0000000000451697
AUTHOR
Maria Teresa Pareschi
The assessment of volcanic gas hazard by means of numerical models: An example from Vulcano Island (Sicily)
Volcanic activity can inject large quantities of gases and aerosols into the atmosphere both during and between eruptions, creating a health risk for the local population. The paper describes how the volcanic gas concentration in the air can be computed by a flow model simulating the wind field over a digital terrain model of the volcano coupled with a Lagrangian particle model that uses the known (measured) gas emission rates to simulate gas dispersion. The coupling provides hazard maps for a number of meteorological conditions, introduced as boundary and initial conditions to the wind flow model, and permits the estimation of the risk both for actual and increased emission rates. An appli…
Atmospheric dispersion of volcanic CO 2 at Vulcano island
Abstract Intensive carbon dioxide emanations occur throughout the island of Vulcano (Aeolian Archipelago, north of Sicily, Italy). The main sources of CO 2 on the island are the hot fumaroles (∼500°C) of the northern ridge of the La Fossa crater, the fumaroles of the Baia di Levante and the emission areas spread out both on the slopes of the cone and in the nearby plain. The carbon dioxide from the soil can be considered as being emitted at air temperature. In this work, CO 2 concentrations in the air over the island are estimated by means of two numerical codes. This paper takes advantage of the parallel knowledge gained from a previously written paper for SO 2 emissions from the La Fossa …