Deep magmatic degassing versus scrubbing: Elevated CO2 emissions and C/S in the lead-up to the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska
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Abstract
We report CO2, SO2, and H2S emission rates and C/S ratios during the five months leading up to the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska. CO2emission rates up to 9018 t/d and C/S ratios ≥30 measured in the months prior to the eruption were critical for fully informed forecasting efforts. Observations of ice-melt rates, meltwater discharge, and water chemistry suggest that surface waters represented drainage from surficial, perched reservoirs of condensed magmatic steam and glacial meltwater. These fluids scrubbed only a few hundred tonnes/day of SO2, not the >2100 t/d SO2expected from degassing of magma in the mid- to upper crust (3–6.5 km), where petrologic analysis shows the final magmatic equilibration occurred. All data are consistent with upflow of a CO2-rich magmatic gas for at least 5 months prior to eruption, and minimal scrubbing of SO2by near-surface groundwater. The high C/S ratios observed could reflect bulk degassing of mid-crustal magma followed by nearly complete loss of SO2in a deep magmatic-hydrothermal system. Alternatively, high C/S ratios could be attributed to decompressional degassing of low silica andesitic magma that intruded into the mid-crust in the 5 months prior to eruption, thereby mobilizing the pre-existing high silica andesite magma or mush in this region. The latter scenario is supported by several lines of evidence, including deep long-period earthquakes (−28 to −32 km) prior to and during the eruption, and far-field deformation following the onset of eruptive activity.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Deep magmatic degassing versus scrubbing: Elevated CO2 emissions and C/S in the lead-up to the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska |
| Series title | Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |
| DOI | 10.1029/2011GC003794 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Year Published | 2012 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | AGU |
| Contributing office(s) | Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center |
| Description | 18 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Other Geospatial | Redoubt Volcano |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |