SO2 emissions from volcanic arcs using OMI data

 

Arc volcanoes are notable for their highly explosive and hazardous eruptions. I am interested in the role played by volatiles in the triggering and driving of these eruptions. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) carried aboard NASA's Aura satellite measures daily global volcanic sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions, and represents a major new opportunity to evaluate this contribution.

The primary aim of my PhD research is to determine new and accurate SO2 degassing budgets for volcanic arcs, by using OMI data in a variety of case studies. These findings will then be used to address major questions in volcanology – for example, the possible ubiquity of mafic recharge in arc systems, the “excess sulphur” issue and discernible patterns within the global SO2 budget. Where appropriate I will combine petrological analyses of erupted material with volatile data obtained via remote sensing. This will aid ongoing validation of the OMI dataset. With this in mind, I also intend to compare OMI data to additional datasets, such as inSAR, GPS and ground-based gas data, for volcanoes or regions of interest.



Last updated on 22-Jun-10 11:49