Telegram from Earth’s Interior, v. 1, n. 1, 1 Aug.
2018
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Telegram from Earth’s Interior
Newsletter of the IAVCEI Commission on
the Chemistry of Volcanic Gases (CCVG)
In this issue:
Editorial…………………………………………1
Announcements from the board…………….......2
News………………………………………….....3
Future events……………………………………6
Article: The beginnings of CCVG
by H. Shinohara and T. Gerlach………………...8
Research school on volcanic gas: Colombia
by G. Garzón…………………………………..12
Early career colleague: Agostina Chodi………..15
CCVG board (2017-2020):
Franco Tassi, Santiago Arellano (co-leaders)
Silvana Hidalgo (secretary)
Artur Ionescu (web-master)
Clara Lamberti, Lizzette Rodríguez (social media)
Ryunosuke Kazahaya (workshop representative)
Contact:
santiago.arellano@chalmers.se (editor)
shidalgo@igepn.edu.ec (secretary)
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Editorial
Dear colleague,
This is the first issue of the Newsletter of
IAVCEI-CCVG, our Commission on the
Chemistry of Volcanic Gases.
Professor Sadao Matsuo, the first leader of the
board of our commission, famously referred to
volcanic gas emissions as a “Telegram from
Earth’s interior”. We use his thoughtful
metaphor as a nick-name for this newsletter,
which we hope will become a trusted and
widely followed channel for communication of
important events of general interest to our
community.
We report here on the work carried out by the
commission’s board during the last months,
and present a compilation of important news
and relevant future events.
Which were the original purposes of this
commission? We asked Shinohara Hiroshi and
Terry Gerlach, two of the pioneers who were
part of the initial workshops, for a legitimate
account of their reminiscences of the
beginnings of CCVG.
The commission represents the views of
scientists from all regions of the world, which
work has contributed to our present
understanding of volcanic emissions. Here we
present a personal account by Gustavo Garzón
of nearly four decades of volcanic gas studies
in Colombia.
The work of young colleagues keeps the wheel
of progress rolling in our field. We present an
interview to Agostina Chiodi about her
exciting work in the Puna province, the
southernmost region of the Andean Plateau.
We thank all contributors of this newsletter,
and you, dear colleague, for your involvement
and criticism. Please contact us if you want to
express your opinions, announce positions, or
share information of events or projects.
Santiago Arellano, CCVG co-leader.
Telegram from Earth’s Interior, v. 1, n. 1, 1 Aug. 2018
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Announcements from the board
A report of activities led by the present
members of the board of the commission,
since the last issue of the newsletter.
New board members and structure
The participants of the 13th Workshop of the
Volcanic Gases organized by Instituto
Geofísico in Ecuador in September-October
2017, elected the new members of the CCVG-
Board for the period 2017-2020. Franco Tassi
(IT) and Santiago Arellano (EC/SE) were
elected as co-leaders, Silvana Hidalgo (EC) as
the secretary, Artur Ionescu (RO) as the
webmaster, and María Clara Lamberti (AR) as
the account manager of the Facebook page.
Lizzette Rodríguez (PR) will continue as
administrator the Facebook group of the
commission. It was decided to include, as a
member of the board, one representative of
the Organizing Committee of the next
Workshop. This position is occupied by
Ryunosuke Kazahaya (JP). The Board is thus
composed by members from different
geographical regions, career-stage, gender, and
expertise.
For more details:
https://www.iavceivolcano.org/iavcei-
commissions/iavcei-commissions-list.html
14th Gas Workshop, Japan
During the CCVG General Assembly held in
connection with the 13th Gas Workshop, it was
decided to accept the proposal from the
Japanese delegation to organize the 14th Gas
Worskhop of CCVG in Japan. The workshop
will be held during 8-10 days in early-June
2020. The main focus will be the volcanoes of
the Hokkaido region: Usu, Tarumae and
Tokachi. The preliminary programme includes
field measurements on high-temperature
fumaroles (bottles, Multi-GAS, etc.), plume
measurements (DOAS, UV camera, etc.) and
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soil degassing. The estimated cost will be
around 1100-1300 USD/participant. More
information will be announced through
Circulars in the next months. The main contact
is Ryunosuke Kazahaya, 風早竜之介, from
the Geological Survey of Japan – AIST.
von.kazahaya@aist.go.jp
Report of 13th Gas Workshop, Ecuador
To be found in the forthcoming website of
CCVG.
