Authors: Thomas, W.¹; Erbertseder, T.²; Ruppert, T.³; Roozendael, M.⁴; Verdebout, J.⁵; Balis, D.⁶; Meleti, C.⁷; Zerefos, C.⁸

Source: Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry, Volume 50, Number 3, March 2005 , pp. 295-320(26)

Publisher: Springer

Abstract:

We focus on the retrieval of volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions from an analysis of atmospheric UV backscatter spectra obtained by the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) spectrometer on board the ESA European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS-2). Here, the last major eruptions of Mt. Etna on Sicily (Italy) in July/August 2001 and October/November 2002 provided an excellent opportunity to study the retrieval of SO₂ columnar amounts from ground-based, LIDAR and satellite measurements. Our study shows that the bulk of emitted SO₂ was confined in the troposphere, mainly between 700 hPa and 400 hPa which is confirmed by trajectory analysis, by LIDAR observations and AVHRR observations. The area of influence of Mt. Etna eruptions ranges from the Western Saharan Desert to Greece and the near east states and even down to the basin of Tschad, Africa. Our analysis revealed that information about the plume height of volcanic eruptions and aerosol parameters is necessary for a reliable quantitative retrieval of SO₂ from space-borne sensor data at periods perturbed by volcanic eruptions.

Keywords: GOME measurements; sulfur dioxide retrieval; trace gases; volcanic emissions

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10874-005-5544-1

Affiliations: 1: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institut für Methodik der Fernerkundung (IMF), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, Email: werner.thomas@dwd.de 2: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Deutsches Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum (DFD), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, Email: thilo.erbertseder@dlr.de 3: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Deutsches Fernerkundungsdatenzentrum (DFD), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, Email: thomas.ruppert@dlr.de 4: Institut d’Aéronomie Spatiale de Belgique (BIRA-IASB), Bruxelles, Belgium, Email: michelv@oma.be 5: European Commission – Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Ispra (VA), Italy, Email: jean.verdebout@jrc.it 6: Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, Email: balis@auth.gr 7: Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece, Email: meleti@auth.gr 8: Laboratory of Climatology and Atmospheric Environment, Athens, Greece, Email: zerefos@geol.uoa.gr

Publication date: 2005-03-01

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