Mount St. Helens Sulfur and Carbon Dioxide Emission Rates 1980-1988

Airborne monitoring data from 1980 to 1988 tracks sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide emission rates from Mount St. Helens volcano. The US Geological Survey collected this data using correlation spectrometers and infrared spectrometers mounted on aircraft. Measurements began in May 1980 for SO2 and July 1980 for CO2.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal trends in SO2 and CO2 emission rates to study volcanic activity cycles.
• Correlate emission rate data with plume width and ambient wind speed measurements for flux modeling.
• Validate remote sensing techniques for volcanic gas monitoring using the established COSPEC methodology.
• Compare the emission characteristics of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide from the same volcanic source over an 8-year period.

Strengths

• Data spans a significant 8-year period from 1980 to 1988, capturing a major eruptive phase.
• Emission rates are derived from multiple (3-6) aircraft traverses per measurement for robustness.
• Uses established correlation spectroscopy (COSPEC) and infrared spectrometry methods documented in scientific literature.

Limitations

• Specific sample size (number of measurement flights or data points) is not provided in the description.
• Plume velocity is assumed to equal ambient wind speed, which may introduce calculation errors.
• Data is temporally stale, with the last update recorded in 1988.

Provenance

Source

US Geological Survey (USGS) Open File Report 94-212.

Collection Method

Airborne measurements using a correlation spectrometer (COSPEC) for SO2 and an infrared spectrometer for CO2, flown on fixed-wing aircraft through the volcanic plume.

Time Range

1980 to 1988. SO2 monitoring began May 1980, CO2 monitoring began July 1980.

Freshness

Data collection ended in 1988; it is a historical archive.

Geography

Mount St. Helens volcano, Washington, USA.