Abstract. The composition and emission rates of volcanic gas plumes provide insight of the geologic internal activity, atmospheric chemistry, aerosol formation and radiative processes around it. Observations are necessary for public security and the aviation industry. Ground-based thermal emission infrared spectroscopy, which uses the radiation of the volcanic gas itself, allows for continuously monitoring during day and night from a safe distance. We present measurements on Popocatépetl volcano based on thermal emission spectroscopy during different campaigns between 2006-2009 using a Scanning Infrared Gas Imaging System (SIGIS). The experimental set-up, measurement geometries and analytical algorithms are described. The equipment was operated from a safe distance of 12 km from the volcano at two different spectral resolutions: 0.5 and 4 cm −1 . The 2-dimensional scanning capability of the instrument allows for an on-line visualization of the volcanic SO 2 plume and its animation. SiF 4 was also identified in the infrared spectra recorded at both resolutions. The SiF 4 /SO 2 molecular ratio can be calculated from each image and used as a highly useful parameter to follow changes in volcanic activity. A small Vulcanian eruption was monitored during the night of 16 to 17 November 2008 and strong ash emission together with a pronounced SO 2 cloud was registered around 01:00 a.m. LST (Local Standard Time). Enhanced SiF 4 /SO 2 ratios were observed before and after the eruption. A validation of the results from thermal emission measurements with those from absorption spectra of the moon taken at the same time, as well as an error analysis, are presented. The inferred propagation speed from sequential images is used in a subsequent paper (Part 2) to calculate the emission rates at different distances from the crater.
Abstract. A technique for measuring two-dimensional (2-D)plumes of volcanic gases with thermal emission spectroscopy was described in Part 1 by Stremme et al. (2012a). In that paper the instrumental aspects as well as retrieval strategies for obtaining the slant column images of SO 2 and SiF 4 , as well as animations of particular events observed at the Popocatépetl volcano, were presented. This work focuses on the procedures for determining the propagation speed of the gases and estimating an emission rate from the given image sequences. A 2-D column density distribution of a volcanic gas, available as time-consecutive frames, provides information of a projected wind field and the average velocity at which the volcanic plume is propagating. This information is valuable since the largest uncertainties when calculating emission rates of the gases using remote sensing techniques arise from propagation velocities which are often inadequately assumed. The presented reconstruction method solves the equation of continuity as an ill-posed problem using mainly a Tikhonov-like regularisation. It is observed from the available data sets that if the main direction of propagation is perpendicular to the line-of-sight, the algorithm works well for SO 2 , which has the strongest signals, and also for SiF 4 in some favourable cases. Due to the similarity of the algorithm used here with the reconstruction methods used for profile retrievals based on optimal estimation theory, diagnostic tools like the averaging kernels can be calculated in an analogous manner and the information can be quantified as degrees of freedom. Thus, it is shown that the combination of wind field and column distribution of the gas plume can provide the emission rate of the volcano both during day and night.
The composition and emission rates of volcanic gas plumes provide insight of the geologic internal activity, atmospheric chemistry, aerosol formation and radiative processes around it. Observations are necessary for public security and the aviation industry. Ground-based thermal emission infrared spectroscopy, which uses the radiation of the volcanic gas itself, allows for continuously monitoring during day and night from a save distance. We present measurements on Popocatépetl volcano based on thermal emission spectroscopy during different campaigns between 2006–2009 using a Scanning Infrared Gas Imaging System (SIGIS). The experimental set-up, measurement geometries and analytical algorithms are described. The equipment was operated from a safe distance of 12 km from the volcano at two different spectral resolutions: 0.5 and 4 cm−1. The 2-dimensional scanning capability of the instrument allows for an on-line visualization of the volcanic SO2 plume, animation and determination of its propagation speed. SiF4 was also identified in the infrared spectra recorded at both resolutions. The SiF4/SO2 molecular ratio can be calculated from each image and used as a highly useful parameter to follow changes in volcanic activity. A small Vulcanian eruption was monitored during the night of 16 to 17 November 2008 which was confirmed from the strong ash emission registered around 01:00 a.m. LST (Local Standard Time) and a pronounced SO2 cloud was registered. Enhanced SiF4/SO2 ratios were observed before and after the eruption. A validation of the results from thermal emission measurements with those from absorption spectra of the moon taken at the same time, as well as an error analysis, are presented. The inferred propagation speed from sequential imagees is used to calculate the emission rates at different distances from the crater
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