Results of measurements from the 13th
Gas Workshop, Ecuador
In order to summarize the results of field
measurements obtained during the CCVG Gas
Workshop, we invite all participants to
contribute with their results, by filling the data
tables in the following links, as soon as
possible:
Pichincha:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17LPW9
TI_ZNymvjeA993pu_v7Xb8YvVksh1yOZ6EVL6U
/edit#gid=613641632
Tungurahua:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Pi25--
w790gXuceNApYf5dzgLl6udO2Y_5JD4S2ClJY/edi
t#gid=1598821874
Cotopaxi:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17n858Vc
nSZVcypWWzhTbMymTiV794-
_OIds9lgmf6FI/edit#gid=1649649267
Minas de Azufre:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lcQwCF
ktkDNSzShDmM8kwvDKvCjJ1CnfQh7aUuwzOW
s/edit#gid=1812727952
For more details, please contact Silvana Hidalgo:
silvanahidalgo76@gmail.com
Update of CCVG members contact list
Through email contact and an online
registration form, the list of members of
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Telegram from Earth’s Interior, v. 1, n. 1, 1 Aug. 2018
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CCVG was updated in November 2017. The
registration form will be kept active when the
new website of the Commission is in place.
According to IAVCEI rules, official
membership is granted only through payment
of IAVCEI membership fees, and grants all
benefits described in this link:
https://www.iavceivolcano.org/iavcei-
membership/benefits-of-iavcei-members.html
So called “Contact-CCVG members” will
receive information about the Commission
activities.
For registration of new members follow this
link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QcJZS_CMhRoz
7l7UN7P8kToKV-
AAbjApl86CMS1NDLE/viewform?edit_requested=tr
ue
New log o for the Commission
In connection with an End of Year greetings,
an online poll was sent to CCVG members to
select a new logo for the Commission. The
members chose during January 2018 between
the previous and three new proposed designs,
created voluntarily by Patricia Barcala, a
freelance designer. A total of 25 members
participated and selected the option shown in
the header of this newsletter. The new logo
represents diversity of species and techniques,
according to the author. This symbol will be
used in official documents of the Commission.
We thank Patricia for her generous
contribution.
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Proposal 2 was the preferred option. The
results of the poll are shown below:
Old logo
Proposal 1
Proposal 2
Proposal 3
Proposal 4
Results of selection poll of new logo
You can check all the proposals in the google
form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jrxzvpjh9X4CQ5
TBIt1_DF2dXdrNnmE8nQqTTB_YOxk/viewform?e
dit_requested=true
News
A summary of past events of general interest
to CCVG members.
New IAVCEI website
IAVCEI has decided to sign a contract with an
organization called Association House, which
provides online management services. As a
result, the official website of IAVCEI was
migrated to https://www.iavceivolcano.org/
Members can now create a professional profile
through a system called CLAUDiN, receive
online notifications through a system called E-
RUPT, and renew membership through an
online tool. The previous domain,
www.iavcei.org, is no longer active and the
websites of all commissions, including CCVG,
will be migrated to the new domain in the near
future.
For more information contact Artur Ionescu:
artur.ionescu@ubbcluj.ro
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IAVCEI membership
According to IAVCEI regulations, only paying
members of IAVCEI are official members of
CCVG. IAVCEI has created an easy-to-use
online payment system to facilitate the process
of creating/renewing membership. There are
different types of membership, depending on
career-level, annual income or duration
(young, regular, life-long, benefactor, 1-4
years, etc.).
For more details:
https://www.iavceivolcano.org/iavcei-
membership/iavcei-subscription/how-to-register-to-
iavcei.html
Frontiers in Earth Science - Special
Issue: Recent Advances in Volcanic
Gas Science
The intention of this Research Topic is to publish
outputs from the 2017 CCVG Gas Workshop in
Ecuador to provide a summary of the current
state of the art in this field.
For more details see:
https://www.frontiersin.org/research-
topics/6241/recent-advances-in-volcanic-gas-science
Awards
The Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), an
international research program funded mainly
by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to promote
deep carbon science, has awarded one of the
2017 DCO Emerging Leader Award to Taryn
Lopez (U. Alaska-Fairbanks, US) for her
contributions to the Reservoir and Fluxes
community of DCO. Taryn is an active
member of CCVG and served as Secretary of
the Board in the period 2014-2017. We
congratulate Taryn for this well-deserved
recognition.
For more details:
https://deepcarbon.net/feature/2017-dco-emerging-
leader-award-recipients-selected#.WsOkepq-mYf
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Obituary
Prof. David Hilton (Scripps Institution of
Oceanography, USA) passed away on 7
January 2017. He will be remembered and
missed by the CCVG community for his
important contributions to geochemistry,
isotopic distribution and geodynamic
implications and hydrological applications of
noble gases. The CCVG Board extends its
condolences to his family and friends.
Word-cloud formed from titles of David
Hilton’s published articles
For more details see:
https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/obituary-notice-david-
hilton
Recent past events
AGU Fall Meeting 2017, New Orleans-USA,
11-15 December 2017
The American Geophysical Union held its
annual meeting in New Orleans. Not official
session on volcanic gases was arranged by the
Commission; however relevant sessions on the
chemistry of volcanic gases included:
DI51B: Merging Fluid Mechanics,
Thermodynamics, and Geochemistry to
Investigate Earth's Dynamic Evolution,
convened by Jackson et al.
