Sulphur dioxide emission rates from Yasur volcano, Vanuatu archipelago

Yasur volcano has long been suspected as one of the volcanic emission sources responsible for a significant contribution of sulphur dioxide to the atmosphere. But due to its isolation in the south Pacific region, very little is known about its emission rates. We report here sulphur dioxide flux measurements, obtained on Yasur, using ultraviolet spectroscopy, from April 2004 to November 2005. We found an average flux of 7.9 kg.s −1 of SO 2 , which constitutes some 1–2% and 1.5–2.5% of estimated global time‐integrated volcanic emissions to the atmosphere and troposphere, respectively.