Sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions by means of miniDOAS measurements during the 2021 eruption of Cumbre Vieja volcano, La Palma, Canary Islands

Abstract

<p>Cumbre Vieja is the most active volcano of the Canary Islands since it has been the scenario of  8 of 17 historical eruptions in this archipelago. A recent magmatic reactivation started at Cumbre Vieja volcano on October 2017, and 9 additional seismic swarms occurred until the recent eruption which started on September 19, 2021, and ended on December 13, 2022 after 85 days of eruption. Since the first day of the eruption, extending to current days, INVOLCAN performed the monitoring of SO<sub>2</sub> realesed by this eruption using a miniDOAS on terrestrial (car), sea (ship) and air (helicopter) mobile position. More than 360 measurements of SO<sub>2</sub> emission rates were carried out daily. The standard deviation of the estimated values obtained daily was ~ 20%. During the first days of the eruption, estimated SO<sub>2</sub> emission rates reached more than 30,000 tons/day, and maintaining weekly average values above 10,000 tons/day until the end of the eruption. After a final paroxysmal phase with an eruptive column of 8,500 m altitude, decreased significantly to averages values of 250 tons/day. Estimated SO<sub>2</sub> emission rates from the 2021 Cumbre Vieja eruption became a powerful tool to contribute to the understanding of eruptive dynamics.</p>