V31E: Volatiles in Terrestrial Planets: Their
Role and Signatures in Differentiation,
Volcanic, Magmatic, and Atmospheric
Processes, convened by Amalberti et al.
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V41A: Earth’s Volatiles Fluxes Preserved in
Fluid and Melt Inclusions, convened by
Frezzotti et al.
For more details see:
https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/H
ome/0
International course 2018: Geochemical
techniques applied to active volcanoes,
Caviahue, Argentina. February 26 – March 2
The fourth edition of this course was
successfully carried out this year. Over 40
students from six different countries
participated in this five-day intense program,
which consisted of lectures and field work.
During the four fieldtrips, students were able
to actively participate in direct sampling of
fumaroles, remote sampling of the volcanic
plume with diverse devices (Multi-GAS, MAX-
DOAS and UV cameras), and diffuse
degassing sampling, both in thermal sites and
in the active crater of the Copahue volcano.
A photo album is available in the CCVG
Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/CCVG.IAVCEI/phot
os/?tab=album&album_id=1662148920543285
EGU General Assembly 2018, Vienna-Austria,
8-13 April 2018
The European Geosciences Union General
Assembly 2018 included several sessions of
interest to the CCVG community. Among the
most relevant are:
GMPV4.5/AS3.8: Volcanic Gas Emissions,
convened by Bobrowski et al.
GMPV2.7/PS1.12: Accretion, Differentiation
and Volatiles: constraints on terrestrial planets,
convened by Bureau et al.
GMPV2.9/PS6.3: Metals and sulfides in
magmatic systems: from core formation to ore
formation, convened by Laurenz et al.
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GMPV4.4/NH2.6: Magma ascent, degassing
and eruptive dynamics: linking experiments,
models and observations, convened by
de’Michieli Vitturi et al.
GMPV5.3/AS3.9/NH6.11: Satellite-based
quantification and modelling of volcanic gas,
aerosol and ash emission: dispersal and
chemical evolution, convened by Corradini et
al.
GMPV5.4: UV, visible and IR imaging of
volcanic phenomena, convened by Bani et al.
For more details see:
https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2018/s
essionprogramme
6th NOVAC Workshop, Arequipa-Peru, 20-30
April 2018:
The USGS Volcano Disaster Assistance
Program (VDAP) and the Observatorio
Vulcanológico of INGEMMET (OVI) of Peru
co-organized the 6th Workshop of the
NOVAC collaboration, which was attended by
nearly 70 people from more than 20 countries.
The conference was held in Arequipa and
followed by field activities in Chivay and a visit
to Sabancaya volcano.
For more details contact Christoph Kern:
ckern@usgs.gov or visit the website:
www.novac-community.org
DECADE Data Synthesis Workshop,
Washington DC-USA, 30 April-4 May 2018
28 members of the Fluxes and Reservoirs team
of the Deep Carbon Observatory gathered in
the Carnegie Institution for Science in
Washington to improve the estimates of global
deep-carbon emissions from volcanoes.
For more details see:
https://deepcarbon.net/new-estimate-global-carbon-
degassing
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Gordon Research Conference: Deep Carbon
Science in the Context of Geological Time,
Rhode Island-USA, 17-22 June 2018
For more details see: https://www.grc.org/deep-
carbon-science-conference/2018/
Etna International Training School of
Geochemistry 2018. Science meets Practice,
Mt. Etna-Italy, 30 July-4 August 2018
Hosted in Mt. Etna (Italy) at the Osservatorio
Vulcanologico Pizzi Deneri, it is addressed to
MSc holders, PhD students and postdoctoral
researchers. Its main aim is to bring together the
next generation of researchers, active in studies
concerning geochemistry, and to introduce them
with innovative direct sampling and remote
sensing techniques.
For more details see:
https://sites.google.com/site/etnapizzideneri/
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Future events
A compilation of some important activities of
general interest to CCVG members
Goldschmidt conference, Boston-USA, 12-17
August 2018
Sessions of special interest to CCVG members:
02c: Mineralogy, Petrology and Processes in the
Mantle Transition Zone and the Lower Mantle
Budgets and Isotopic Compositions of Volatiles
in the Interior of the Earth and Other Terrestrial
Planets, convened by Yaxley et al.
04j: Melt, Gas, and Redox Evolution in Magmatic
Systems: Commemorating the Accomplishments
of John R. Holloway (1940-2017), convened by
Renggli et al.
11a: From Source to Sink: Weathering and
Biogeochemical Cycles in Volcanic Regions on
Earth and Mars, convened by Delmelle et al.
