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| Titel |
Variations in gas emissions in correlation with lava lake level changes at Nyiragono volcano, DR Congo |
| VerfasserIn |
N. Bobrowski, G. B. Giuffrida, M. Yalire, D. Tedesco, S. Arellano, B. Galle, A. Aiuppa |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2012
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 14 (2012) |
| Datensatznummer |
250065124
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Between 2007 and 2011 four measurement campaigns (June 2007, July 2010, June 2011 and
December 2011) were carried out at the crater rim of Nyiragongo volcano (1Ë 31’S, 29Ë
15’E, 3470 m.a.s.l.). Nyiragongo volcano is located 15 km north of the million inhabitants
strong city of Goma, North Kivu region (DRC) and belongs to the Virunga volcanic chain
which is associated with the western branch of the Great Rift Valley. The volcanic activity of
Niyragongo is the result caused by the rifting of the Earth’s crust where two parts of the
African plates are breaking apart. Nyiragongo is considered one of the most active volcanoes
in Africa. Â
The ground - based remote sensing technique - MAX-DOAS (Multi Axis Differential
Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) using scattered sunlight and a Multi-gas-instrument have
been simultaneously applied during all field trips and among others BrO/SO2 and CO2/SO2
ratios were determined.
At the various field trips we could observe that the lava lake level frequently changes in
height (in the order of minutes up to days and also between the years) and also our measured
gas ratios showed variations. Higher CO2/SO2 and BrO2/SO2 levels were generally observed
at higher lava lake levels and a decrease of the lava lake was accompanied by a decrease in
the BrO/SO2 as well as CO2/SO2 ratio. Ideas to explain the correlation of gas ratios and the
lava lake level will be discussed in this presentation and we will especially focus on the June
2011 campaign, because it contains the largest changes, observed during these
campaigns.
Gas emission changes in correlation with a change in the lava lake level might help to
give insights within the magma plumbing system of Nyiragongo volcano and therefore
leading to a better understanding of the volcanic behavior and improving the possibilities of
forecasting a future eruption. |
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