Chlorine, fluorine, and sulfur emissions from Mount Erebus, Antarctica and estimated contributions to the Antarctic atmosphere

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 20; no. 18; pp. 1959 - 1962
• Main Authors: Zreda-Gostynska, Grazyna, Kyle, Philip R., Finnegan, David L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Blackwell Publishing Ltd 15.09.1993; American Geophysical Union
• Subjects: 580000 > Geosciences; Aerosols; ANTARCTIC REGIONS; ANTARCTICA; Atmospheres; CHALCOGENIDES; Chemical composition and interactions. Ionic interactions and processes; Chlorine; CHLORINE COMPOUNDS; CRYOSPHERE; Discharge; Earth, ocean, space; EMISSION; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; FLUIDS; FLUORINE COMPOUNDS; GASES; GEOSCIENCES; HALOGEN COMPOUNDS; Halogens; HYDROCHLORIC ACID; HYDROFLUORIC ACID; HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS; INORGANIC ACIDS; Meteorology; OXIDES; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; POLAR REGIONS; Sulfur; SULFUR COMPOUNDS; SULFUR DIOXIDE; SULFUR OXIDES 540120 > Environment, Atmospheric > Chemicals Monitoring & Transport > (1990-); VOLCANIC GASES; Antarctica; Mt. Erebus, Antarctica; Hydrogen Chlorides; Volcanic eruption; Chlorine; Fluorine; Hydrogen Fluorides; Troposphere; Aerosols; Halogen; Volcanic gas; Concentration; Sulfur
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/93GL01879

The discharge rates of halogens in aerosols and gases emitted from Mount Erebus between December 1986 and January 1991 were estimated by combining element‐to‐sulfur ratios on filter samples with SO2 output measured by COSPEC. The halogen and sulfur content of the gas vary in a quasi‐cyclical pattern possibly because of a heterogeneous distribution of volatiles in the Erebus magmatic system. The emission rates of HF and HCl have increased twofold since 1986 reaching 6 and 13.3 Gg yr−1, respectively, in 1991, making Erebus an important contributor of halogens to the Antarctic atmosphere.