Item talk:Q67024

Sulfur dioxide emission rates from Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, an update: 2002-2006

Introduction Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emission rates from Kilauea Volcano were first measured by Stoiber and Malone (1975) and have been measured on a regular basis since 1979 (Greenland and others, 1985; Casadevall and others, 1987; Elias and others, 1998; Sutton and others, 2001, Elias and Sutton, 2002, Sutton and others, 2003). Compilations of SO2 emission-rate and wind-vector data from 1979 through 2001 are available on the web. (Elias and others, 1998 and 2002). This report updates the database through 2006, and documents the changes in data collection and processing that have occurred during the interval 2002-2006. During the period covered by this report, Kilauea continued to release SO₂ gas predominantly from its summit caldera and east rift zone (ERZ) (Elias and others, 1998; Sutton and others, 2001, Elias and others, 2002, Sutton and others, 2003). These two distinct sources are always measured independently (fig.1). Sulphur Banks is a minor source of SO₂ and does not contribute significantly to the total emissions for Kilauea (Stoiber and Malone, 1975). From 1979 until 2003, summit and east rift zone emission rates were derived using vehicle- and tripod- based Correlation Spectrometry (COSPEC) measurements. In late 2003, we began to augment traditional COSPEC measurements with data from one of the new generation of miniature spectrometer systems, the FLYSPEC (Horton and others, 2006; Elias and others, 2006, Williams-Jones and others, 2006).