Modest volcanic SO2 emissions from the Indonesian archipelago

Philipson Bani (1) , Clive Oppenheimer , Vitchko Tsanev , Bruno Scaillet (2, 3) , Sofyan Primulyana , Ugan Boyson Saing , Hilma Alfianti , Mita Marlia

1 LMV - Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans
2 ISTO - Institut des Sciences de la Terre d'Orléans - UMR7327
3 Géodynamique - UMR7327

Abstract Indonesia hosts the largest number of active volcanoes, several of which are renowned for climate-changing historical eruptions. This pedigree might suggest a substantial fraction of global volcanic sulfur emissions from Indonesia and are intrinsically driven by sulfur-rich magmas. However, a paucity of observations has hampered evaluation of these points—many volcanoes have hitherto not been subject to emissions measurements. Here we report new gas measurements from Indonesian volcanoes. The combined SO 2 output amounts to 1.15 ± 0.48 Tg/yr. We estimate an additional time-averaged SO 2 yield of 0.12-0.54 Tg/yr for explosive eruptions, indicating a total SO 2 inventory of 1.27-1.69 Tg/yr for Indonesian. This is comparatively modest—individual volcanoes such as Etna have sustained higher fluxes. To understand this paradox, we compare the geodynamic, petrologic, magma dynamical and shallow magmatic-hydrothermal processes that influence the sulfur transfer to the atmosphere. Results reinforce the idea that sulfur-rich eruptions reflect long-term accumulation of volatiles in the reservoirs.

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences; Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences; Volcanology

Philipson Bani, Clive Oppenheimer, Vitchko Tsanev, Bruno Scaillet, Sofyan Primulyana, et al.. Modest volcanic SO2 emissions from the Indonesian archipelago. Nature Communications, 2022, 13 (1), pp.3366. ⟨10.1038/s41467-022-31043-7⟩. ⟨insu-03696475⟩