For more details see:
https://goldschmidt.info/2018/index
Cities on Volcanoes 10, Napoli-Italy, 2-7
September 2018
Session of general interest:
S1.33: Volcanic degassing: insights into volcanic
processes, impacts and hazard, convened by
Salerno et al.
Deadline for abstracts (passed: 30 June 2018)
For more details see:
https://www.citiesonvolcanoes10.com/
AGU Fall Meeting 2018, Washington DC-
USA, 10-14 December 2018
Sessions of general interest:
V034: Role, Effect and Fate of Halogens in the
Earth System, convened by Cadoux et al.
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MR023: Volatile Elements in Planetary Interiors: in early August 2018, announcing the deadline
Storage, Cycling, and for abstract submissions (planned for fall 2018).
Implications, convened by Liu et al.
For more details, please contact:
V006: Applications of Unmanned Aerial Systems b.christenson@gns.cri.nz and dmitrirouwet@g
(UAS) to the study of volcanic systems, convened mail.com.
by Carr et al.
V011: Chemistry and Physics of Redox Reactions
in the Solid Earth, convened by Davies and
Brounce.
V017: Data Science and Geochemistry: Applying
Data-driven Approach in Geochemistry-centric
Studies, convened by Wen et al.
V034: Role, Effect and Fate of Halogens in the
Earth System, convened by Cadoux et al.
V035: Sourcing and Geochemistry of Non-
Hydrocarbon Gas Accumulations, convened by
Buursink and Merrill
V036: Storage, cycling, and environmental
consequences of magmatic volatile transfer from
the mantle to the atmosphere, convened by
Fischer et al.
V037: Sulfur – a unique player for redox
evolution, volatile degassing, metal transport in
magmatic, volcanic, and hydrothermal systems,
convened by Pu et al.
V042: Volatile Budgets and Cycling Through
Planetary Evolution, convened by Ni et al.
DI013: Forms and Fluxes of Deep Carbon in
Earth, convened by Edmonds et al.
Deadline for abstract submission: 1 August
2018
For more details see:
https://fallmeeting.agu.org/2018/welcome/

IAVCEI CVL: 10th Workshop on Volcanic

Lakes, New Zealand, 17-26 March 2019
The IAVCEI Commission on Volcanic Lakes
will organize its 10th Workshop in the shores of
Lake Taupo, which 2nd circular will be distributed

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Article: The beginnings of CCVG
A non-technical report of scientific
developments in our field
Shinohara Hiroshi and Terrance Gerlach
(introduction by Santiago Arellano)
Introduction
The Commission on the Chemistry of
Volcanic Gases (CCVG) is today composed by
about 200 members, being one of the largest
and most active commissions of the
International Association of Volcanology and
Chemistry of Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI).
CCVG emerged from the IAVCEI Working
Group on volcanic gases, and for most of its
members, its main purpose is the organization
of the triennial field workshop for comparison
of gas measurement techniques and analysis
methods, the first of which was held in 1982.
Throughout the years, the commission has
grown significantly and grouped a large variety
of scientists, reflecting the development, in
depth and breadth, of the field of volcanic gas
studies. But what is the position and role of
CCVG in the larger context of scientific
unions?
Since July 2018 there is an umbrella
organization, the International Science
Council (ISC), which is a global, non-
governmental organization formed by the
merging of the International Council for
Science (ICSU) and the International Social
Science Council (ISSC), i.e. representing both
natural and social scientists. The ISC groups
more than 180 organizations, among them
international scientific unions, national
scientific bodies and academies, and affiliated
members. One of the scientific unions is the
International Union of Geodesy and
Geophysics (IUGG), which is formed by eight
associations, including IAVCEI, of which
CCVG is one of at least 20 commissions!
Thus: CCVG ∈ IAVCEI ∈ IUGG ∈ ISC.
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A scientific union, such as IUGG, differs from
a regional union, such as the American
Geophysical Union (AGU), mostly in their
geographical scope (global vs. regional) and
the means used to achieve their goals.
International unions are engaged in initiation
and promotion of international scientific
programmes, development of geoscientific
services and products and fostering of
international research cooperation. Whereas
regional unions are mostly engaged in the
organization of scientific meetings and
publications (Ismail-Zadeh, 2016).
When it comes to commissions, in some cases
they are defined as “committees” or groups of
experts formed temporarily or permanently for
the execution of a particular task. CCVG,
however, essentially functions as sub-
“association” of IAVCEI, grouping scientists
in the field of volcanic gas studies.
We think that the role of CCVG should go
beyond the very important organization of the
Gas Workshop. CCVG could, for instance,
maintain a long-lasting programme to
inventory the characteristic composition and
conditions of gases of volcanoes in the world,
it could prepare protocols for calibration,
operation and intercomparison of results of
measurement devices and analytical
techniques, or it could have an active voice in
the outline of new research projects. These
goals may only be achieved through effective
cooperation and involvement of all members,
following a long-term plan, coordinated by the
officers serving in the board.
