida ◽  
L. Guanter ◽  
E. M. Middleton

Abstract. Global satellite measurements of solar-induced fluorescence (SIF) from chlorophyll over land and ocean have proven useful for a number of different applications related to physiology, phenology, and productivity of plants and phytoplankton. Terrestrial chlorophyll fluorescence is emitted throughout the red and far-red spectrum, producing two broad peaks near 683 and 736 nm. From ocean surfaces, phytoplankton fluorescence emissions are entirely from the red region. Studies using satellite-derived SIF over land have focused almost exclusively on measurements in the far- red, since those are the most easily obtained with existing instrumentation. Here, we examine new ways to use existing hyper-spectral satellite data sets to retrieve red SIF over both land and ocean. Our approach offers noise reductions as compared with previously published solar line filling retrievals by making use of the oxygen (O2) γ-band that is not affected by SIF. The O2 γ-band in conjunction with solar Fraunhofer lines help to anchor the O2 B-band that provides additional information on red SIF. Biases due to instrumental artifacts that vary in time, space, and with instrument, must be addressed in order to obtain reasonable results. The satellite instruments that we use were designed to make atmospheric trace- gas measurements and are therefore not optimal for observing SIF; they have coarse spatial resolution and only moderate spectral resolution (∼0.5 nm). Nevertheless, these instruments offer a unique opportunity to compare red and far-red terrestrial SIF at regional spatial scales. Our eight year record of red SIF observations over land with the Global Ozone Monitoring Instrument 2 (GOME-2) allows for the first time reliable global mapping of monthly anomalies. These anomalies are shown to have similar spatio-temporal structure as those in the far-red, particularly for drought-prone regions. There is a somewhat larger percentage response in the red as compared with the far-red for these areas that are sensitive to soil moisture, although the differences are within the specified uncertainties that are dominated by systematic errors. We also demonstrate that high quality ocean fluorescence line height retrievals can be achieved with GOME-2 and similar instruments by utilizing the full complement of radiance measurements that span the red SIF emission feature.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liubov Poshyvailo-Strube ◽  
Rolf Müller ◽  
Stephan Fueglistaler ◽  
Michaela I. Hegglin ◽  
Johannes C. Laube ◽  
...  

Abstract. The stratospheric meridional overturning circulation, also referred to as the Brewer-Dobson circulation (BDC), controls the composition of the stratosphere, which, in turn, affects radiation and climate. As the BDC cannot be directly measured, one has to infer its strength and trends indirectly. For instance, trace gas measurements allow the calculation of average transit times. Satellite measurements provide information on the distributions of trace gases for the entire stratosphere, with measurements of particularly long and dense coverage available for stratospheric water vapour (H2O). Although chemical processes and boundary conditions confound interpretation, the influence of CH4 oxidation on H2O is relatively straightforward, and thus H2O is an appealing tracer for transport analysis despite these caveats. In this work, we explore how mean age of air trends can be estimated from the combination of stratospheric H2O and CH4 data. We carry out different sensitivity studies with the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS) and focus on the analysis of the periods of 1990–2006 and 1990–2017. In particular, we assess the methodological uncertainties related to the two commonly-used approximations of (i) instantaneous stratospheric entry mixing ratio propagation, and (ii) constant correlation between mean age and the fractional release factor of methane. Our results show that the estimated mean age of air trends from the combination of observed stratospheric H2O and CH4 changes may be significantly affected by the assumed approximations. Depending on the investigated stratospheric region and the considered period, the error in estimated mean age of air decadal trends can be large – the discrepancies are up to 10 % per decade or even more at the lower stratosphere. For particular periods, the errors from the two approximations can lead to opposite effects, which may even cancel out. Finally, we propose an improvement to the approximation method by using an idealised age spectrum to propagate stratospheric entry mixing ratios. The findings of this work can be used for improving and assessing the uncertainties in stratospheric BDC trend estimation from global satellite measurements.


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