How much sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas does Kīlauea emit?
Kīlauea typically emits between 500 and 14,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide gas (SO2) per day during periods of sustained eruption.
During the 2018 eruption at Kīlauea’s Lower East Rift Zone, SO2 emissions were over 30,000 metric tons per day, in keeping with the increased vigor of that eruption. Methods for calculating emission rates for SO2 can be complicated and challenging in the high-rate conditions that existed at that time. Extremely high SO2 levels can saturate instruments, and accurate wind speed--which is critical in calculations--is sometimes difficult to obtain.
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Volcanic air pollution hazards in Hawaii
Noxious sulfur dioxide gas and other air pollutants emitted from Kīlauea Volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i react with oxygen, atmospheric moisture, and sunlight to produce volcanic smog (vog) and acid rain. Vog can negatively affect human health and agriculture, and acid rain can contaminate household water supplies by leaching metals from building...
Elias, Tamar; Sutton, A. Jeff
The first five years of Kīlauea’s summit eruption in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, 2008–2013
The eruption in Halema‘uma‘u Crater that began in March 2008 is the longest summit eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, on the Island of Hawai‘i, since 1924. From the time the eruption began, the new "Overlook crater" inside Halema‘uma‘u has exhibited fluctuating lava lake activity, occasional small explosive events, and a persistent gas plume. The...
Patrick, Matthew R.; Orr, Tim R.; Sutton, A.J.; Elias, Tamar; Swanson, Donald A.
The ongoing Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi: 30 years of eruptive activity
The Puʻu ʻŌʻō eruption of Kīlauea Volcano is its longest rift-zone eruption in more than 500 years. Since the eruption began in 1983, lava flows have buried 48 square miles (125 square kilometers) of land and added about 500 acres (200 hectares) of new land to the Island of Hawaiʻi. The eruption not only challenges local communities, which must...
Orr, Tim R.; Heliker, Christina; Patrick, Matthew R.
Mauna Loa--history, hazards and risk of living with the world's largest volcano
Mauna Loa on the Island Hawaiʻi is the world’s largest volcano. People residing on its flanks face many hazards that come with living on or near an active volcano, including lava flows, explosive eruptions, volcanic smog, damaging earthquakes, and local tsunami (giant seawaves). The County of Hawaiʻi (Island of Hawaiʻi) is the...
Trusdell, Frank A.
Sulfur dioxide emission rates from Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, 2007-2010
Kīlauea Volcano has one of the longest running volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rate databases on record. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from Kīlauea Volcano were first measured by Stoiber and Malone (1975) and have been measured on a regular basis since 1979 (Elias and Sutton, 2007, and references within). Compilations of SO2...
Elias, T.; Sutton, A.J.
Kīlauea - An explosive volcano in Hawai‘i
Kīlauea Volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i, though best known for its frequent quiet eruptions of lava flows, has erupted explosively many times in its history - most recently in 2011. At least six such eruptions in the past 1,500 years sent ash into the jet stream, at the cruising altitudes for today's aircraft. The eruption of 1790...
Swanson, Donald A.; Fiske, Dick; Rose, Tim; Houghton, Bruce F.; Mastin, Larry
Sulfur Dioxide Emission Rates from Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i, an Update: 2002-2006
Introduction Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rates from Kilauea Volcano were first measured by Stoiber and Malone (1975) and have been measured on a regular basis since 1979 (Greenland and others, 1985; Casadevall and others, 1987; Elias and others, 1998; Sutton and others, 2001, Elias and Sutton, 2002, Sutton and others, 2003). Compilations of...
Elias, Tamar; Sutton, A.J.
EarthWord–Vog
Just like smog and fog, this EarthWord is not what you want to see while driving...
Living with Vog on an Active Volcano: New Resources
New informational products about the health hazards of volcanic air pollution known as “vog,” are available through a new interagency partnership.