Before such a plan is properly formulated, we
should listen to some of the pioneers, who
worked as young students with the previous
generation of scientists who took the initiative
to form CCVG. We recognize that most of
past challenges are still relevant today.
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Early period of CCVG Field Workshop on dev.), which is much larger than common
Volcanic Gases analytical errors, and in some cases we found
disagreements larger than an order of
Shinohara Hiroshi, Geological Survey of magnitude even on some major and important
Japan, AIST components, such as HCl or H2. Causes of the
disagreements were discussed in detail, and
The first field workshop on volcanic gases,
some recommendations on the sampling and
held on 1982 at Vulcano, Italy, was organized
analytical techniques were also proposed by
by E. Corazza. It was a small workshop with
Giggenbach and Matsuo (1991) and
19 official participants and several of on-site
Giggenbach et al. (2001). The large scatter of
participants. The major participants were S.
the results was still even reported in the recent
Matsuo, F. Le Guern, T. Gerlach, M. Martini,
workshop results (Lopez et al., 2018). These
E. Mazor, and J. Hirabayashi. Dario Tedesco
results posed us a big question on reliability of
and this author were the young participants
our data, in particular on the accuracy. This is
and the only two who are still participating in
quite different from geochemical studies based
the workshop. I was 22-years old and just
on analyses of well specified samples, such as
started volcanic gas studies. So, I did not know
rocks and water. It is quite difficult to evaluate
details of the background and pre-history of
the true value, as the sampling process, that is
the workshop. Corazza (1986) noted that the
difficult to be standardized, can be the sources
workshop was decided by the Working Group
of the errors. Although we are not very happy
on volcanic gases at the 1981 IAVCEI meeting
to know our uncertainty, this is the reality and
with the aim to test and compare the different
we need to be aware of our limitation. In
sampling and analyzing techniques in the same
contrast, we also need to be aware that many
place at the same moment. The joint fieldwork
well experienced groups produced self-
has been focused on fumarolic gas sampling,
consistent data sets, such as a constant
although broader topics on volcanic gases were
composition obtained by repeated sampling
included during the scientific sessions and field
during a quiet period or small scatters in
excursion. This has been the central aim of the
replicated samples (Saito et al., 2002). The gas
workshop until the 7th workshop at Satsuma-
workshop is the rare occasion to examine our
Iwojima, Japan in 2000, where we discussed to
uncertainty and to improve it, even if the
extend the aim to include other techniques,
advances are slow. The joint fieldwork is
and the joint fieldwork on soil degassing and
important not only for the bottle sampling but
remote sensing measurements started from the
also an important occasion to compare the
8th workshop in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
results from bottle sampling and Multi-GAS,
The joint samplings on fields have been DOAS and SO2 camera, as well as with other
invaluable occasions to exchange ideas, techniques. I hope we can continue the field
cautions and tips on the sampling and workshop with extending the scope of the
analytical techniques, and helped a lot, in pioneers.
particular young researchers (including
myself), to improve their techniques. The
sampling techniques became more
standardized with time, in particular with the
Giggenbach-bottle. In contrast, there has been
fairly large scatter on the analytical results
(Giggenbach and Matsuo, 1991; Giggenbach et
al., 2001). Even in better cases, the reported
values have a scatter larger than ±10% (1 std.

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Recollections of the early CCVG
Terrence Gerlach, United States Geological
Survey, USGS
I attended the first two meetings of the
CCVG. The initial organizational meeting was
a PIRPSEV* event held in Paris in early July
1980. The second meeting was held at Vulcano
in September 1982 and included a field
workshop. H. Tazieff (France), S. Matsuo
(Japan), and E. Corazza (Italy) were clearly
leaders and pioneers in the creation of the
CCVG. I was simply an attendee, although it
would be fair to say I functioned as the U.S.
representative to the CCVG during the first
two meetings, but without formal designation
as such. I was never in anyway an office-holder
in the CCVG; nor was I involved in organizing
the early meetings and field workshops that
were the main purpose of the CCVG. Moto
Sato of the USGS eventually became the de-
facto U.S. representative to the CCVG.
My recollection is that initially, the main
scientific concern of the CCVG was to
standardize and validate volcanic gas sampling
techniques. A wide variety of techniques and
methods were in use at the time, and results
did not always agree. In the meetings, there
was lengthy and vigorous discussion about the
causes of differences in results, as well as the
pros and cons of the various techniques. These
topics were coincident with my interests at the
time because my research was focused on
using thermodynamic studies of gas sampling
data as a tool for identifying (a) sources and
processes of sample contamination, (b) sample
fractionation and chemical reactions during
cooling and collection, and (c) analytical
errors. In some cases, I found it was possible
to recover a restored composition that
arguably more closely approximated the actual
target gas composition. To their credit, the
participants remained committed to the goal of
developing techniques that to the extent
possible accurately captured and measured the
actual target gas composition.
