Monitoring of volcanic SO<inf>2</inf> emissions using the GOME-2 satellite instrument

Abstract

Atmospheric sulfur dioxide is an important indicator of volcanic activity. Space based atmospheric sensors like GOME-2 on MetOp and OMI on EOS-Aura make it possible to detect the emissions of volcanic SO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> and monitor volcanic activity and eruptions on a global scale. With GOME-2, it is possible to detect and track volcanic eruption plumes and SO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> from passive degassing in near-real time (NRT). This is particularly important for early warning services, as increases in SO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> fluxes are an indicator for new episodes of volcanic unrest. The SO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> daily measurements from space are used for several early warning services related volcanic risk (Exupery, GlobVolcano) and for aviation warning purposes (GSE-PROMOTE).