EarthWord: Fumarole
Fumaroles are openings in the earth’s surface that emit steam and volcanic gases, such as sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. They can occur as holes, cracks, or fissures near active volcanoes or in areas where magma has risen into the earth’s crust without erupting. A fumarole can vent for centuries or quickly go extinct, depending on the longevity of its heat source.
New Study Looks at How People Cope with Vog
A new study to examine how people who live downwind of Kīlauea Volcano cope with volcanic gas emissions, or vog, is currently underway.
Kilauea’s Volcanic Gases and Their Environmental Impacts
U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists Jeff Sutton and Tamar Elias will update information on Kīlauea Volcano’s gas emissions and associated environmental impacts. Their presentation will be at the park’s Kīlauea Visitor Center Auditorium. Park entrance fees apply.
Hazardous Sulfur Dioxide Concentrations Measured at Kilauea Volcano
Today, HVO scientists measured concentrations greater than 10 ppm in a broad area adjacent to Halema‘uma‘u crater. Sulfur Dioxide gas is persistently emitted at Kîlauea's summit. Typical concentrations are generally negligible except for areas downwind of Halema‘uma‘u crater, where they can get up to 2.5 ppm (parts-per-million) in narrow zones.
USGS HVO geochemist measuring gases released from Kīlauea Volcano
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geochemist measuring gases released from Kïlauea with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, an instrument that detects gas compositions on the basis of absorbed infrared light. The data obtained from FTIR measurements have been useful in identifying the many components of volcanic-gas emissions, which provide information on the
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Gas plume from Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, Kilauea Volcano
With stagnant winds present, the plume from Halema`uma`u Crater at the summit of Kilauea Volcano, stands straight up, showing off the distant, but bright, full moon.
Fumarole on Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi
Fumarole on Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi. Elemental sulfur vapor escaping from the fumarole has cooled to form yellow-colored crystals around its margins. Credit: Robert L. Christiansen.
Monitoring Volcanic Gases on Kilauea's East Rift Zone II
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Geochemist Jeff Sutton and CSAV international volcanology students visit a continuous gas monitoring site on Kilauea's east rift zone during field studies portion of the summer training course. Instrumentation at this site measures ambient concentration of noxious sulfur dioxide gas released from the volcano's vents, along with
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Monitoring Volcanic Gases on Kilauea's East Rift Zone
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Geochemist Jeff Sutton and CSAV international volcanology students visit a continuous gas monitoring site on Kilauea's east rift zone during field studies portion of the summer training course. Instrumentation at this site measures ambient concentration of noxious sulfur dioxide gas released from the volcano's vents, along with meteorological
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Volcano Hazards
The United States has 169 active volcanoes. More than half of them could erupt explosively, sending ash up to 20,000 or 30,000 feet where commercial air traffic flies. USGS scientists are working to improve our understanding of volcano hazards to help protect communities and reduce the risks.
Video Sections:
- Volcanoes: Monitoring Volcanoes
Halema'uma'u Gas Plume Variations (November 17, 2008)
The erupting vent within Halema'uma'u Crater at Kilauea's summit (see http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/timeline/ for links describing eruptive activity at the summit of Kilauea Volcano) typically produces a white to gray gas plume dominated by steam. While ashy plumes released by collapses and explosive events are
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Sulfur Crystals
A beautiful example of sulfur crystals that have grown around a small fumarole near the southeast rim of Halema`uma`u crater. The vent is about 0.3 m (1 foot) long.
The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Monitors Kilauea's Summit Eruption
The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (foreground) is located on the caldera rim of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'ithe most active volcano in the world. The observatory's location provides an excellent view of summit eruptive activity, which began in 2008.
Vog from Kilauea
The rim of Kīlauea Volcano’s summit caldera, normally clear on trade-wind days (left), became nearly obscured by vog (right) on some non-trade wind days beginning in 2008, when sulfur dioxide emissions from the volcano’s summit increased to unusually high levels. (This photo has been edited.)