W. Giggenbach was a vigorous and very
influential participant in these early
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meetings. He was a rising leader and pioneer in
the field of gas geochemistry with extensive
experience in the application of gas
geochemical sampling techniques to
geothermal and volcanic systems. At this time,
the Giggenbach bottle technique and variants
thereof were rapidly gaining acceptance as a
practical fumarole sampling technique that
gave good results. The Giggenbach bottle
method went on to dominate volcanic gas
sampling studies, and Giggenbach himself
went on to become a memorable leader of the
CCVG.
The early meetings also included presentations
by younger scientists who were taking new
approaches to the study of volcanic gases. I
unfortunately cannot do justice here to all the
creative work of these younger participants,
but I recall three whose work was especially
close to my interests back then. P. Allard
presented a comprehensive investigation of
the stable isotopic composition of volcanic
gases at several volcanoes from various
tectonic settings. F. Le Guern's reported the
status of his preliminary attempts to develop a
field deployable gas chromatography
system. J.C. Sabroux was already developing
and testing field sensors for volcanic gases and
a probe for measuring in-situ O2 fugacity in
fumaroles.
To the best of my knowledge, remote sensing
of volcanic gas emission rates was not on the
program in either of the first two meetings, nor
was it included in the 1982 field workshop,
even though SO2 correlation spectroscopy
(COSPEC) began to be used at volcanoes in
the 1970s. I seem to recall however that the
question of its inclusion in future CCVG field
workshops did come up during
discussions. These powerful techniques so
important for volcano monitoring did soon
become part of the CCVG field workshops.
*PIRPSEV: Programme interdisciplinaire de
recherche sur la prévision et la surveillance des
éruptions volcaniques (France)
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References:

A. Ismail-Zadeh (2016), Geoscience international:

the role of scientific unions, Hist. Geo Space Sci.,
7, 103–123.
E. Corazza (1986) Field workshop on volcanic
gases, Vulcano (Italy), 1982. General report.
Geothermics, 15, 197-200.
W.F. Giggenbach and S. Matsuo (1991) Evaluation
of results from Second and Third IAVCEI field
workshop on volcanic gases, Mt. Usu, Japan and
White Island, New Zealand. Appl. Geochem.,
6, 125-141.
W.F. Giggenbach et al. (2001) Evaluation of results
from fourth and fifth IAVCEI field workshop
on volcanic gases, Vulcano island, Italy and
Java, Indonesia. J. Volcanol. Geothermal Res.,
108, 157-172.
T. Lopez et al. (2018) New insights into the
magmatic-hydrothermal system and volatile
budget of Lastarria volcano, Chile: Integrated
results from the 2014 IAVCEI CCVG 12th
volcanic gas workshop. Geosphere, 14, 983-
1007.
G. Saito et al. (2002) Successive sampling of
fumarolic gases at Satsuma-Iwojima and Kuju
volcanoes, southwest Japan: Evaluation of
short-term variations and precision of the gas
sampling and analytical techniques. Geochem.
J., 36, 1-20.

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Research school on volcanic gas
studies: Colombia
An account of the development of volcanic
gas studies in a particular region of the world
Volcanic gas studies in Colombia:
A historical review
Gustavo Garzón, Servicio Geológico
Colombiano, SGC
Gustavo Garzón measuring gas fluxes at the
crater rim of Laguna Verde/Azufral volcano
The first measurements of volcanic gases in
Colombia were obtained during a geothermal
feasibility study managed by the Latin American
Energy Organization (OLADE), which was
executed in the eighties of the twentieth century
on several volcanoes of Colombia and Ecuador
with the international collaboration of the French
BRGM and Geotermica Italiana.
The program for permanent gas monitoring at
active volcanoes in Colombia, defining as active
those volcanoes which have showed evidences of
heat and mass transfer from the Earth’s interior
to the surface, especially in the form of fumaroles
and/or thermal springs, initiated just after the
worldwide known “Armero’s Tragedy” in 1985.
As a result of the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz,
23000 people, who were living in Armero,
Chinchina and Villamaria municipalities, very
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close to six rivers originated in the flanks of
Nevado del Ruiz volcano, lost their lives.
Volcanoes of Colombia with greatest fumarolic
manifestations during the last forty years include:
Nevado del Ruiz, Nevado del Tolima, Nevado
del Huila, Puracé, Galeras and Cumbal. Some
solfatara manifestations can be found at Cerro
Machín, Sotara and Azufral volcanoes. Azufral
volcano hosts a green lake inside its crater, and
some volcanoes such as Nevado de Santa Isabel
and Paramillo de Santa Rosa host lagoons, which
sometimes showed thermal and bubbly gas
manifestations, also evidenced by the death of
births in their banks.
