This award provides one-half the funding for the development of a field Raman spectrometer system capable of identifying and measuring the concentration of gas species in volcanic eruption plumes. The system will be capable of measuring CO2, H2O, SO2 and other gas species on the ground or from an airplane. The system is to be developed by the principal investigator at the Michigan Technological University. The University is committed to providing the remaining half of the required funds for the project. The application of this tool will provide monitoring capabilities for the gaseous emissions of volcanos and will be useful in predicting volcanic eruptions and in assessing the impact of volcanic eruptions on climate.
