Abstract. Volcanic plumes are common and far-reaching manifestations of volcanic activity during and between eruptions. Observations of the rate of emission and composition of volcanic plumes are essential to recognize and, in some cases, predict the state of volcanic activity. Measurements of the size and location of the plumes are important to assess the impact of the emission from sporadic or localized events to persistent or widespread processes of climatic and environmental importance. These observations provide information on volatile budgets on Earth, chemical evolution of magmas, and atmospheric circulation and dynamics. Space-based observations during the last decades have given us a global view of Earth's volcanic emission, particularly of sulfur dioxide (SO2). Although none of the satellite missions were intended to be used for measurement of volcanic gas emission, specially adapted algorithms have produced time-averaged global emission budgets. These have confirmed that tropospheric plumes, produced from persistent degassing of weak sources, dominate the total emission of volcanic SO2. Although space-based observations have provided this global insight into some aspects of Earth's volcanism, it still has important limitations. The magnitude and short-term variability of lower-atmosphere emissions, historically less accessible from space, remain largely uncertain. Operational monitoring of volcanic plumes, at scales relevant for adequate surveillance, has been facilitated through the use of ground-based scanning differential optical absorption spectrometer (ScanDOAS) instruments since the beginning of this century, largely due to the coordinated effort of the Network for Observation of Volcanic and Atmospheric Change (NOVAC). In this study, we present a compilation of results of homogenized post-analysis of measurements of SO2 flux and plume parameters obtained during the period March 2005 to January 2017 of 32 volcanoes in NOVAC. This inventory opens a window into the short-term emission patterns of a diverse set of volcanoes in terms of magma composition, geographical location, magnitude of emission, and style of eruptive activity. We find that passive volcanic degassing is by no means a stationary process in time and that large sub-daily variability is observed in the flux of volcanic gases, which has implications for emission budgets produced using short-term, sporadic observations. The use of a standard evaluation method allows for intercomparison between different volcanoes and between ground- and space-based measurements of the same volcanoes. The emission of several weakly degassing volcanoes, undetected by satellites, is presented for the first time. We also compare our results with those reported in the literature, providing ranges of variability in emission not accessible in the past. The open-access data repository introduced in this article will enable further exploitation of this unique dataset, with a focus on volcanological research, risk assessment, satellite-sensor validation, and improved quantification of the prevalent tropospheric component of global volcanic emission. Datasets for each volcano are made available at https://novac.chalmers.se (last access: 1 October 2020) under the CC-BY 4 license or through the DOI (digital object identifier) links provided in Table 1.

Soil CO2 flux and 222Rn activity measurements may positively contribute to the geochemical monitoring of active volcanoes. The influence of several environmental parameters on the gas signals has been substantially demonstrated. Therefore, the implementation of tools capable of removing (or minimizing) the contribution of the atmospheric effects from the acquired timeseries is a challenge in volcano surveillance. Here, we present four years-long continuous monitoring (from April 2007 to September 2011) of radon activity and soil CO2 flux collected on the NE flank of Stromboli volcano. Both gases record higher emissions during fall-winter (up to 2700 Bq*m-3 for radon and 750 g m-2 day-1 for CO2) than during spring-summer seasons. Short-time variations on 222Rn activity are modulated by changes in soil humidity (rainfall), and changes in soil CO2 flux that may be ascribed to variations in wind speed and direction. The spectral analyses reveal diurnal and semidiurnal cycles on both gases, outlining that atmospheric variations are capable to modify the gas release rate from the soil. The long-term soil CO2 flux shows a slow decreasing trend, not visible in 222Rn activity, suggesting a possible difference in the source depth of the of the gases, CO2 being deeper and likely related to degassing at depth of the magma batch involved in the February-April 2007 effusive eruption. To minimize the effect of the environmental parameters on the 222Rn concentrations and soil CO2 fluxes, two different statistical treatments were applied: the Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and the Principal Component Regression (PCR). These approaches allow to quantify the weight of each environmental factor on the two gas species and show a strong influence of some parameters on the gas transfer processes through soils. The residual values of radon and CO2 flux, i.e. the values obtained after correction for the environmental influence, were then compared with the eruptive episodes that occurred at Stromboli during the analysed time span (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011) but no clear correlations emerge between soil gas release and volcanic activity. This is probably due to i) the distal location of the monitoring stations with respect to the active craters and to ii) the fact that during the investigated period no major eruptive phenomena (paroxysmal explosion, flank eruption) occurred. Comparison of MLR and PCR methods in time-series analysis indicates that MLR can be more easily applied to real time data processing in monitoring of open conduit active volcanoes (like Stromboli) where the transition to an eruptive phase may occur in relatively short times.

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