Ground based and airborne in-situ Measurements of volcanic Carbon and Sulfur Emissions at high temporal Resolution

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ulrich Platt
• Subject Area: Atmospheric Science ; Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
• Term: from 2015 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 290278591

• Final Report Year: 2018

Final Report Abstract

The PITSA has been successfully applied in a wide range of field applications with different requirements, such as fumarole sampling, proximal plume measurements and distal airborne plume measurements several kilometers downwind from the volcanic vent of White Island. The inherent calibration is reliable and due to its fast response, the PITSA definitely has the capability to provide new insights into short term degassing trends, if combined with appropriate instruments for other gases. For White Island the CO2/SO2 ratio has been determined in the main plume and at a fumarole. Gas emission rates have been determined for SO2, CO2, H2S, and total Br in airborne measurements. The estimate of the total Br emission rate is the first to be reported on White Island. The other results constitute an independend confirmation (although for a rather short period) of parameters, which have been monitored for years. In addition, a still ongoing collaboration with GNS was initiated, during which a PITSA instrument will be installed inside a long term monitoring station at “Fumarole Zero” in the coming months. The station is likely to provide data of significant scientific impact. On the workshop in Ecuador, the presentation of the measurement principle was received with great interest. Representatives of several institutes proposed future collaborations or applications of the PITSA within their projects. If further optimized and promoted, there is a good chance for the PITSA to establish within the volcanic community, as an approved instrument for in-situ detection of SO2.

Publications

• Ground-based and airborne measurements of volcanic gas emissions at White Island (New Zealand), Physics of Volcanoes workshop, Munich, 2017 and at European Geoscience Union general assembly, Vienna, Switzerland, 2017
  J.-L. Tirpitz, D. Pöhler, N. Bobrowski, B. Christenson, U. Platt
  
• Non-dispersive UV Absorption Spectroscopy: a promising Approach for continuous in-situ Detection of Volcanic SO2. “13th Gas Workshop”, Commission on the Chemistry of Volcanic Gases, Quito/Baños, Ecuador, 2017
  J.-L. Tirpitz, D. Pöhler, N. Bobrowski, B. Christenson, U. Platt
  
• Non-dispersive UV absorption spectroscopy: a promising new approach for in-situ detection of volcanic sulfur dioxide, Frontiers - Recent Advances in Volcanic Gas Science, 2018
  J.-L. Tirpitz, D. Pöhler, N. Bobrowski, B. Christenson, G. Giuffrida, M. Liuzzo, J. Rüdiger, S. Schmitt, U. Platt