Got gas? Scientist finds both problem and solution in Horseshoe Lake greenhouse gas

While the ghostly white trees hovering around stark Horseshoe Lake may unnerve some people, a Massachusetts scientist found the greenhouse gas that strangled them could actually lead to a solution to climate change problems.

Working under a four-year, $2.3 million grant from the Department of Energy, Dr. Bruno Marino came to Mammoth last week, hoping to refine a high-tech laser he believes will some day soon be absolutely critical in the fight against climate change.

That’s because the same gas that is creating a warmer planet, carbon dioxide, has a very unusual quality when it comes from magmatic sources (like at Horseshoe) which gives scientists the perfect laboratory in trying to find solutions to climate change.

Eddy covariance imaging of diffuse volcanic CO2 emissions at Mammoth Mountain, CA, USA

Use of eddy covariance (EC) techniques to map the spatial distribution of diffuse volcanic CO2 fluxes and quantify CO2 emission rate was tested at the Horseshoe Lake tree-kill area on Mammoth Mountain, California, USA. EC measurements of CO2 flux were made during September–October 2010 and ranged from 85 to 1,766 g m−2 day−1. Comparative maps of soil CO2 flux were simulated and CO2 emission rates estimated from three accumulation chamber (AC) CO2 flux surveys. Least-squares inversion of measured eddy covariance CO2 fluxes and corresponding modeled source weight functions recovered 58–77% of the CO2 emission rates estimated based on simulated AC soil CO2 fluxes. Spatial distributions of modeled surface CO2 fluxes based on EC and AC observations showed moderate to good correspondence (R2 = 0.36 to 0.70). Results provide a framework for automated monitoring of volcanic CO2 emissions over relatively large areas.

Geologic CO2 input into groundwater and the atmosphere, Soda Springs, ID, USA

A set of CO2 flux, geochemical, and hydrologic measurement techniques was used to characterize the source of and quantify gaseous and dissolved CO2 discharges from the area of Soda Springs, southeastern Idaho. An eddy covariance system was deployed for ~ one month near a bubbling spring and measured net CO2 fluxes from − 74 to 1147 g m− 2 d− 1. An inversion of measured eddy covariance CO2 fluxes and corresponding modeled source weight functions mapped the surface CO2 flux distribution within and quantified CO2 emission rate (24.9 t d− 1) from a 0.05 km2 area surrounding the spring. Soil CO2 fluxes (< 1 to 52,178 g m− 2 d− 1) were measured within a 0.05 km2 area of diffuse degassing using the accumulation chamber method. The estimated CO2 emission rate from this area was 49 t d− 1. A carbon mass balance approach was used to estimate dissolved CO2 discharges from contributing sources at nine springs and the Soda Springs geyser. Total dissolved inorganic carbon (as CO2) discharge for all sampled groundwater features was 57.1 t d− 1. Of this quantity, approximately 3% was derived from biogenic carbon dissolved in infiltrating groundwater, 35% was derived from carbonate mineral dissolution within the aquifer(s), and 62% was derived from deep source(s). Isotopic compositions of helium (1.74–2.37 Ra) and deeply derived carbon (δ13C ≈ 3‰) suggested contribution of volatiles from mantle and carbonate sources. Assuming that the deeply derived CO2 discharge estimated for sampled groundwater features (~ 35 t d− 1) is representative of springs throughout the study area, the total rate of deeply derived CO2 input into the groundwater system within this area could be ~ 350 t d− 1, similar to CO2 emission rates from a number of quiescent volcanoes.