Volcanic eruption potential diagnosis by volcanic gas observation

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K12485
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Natural disaster / Disaster prevention science
• Research Institution: Tokai University
• Principal Investigator: OHBA Takeshi 東海大学, 理学部, 教授 (60203915)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): YAGUCHI Muga 気象庁, 気象研究所, 研究官 (20785430)
• Research Collaborator: NISHINO Kana
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 火山噴火 / 水蒸気噴火 / 火山ガス / 熱水系 / マグマ / 噴火ポテンシャル / 防災

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was mainly to evaluate the eruptive potential of volcano causing steam explosion. Volcanic eruption is a complex natural phenomenon, and the possibility of eruption increases if the discharge flow rate of magmatic gas is large, which is the driving force of eruption. However, in many cases the increase of magmatic gas flux does not lead to eruption. In this study, we collected and analyzed the volcanic gases repeatedly at Mt Hakone, Mt Kusatsu Shirane and Mt Kirishima-Iwoyama, and compared with geophysical parameters such as seismic activity. We concluded that the ratio of magmatic components such as He and CO2 to the hydrothermal components such as H2S and CH4 increase when the eruptive potential rises.

Free Research Field

火山化学