Sulfur Dioxide Contributions to the Atmosphere by Volcanoes

Abstract

The first extensive measurements by remote-sensing correlation spectrometry of the sulfur dioxide emitted by volcanic plumes indicate that on the order of 10³ metric tons of sulfur dioxide gas enter the atmosphere daily from Central American volcanoes. Extrapolation gives a minimum estimate of the annual amount of sulfur dioxide emitted from the world's volcanoes of about 10⁷ metric tons.