Methodologies which have been used for gas
measurements at Colombian active volcanoes for
about the last four decades, can be summarized
as:
① Frequent on-site sampling with preservation
procedures for transport and analyses in a
laboratory;
② Permanent networks of soil Radon sensors;
③ Permanent gas telemetered systems in the
period 1996-2004 (Faber et al., 2003);
④ Campaign and permanent networks of gas
remote sensors.
Chronology of use of different gas
measurement techniques on volcanoes in
Colombia
A fumarole named Chavas at Galeras volcano
reached temperatures about 425 oC for more than
a decade. An extraordinarily high temperature of
1135 oC was registered in the year 2000, just
before a relatively small explosion. This fumarole
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was the precursory signal for the formation of a
new crater.
For decades, the central objective of volcanic gas
monitoring had been comprehending the
partition and relation between magmatic and
hydrothermal contributions from the deep. A
useful indicator derives from the relatively better
solubility of sulfur dioxide compared with the
modest solubility of carbon dioxide on magma
bodies. This research has been based on
measurements of the relative compositions of
sulfur and carbon volatile species, as well as on
the use of models of the relative compositions of
isotopes of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms
observed in molecules of carbon dioxide and
water.
Above: Viviana Burbano and colleagues
from INGV installing Multi-GAS
instruments in the crater rim of Galeras
volcano. Below: Luisa Fernanda Meza and
an assistant measuring high temperature
fumaroles at Puracé volcano
Data from networks of soil Radon isotope
sensors have shown that its contribution to
surveillance of volcanic activity is very limited.
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On the contrary, these studies, conducted for
long time periods, have proven to be useful tools
outside volcanic environments, especially in neo-
tectonic active areas, for both faulting delineation
and seismic activity surveillance.
Five versions of gas-telemetered systems were
developed at Galeras volcano during the period
from 1996 until 2004, in cooperation between the
German BGR and Colombian INGEOMINAS
institutions. Useful information about CO2, SO2
and Rn data were transmitted near to real time
from high temperature fumaroles to
volcanological observatories, especially before
the occurrence of several small eruptions in this
period of relatively low volcanic activity (Faber et
al., 2003).
Two volumes of the Journal of Volcanology and
Geothermal Research have been dedicated
exclusively to studies on active volcanoes in
Colombia: volume 42 to Nevado del Ruiz,
published in July 1990, and volume 77 to Galeras,
published in May 1997. Important scientific
studies of volcanic gases are summarized in these
volumes (Williams et al., 1990; Zapata et al.,
1997).
Two controversial books have been published
concerning fumarolic gases and explosions in
two Colombian volcanoes: “Surviving Galeras”
(2001) and “No Apparent Danger” (2002), in
which we can see different points of view of the
same unfortunate event that killed several
scientists in the crater of Galeras volcano on 14
January 1993. Nestor García (Colombia), José
Arles Zapata (Colombia) and Igor Menyalov
(Rusia) were gas scientists who died during this
rather small eruption, and which bodies were
never found. Geochemist Stanley Williams was
found a few minutes after the explosion and
carried on shoulders to the top of the volcano by
two car-drivers of the observatory. Williams was
then taken by a military helicopter to a hospital in
very poor health conditions. Fabio García is a
retired Colombian chemist, who was also taking
samples of gases in the fumaroles of Galeras
using evacuated bottles with caustic solution.
After finishing his samplings he managed to
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ascend safe to the top of the volcano. At the time
of the eruption Fabio, together with fellow
Ecuadorian and US scientists, managed to hide
behind some rocks, surviving the event.
After this unfortunate episode, nobody wanted
to visit the interior of Colombian active
volcanoes. On June 1995 a new first team entered
the crater of Galeras, obtaining measurements
and taking samples of volcanic gases. This team
was integrated by Gustavo Garzón, Stanley
Williams (already recovered), John Stix, and
Tobias Fischer.
Since 1995 many members of the Colombian
volcanological observatories have contributed to
the surveillance of gases. A list of those who have
been involved for longer periods of time is
shown as follows:
Chronology of active years of work of
Colombian volcanic gas geochemists
Colombian participation in the global NOVAC
network gave us new lights of volcanic
understanding for monitoring and research
purposes (Lübcke et al., 2016), and it also opened
a new door for international collaborations. At
present there are several NOVAC stations
transmitting data in four Colombian volcanoes
(Galeras, Nevado del Ruiz, Nevado del Huila,
Puracé) with direct links to the observatories and
to the NOVAC database.
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SGC Volcano Geochemistry team in 2015
References:
V. Bruce, (2002) No apparent Danger: The True Story
of Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado del
Ruiz. Harper Collins publisher, 256pp. ISBN: 0-
06-019920-2.
