Conference proceeding
Measuring H (sub 2) O and CO (sub 2) emissions in the mud volcano region of Yellowstone using open path FTIR
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Vol.2017
Dec 2017
Abstract
Magma degassing is an important factor in many aspects of monitoring active volcanic zones and mitigating associated hazards. The monitoring of these emissions in concentration, flux, and species ratios is important for detecting signs of unrest as well as understanding the natural cycle and budget of volatile species. However, standard gas measurement methods suffer from either low temporal resolution (e.g., direct sampling of fumaroles) or are limited to measuring a small range of species (e.g., MiniDOAS, MultiGAS). In order to establish a carbon budget of active gas sources at a volcano with a dynamic hydrothermal system, we carried out a survey of mud pots and fumaroles at Yellowstone National Park using Open-Path Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, or OP-FTIR, which allows for a temporal resolution as low as one measurement every 10 seconds. We placed an active infrared (IR) source behind the target gas plume and identified gas species from the presence of their absorption feature in measured spectra in the 2.5 to 25 mu m range. From these, we derived pathlength concentrations for a wide range of gases, including: water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. During our September 2016 campaign in the Mud Volcano thermal area, we measured CO (sub 2) concentrations of 400 ppm in emissions from the Churning Cauldron acid-sulfate mud pot, with an H (sub 2) O/CO (sub 2) ratio of approximately 8; at Sulphur Cauldron and One Hundred Springs Plain, CO (sub 2) concentrations reached 200 ppm above background atmospheric values. We derived a CO (sub 2) flux of 8.15 T/d, 0.43 T/d and .00025 T/d, respectively, at these three acid-sulfate sources, within range of gas channeling-based estimates from the late 1990s. Previous accumulation chamber studies estimate the CO (sub 2) soil diffuse degassing in the Mud Volcano thermal region at 283.15 T/d, indicating that mud pots are minor contributors of CO (sub 2) emissions in this area, representing approximately 3% of diffuse emissions. Due to the high acquisition rate and the abundance of water droplets in the plume, spectra were too noisy to reliably detect methane at these locations. Future work will focus on the measurement of trace gases at these same locations by increasing the acquisition time.
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Details
- Title
- Measuring H (sub 2) O and CO (sub 2) emissions in the mud volcano region of Yellowstone using open path FTIR
- Creators
- Danielle K. Moyer - Drexel University, Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science Philadelphia, PA USA United StatesChristine R. SealingSimon A. CarnLoyc VanderkluysenAnonymous
- Publication Details
- American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Vol.2017
- Conference
- American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting (2017)
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES)
- Identifiers
- 991021015346004721