Real‐time measurements of the concentration and isotope composition of atmospheric and volcanic CO ₂ at Mount Etna (Italy)

Abstract

We present unprecedented data of real-time measurements of the concentration and isotope composition of CO 2 in air and in fumarole-plume gases collected in 2013 during two campaigns at Mount Etna volcano, which were made using a laser-based isotope ratio infrared spectrometer. We performed approximately 360 measurements/h, which allowed calculation of the δ 13 C values of volcanic CO 2 . The fumarole gases of Torre del Filosofo (2900 m above sea level) range from À3.24 ± 0.06‰ to À3.71 ± 0.09‰, comparable to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) measurements of discrete samples collected on the same dates. Plume gases sampled more than 1 km from the craters show a δ 13 C = À2.2 ± 0.4‰, in agreement with the crater fumarole gases analyzed by IRMS. Measurements performed along~17 km driving track from Catania to Mount Etna show more negative δ 13 C values when passing through populated centers due to anthropogenic-derived CO 2 inputs (e.g., car exhaust). The reported results demonstrate that this technique may represent an important advancement for volcanic and environmental monitoring.

Non-destructive estimates of soil carbonic anhydrase activity and associated soil water oxygen isotope composition

“…(Geldern et al, 2014;Rizzo et al, 2014). The stability of measurements of the total concentration and the δ 18 O of CO 2 were assessed prior to the gas exchange measurements by analysing the contents of an air cylinder for 22.5 h (Fig.…”

Real-time measurements of δ13C, CO2 concentration, and CO2/SO2 in volcanic plume gases at Mount Etna, Italy, over 5 consecutive days

“…A recent application of IRIS at Mount Etna by Rizzo et al (2014) demonstrated the precision and accuracy of these measurements. Those authors described two campaigns performed in 2013 that involved the first real-time measurements of the CO 2 concentration and δ 13 C in the ambient air and in fumarolic gases emitted in the area of Torre del Filosofo (TDF) at Mount Etna.…”

Earth’s Climate System

“…If rising levels of atmospheric CO 2 during the time period shown in Fig. 1.7c had been due primarily to volcanoes, atmospheric CO 2 would have been expected to have gotten isotopically heavier (Rizzo et al 2014), which is the opposite of what has been observed.…”