34. Continuous Measurement of Volcanic Gas Emissions: New Opportunities for Interpreting Magmatic Processes, Plume Dynamics, and Environmental Effects

Volcanic gases are important for many reasons: historically, the Earth’s climate has been modified for years following large injections of volcanic gas into the stratosphere from significant eruptions, and acidic volcanic gases released near the Earth’s surface adversely affect the environment and human health.  Volcanic gas studies are critical to understanding volcanic processes, and essential for hazard monitoring and eruption prediction.  As magma moves toward the surface, gas is often emitted from the volcano.  The amount and variability in the gas emission is related to the amount of magma degassing, the depth and nature of movements, and if an eruption is likely.

For years a significant obstacle for monitoring volcanic gas emissions was that measurements could only be made, at best, a few times a day, while all other volcano monitoring techniques, such as seismicity and ground motion, are done on much shorter timescales (seconds to minutes).   Typically gas measurements are separated by weeks or months as they require time-intensive field measurements, often in hazardous conditions.  With long intervals between measurements, the progression of volcanic activity can often be faster than the temporal resolution of the gas data.

In the last several years, however, spectroscopic technologies have been developed that allow for rapid, remote measurements of gas emission rates (for example, using DOAS—Differential Optical Absorption Spectrometry).  A large variety of gases including SO₂ and reactive halogen species can be detected and their emission can be quantitatively determined.  As assessments of volcanic hazard rely upon a comprehensive understanding of both geophysical and geochemical variations, the high time-resolution of new instruments enables correlation with geophysical data that was never possible before.  The data also allows for a much better assessment of how volcanic gas affects local environments near the volcano and gives more accurate estimates of global contributions.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently installed two continuously recording miniature ultraviolet (UV) spectrometers (DOAS) at Kilauea volcano for monitoring of sulfur dioxide emission rates.  Through this development, USGS scientists formed a collaboration with a research group at Heidelberg University, who were funded by the European Union to instrument 15 volcanoes worldwide with about 40 permanent DOAS instruments (the “Network for Observation of Volcanic and Atmospheric Change,” NOVAC project).  Through NOVAC, multiple data streams are available from a wide variety of volcanoes, as well as additional instrumentation for temporary deployments. 

We are particularly interested in research goals that will focus on  enhancing the utility of the continuous DOAS data from Hawaii and other volcanoes as multiple new opportunities stem from having high-temporal resolution datasets, and because the future of volcano gas monitoring and associated hazards assessments will rely on such data streams.  The postdoctoral researcher, working with USGS scientists and outside collaborators will investigate several important research topics stemming from the newly-available continuous DOAS data.  Research could include any of the following, which are not mutually exclusive or exhaustive.

• Interpreting correlations of geochemical and geophysical data at one or more volcanic systems (e.g., Hawaii with low-viscosity basaltic melts and high-viscosity andesitic volcanoes of Alaska).  This type of study could include a temporary deployment in Alaska where rapid high resolution volcano gas emission rates have never been collected.  Many volcanic systems in Alaska are well-monitored with geophysical instruments and some show distinctive behavior suggesting that variations in gas emissions might occur over timescales of minutes to months.
• Study of shallow magma plumbing and reservoir dynamics through the combined study of halogens and SO₂. 
• The formulation of plume tomographic imagery acquired through DOAS instruments, combined with high resolution local meteorology to forecast plume trajectory, dispersion, and gas-to-aerosol conversion kinetics and mechanisms. 
• Investigation of the reactivity of trace species such as BrO, ClO, OClO. 
• Correlating ground-based DOAS data with satellite-based gas measurement datasets from platforms such as OMI and MODIS would enhance confidence in the synoptic space-based retrievals and improve our ability to quantify the atmospheric impact of volcanic emissions.

The applicant should have experience analyzing volcano emission data and be proficient with computer-based analysis techniques.  Experience working with continuous scanning DOAS data, satellite-based gas retrievals, other atmospheric high resolution spectroscopic data, and a strong background in boundary layer meteorology and the behavior of contaminant plumes is highly desirable, but not required.

Proposed Duty Station: Vancouver, WA

Areas of Ph.D.: Volcanology, geochemistry, spectroscopy, meteorology, or atmospheric science

Qualifications: Applicants must meet one of the following qualifications: Research Geologist, Research Chemist, Research Physicist, Atmospheric Scientist

(This type of research is performed by those who have backgrounds for the occupations stated above. However, other titles may be applicable depending on the applicant's background, education, and research proposal. The final classification of the position will be made by the Human Resources specialist.)

Research Advisor(s): Cynthia Werner, (360) 993-8983, cwerner@usgs.gov; Jeff Sutton, (808) 967-8805, ajsutton@usgs.gov; Ulrich Platt (U Heidelberg, Germany), Ulrich.Platt@iup.uni-heidelberg.de

Human Resources Office contact: Candace Azevedo, (916) 278-9393, caazevedo@usgs.gov

Summary of Opportunities