DETERMINATION OF SO2 FLUXES IN VOLCANIC CLOUDS FROM ACTIVE VOLCANOES IN GUATEMALA, USING IMAGES FROM THE OZONE MONITORING INSTRUMENT (OMI)

Volcanoes in Guatemala constantly emit gases, which can be studied using different techniques, including satellite-based and ground-based techniques. Data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), a sensor aboard NASA’s Aura satellite, were used to quantify SO₂ emissions from the most active volcanoes in Guatemala, which are Fuego, Pacaya and Santiaguito. The retrieved data were used to calculate the SO₂ fluxes for thirteen different dates in the period 2005-2010, and compare them with those measured using a ground-based instrument, known as the correlation spectrometer (COSPEC). The COSPEC data were reported by the Instituto Sismológico Vulcanológico Meteorológico e Hidrológico de Guatemala. Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Models were created for each plume studied to track the plumes and to determine their source volcano and their altitude. Also, for the calculation of the SO₂ flux, wind speeds were obtained from atmospheric soundings. SO₂ plumes were only detected by OMI for Fuego and Pacaya volcanoes. The fluxes for Fuego volcano ranged from ~160 to ~6500 tons per day, while those for Pacaya ranged from ~1200 to ~5280 tons per day. The retrieved results could be correlated with the volcanic activity, but in most cases the fluxes obtained from OMI data were significantly higher than those obtained with ground-based techniques. Future studies include the processing of more images from the same time period as well as the use of data from other satellite sensors to compare with the ground-based data.