Continuous monitoring of hydrogen and carbon dioxide at Mt Etna

Abstract

This study assessed the use of an H 2 fuel cell as an H 2 -selective sensor for volcano monitoring. The resolution, repeatability, and cross-sensitivity of the sensor were investigated and evaluated under known laboratory conditions. A tailor-made device was developed and used for continuously monitoring H 2 and CO 2 at Mt Etna throughout 2009 and 2010. The temporal variations of both parameters were strongly correlated with the evolution of the volcanic activity during the monitoring period. In particular, the CO 2 flux exhibited long-term variations, while H 2 exhibited pulses immediately before the explosive activity that occurred at Mt Etna during 2010.

New perspectives on volcano monitoring in a tropical environment: Continuous measurements of soil CO2 flux at Piton de la Fournaise (La Réunion Island, France)

“…To do this, we correlated soil CO 2 flux time series with all recorded environmental parameters. We used daily averaged values, to remove the influence of daily cycles of pressure and temperature [ Di Martino et al , ]. We found that daily average temperature and pressure exert the largest influence on soil CO 2 flux, without time delay (Table S2), as observed in other volcanic systems [ Giammanco et al , ; Liuzzo et al , ].…”

Asynchronous changes of CO2, H2, and He concentrations in soil gases: A theoretical model and experimental results

“…Both theoretical and experimental results were applied to study the delay between CO 2 and H 2 changes recorded at Etna volcano via the continuous monitoring of the ground gases [ Di Martino et al , ]. The data were collected at the Belvedere site (Figure c), situated in a low‐temperature fumarolic field ( T < 100°C) at the edge of the Valle del Bove on the eastern flank of the volcano.…”

“…The data were collected at the Belvedere site (Figure c), situated in a low‐temperature fumarolic field ( T < 100°C) at the edge of the Valle del Bove on the eastern flank of the volcano. At Belvedere, the period between end of July and September 2010 was characterized by anomalous values for both the volcanic gas components, and the changes in the H 2 concentration preceded the changes of the CO 2 concentration [ Di Martino et al , ]. To analyze the data on the delays associated with changes in H 2 and CO 2 , the raw time series were down‐sampled using a moving average with a 17 h window.…”

“…The investigation of volcanic activity involves the measurement of the chemical composition of gases via spectrometers and electrochemical sensors deployed in the field [ Shinohara , ; Aiuppa et al , ; Shinohara et al , ; Aiuppa et al , , , ; Roberts et al , ; Di Martino et al , ; De Gregorio et al , ]. In certain localities, many automated devices have been designed and installed as a network to measure the amounts of certain gas components and gas fluxes multiple times per day [ Gurrieri et al , ].…”

“…Recently, this approach has shed light on changes associated with a high rate of volcanic degassing activity. For instance, the continuous monitoring of H 2 and CO 2 in the ground gases emitted at Mount Etna indicated that changes in the concentration of H 2 preceded the changes in CO 2 [ Di Martino et al , ].…”