Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-2017-64
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-2017-64
11 Jul 2017
 | 11 Jul 2017
Status: this preprint was under review for the journal SE but the revision was not accepted.

Satellite-derived SO2 flux time-series and magmatic processes during the 2015 Calbuco eruptions

Federica Pardini, Mike Burton, Fabio Arzilli, Giuseppe La Spina, and Margherita Polacci

Abstract. Quantifying time-series of sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions during explosive eruptions provides insight into volcanic processes, assists in volcanic hazard mitigation, and permits quantification of the climatic impact of major eruptions. While volcanic SO2 is routinely detected from space during eruptions, the retrieval of plume injection height and SO2 flux time-series remains challenging. Here we present a new numerical method based on forward- and backward-trajectory analyses which enable such time-series to be robustly determined. The method is applied to satellite images of volcanic eruption clouds through the integration of the HYSPLIT software with custom-designed Python routines in a fully automated manner. Plume injection height and SO2 flux time-series are computed with a period of ~ 10 minutes with low computational cost.

Using this technique, we investigated the SO2 emissions from two sub-Plinian eruptions of Calbuco, Chile, produced in April 2015. We found a mean injection height above the vent of ~ 15 km for the two eruptions, with overshooting tops reaching ~ 20 km. We calculated a total of 300 ± 46 kt of SO2 released almost equally during both events, with 160 ± 30 kt produced by the first event and 140 ± 35 kt by the second. The retrieved SO2 flux time-series show an intense gas release during the first eruption (average flux of 2560 kt day−1), while a lower SO2 flux profile was seen for the second (average flux 560 kt day−1), suggesting that the first eruption was richer in SO2. This result is exemplified by plotting SO2 flux against retrieved plume height above the vent, revealing distinct trends for the two events. We propose that a pre-erupted exsolved volatile phase was present prior to the first event, which could have led to the necessary overpressure to trigger the eruption. The second eruption, instead, was mainly driven by syneruptive degassing. This hypothesis is supported by melt inclusion measurements of sulfur concentrations in plagioclase phenocrysts and groundmass glass of tephra samples through electron microprobe analysis.

This work demonstrates that detailed interpretations of sub-surface magmatic processes during eruptions are possible using satellite SO2 data. Quantitative comparisons of high temporal resolution plume height and SO2 flux time-series offer a powerful tool to examine processes triggering and controlling eruptions. These novel tools open a new frontier in space-based volcanological research, and will be of great value when applied to remote, poorly monitored volcanoes, and to major eruptions that can have regional and global climate implications through, for example, influencing ozone depletion in the stratosphere and light scattering from stratospheric aerosols.

Federica Pardini, Mike Burton, Fabio Arzilli, Giuseppe La Spina, and Margherita Polacci
 
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Status: closed
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Status: closed
Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
Printer-friendly Version - Printer-friendly version Supplement - Supplement
Federica Pardini, Mike Burton, Fabio Arzilli, Giuseppe La Spina, and Margherita Polacci
Federica Pardini, Mike Burton, Fabio Arzilli, Giuseppe La Spina, and Margherita Polacci

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Latest update: 28 Mar 2024
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Short summary
This paper shows how satellite imagery of volcanic SO2 plumes can be used to reveal subsurface magmatic processes. We achieved this by developing a new numerical technique based on trajectories simulations applied to SO2 satellite imagery. Our outcomes are SO2 plume height and flux time-series at high temporal resolution. With this technique we investigate SO2 emissions during the 2015 Calbuco eruptions and we suggest the presence of excess SO2 in the first eruption, but not in the second one.