COSPEC used to measure SO2 released by Merapi Volcano.
A. Side view. B. Front view. C. Typical data. From Sutton and others (1992).
Volcanologist found an application for an instrument used to measure pollution. A correlation spectrometer (COSPEC) is designed to measure the amount of sulfur dioxide in a passing air mass (or volcanic plume). The spectrometer compares the amount of solar ultraviolet light absorbed by sulfur dioxide in the plume to an internal standard. Numerous measurements are made to achieve reliable results.
Balloons
Balloons are used to take samples in or to carry instruments into aerosol layers. For example, Sheridan and others (1992) collected samples of atmospheric particles from the Pinatubo eruption by releasing balloons from Laramie, Wyoming. Most of the fine particles were H2SO4 droplets. Other larger particles were supermicrometer sulfate particles and composite sulfate/crustal particles. Deshler and others (1992) also used balloons to study the aerosols in the Pinatubo layer. Their study showed that 90% of the SO2 had been converted to H2SO4 aerosol within one month of the eruption. They also measured pressure, temperature, ozone, and particle density.
LIDAR
LIDAR is a ground-based remote sensing method that is used to measure the distribution and amounts of several gases in the atmosphere. NOAA has a fine page that explains LIDAR data.
TOMS
TOMS image of the Mt. Pinatubo SO2 plume two days after the June 15th eruption The red dot marks the location of the volcano. The concentration of sulfur dioxide is expressed in units of milli-atmosphere centimeters, which gives the total column abundance in the atmospheric column Image created by Gregg Bluth and Arlin Krueger, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer(TOMS) is used for high resolution mapping and measurements of the ozone layer. TOMS also detects volcanic eruptions and measures the amount of sulfur dioxide released. TOMS was used to measure the sulfur dioxide clouds from three explosive eruptions of the Crater Peak vent of Mount Spurr during the Summer of 1992.
AVHRR
The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) is used to track the aerosol layer produced by eruptions. For example, during the Pinatubo eruption, AVHRR showed that the layer circled the Earth in 21 days and that it had inhomogeneities that persisted for more than two months. The layer covered 42% of the Earth after only two months, over twice the area of El Chichon in the same amount of time. Data gathered allowed an estimate of the net global cooling effect of 0.5 degree C for a period of 2-4 years after the eruption (Stowe and others, 1992). Maps show thickness of aerosol optical products prior to and 20 days after the 1991 eruption of Pinatubo. Photo credit: G.J., Orme, Department of the Army.