E. Faber, C. Moran, J. Poggenburg, G. Garzón, M.
Teschner (2003) Continuous gas monitoring at
Galeras Volcano, Colombia: first evidence, J.
Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 125(1-2): 13-23.
P. Lübcke, J. Lampel, N. Bobrowski, S. Arellano, B.
Galle, G. Garzón, S. Hidalgo, J. Vogel, S.
Warnach, U. Platt (2016) DOAS evaluation of
volcanic SO2 using a modeled background
spectrum: Examples from the NOVAC stations
at Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) and Tungurahua
(Ecuador). Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2, 5677-5698.
S. Williams, and F. Montaigne, (2001) Surviving
Galeras. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt publisher,
261pp. ISBN-10: 618031685
S. Williams, N. Sturchio, M. Calvache, R. Mendez, A.
Londoño, N. Garcia (1990) Sulfur dioxide from
Nevado del Ruiz volcano, Colombia: total flux and
isotopic constraints on its origin. J. Volcanol.
Geotherm. Res., 42(1-2): 53-68.
J. Zapata, M. Calvache, G. Cortes, T. Fischer, G.
Garzon, D. Gomez, L. Narvaez, L., J. Stix, R.
Torres, S. Williams (1997) SO2 fluxes from
Galeras Volcano, Colombia, 1989 1995:
Progressive degassing and conduit obstruction of
a Decade Volcano. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res.,
77: 195-208.
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Early-career colleague:
Agostina Chiodi
An interview about the work of an early-
career scientist in our field
Dr. Agostina Chiodi, Conicet researcher
(Argentina)
Interviewed by María Clara Lamberti
Agostina Chiodi
Where do you currently work? What is your
position in your institution?
I work at the Salta National University,
(Universidad Nacional de Salta), and at the
Argentinean National Council for Science and
Technology, Conicet. I am a researcher and I
currently have a teaching position at this
university, in the subject of Geochemistry, for
the Geology degree programme.
Where do you carry out your geochemist
work?
I carry out my research mainly in the North-
Western sector of Argentina, within the morpho-
structural province of the Puna, the
southernmost extreme of the Andean Plateau.
The Andean Plateau is one of the highest
plateaus in the world, second only to the Tibetan
Plateau, but, unlike the Tibet case, the Puna is
developed under a subduction context. This
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tectonic environment gives place to a continental
crust of up to 80 km and it gives place to the
occurrence of complex processes such as
lithospheric delamination. This environment is
particularly interesting for the study of fluid
geochemistry.
Which techniques do you apply to study
volcanic/geothermal fluids in your area?
I collect samples of waters and gases of
geothermal systems for geochemical and isotopic
analysis. A comprehensive analysis of the fluid
geochemistry, the origin of these fluids, along
with stratigraphic, structural and geophysical
information allows my group and myself to carry
out interdisciplinary approaches, focused on
geothermal prospecting.
What challenges do you face in your work: in
the field, in the lab and in general?
The main challenges in the field are related to the
extreme weather that characterizes the Puna and
the high altitudes (above 4000 m a.s.l.). These
conditions, together with the fact that this region
is practically uninhabited, makes the logistics of
the campaigns quite complicated.
Fieldwork in the Puna Andean Plateau
Regarding the analytical data, in Argentina we still
do not have the infrastructure and equipment
necessary to perform complete analyses of gas
samples, so collaboration with foreign
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researchers is essential to carry out this type of More about Agostina’s work in:
research. http://www.conicet.gov.ar/new_scp/detalle.php?keywor
ds=&id=30742&datos_academicos=yes
In general terms, one of the main challenges that
I face has to do with the lack of detailed geologic
information. I had to work in areas where all the
information available was a 1:250000-scale
geologic map. So, in order to obtain a conceptual
model of a geothermal system, I had to begin by
doing detailed geologic maps, which takes quite a
lot of time.

Sampling work on a pristine environment

How would you expect your group to be like

in 10 years?
IAVCEI website:
Nowadays, our group is formed by a widely https://www.iavceivolcano.org
formed researcher and several young researchers
and PhD students. I hope in 10 years this group
will be consolidated as a reference group in CCVG website:
geothermal research in Argentina. Different A
https://www.iavceivolcano.org/iavcei-
disciplines related to the geothermal energy are commissions/iavcei-commissions-list.html
being developed within the group: volcanology, (under development)
geophysics, structural geology, fluid flow, static
and dynamic modelling of the geothermal
reservoir, fluid inclusions, etc. I hope to be able, CCVG Facebook page:
in the future, to address the study of geothermal https://www.facebook.com/CCVG.IAVCEI/
systems through a wide interdisciplinary
approach. I also think that collaborative
teamwork with other research groups in
To send information to this newsletter please
Argentina and abroad is very enriching.
contact us to: santiago.arellano@chalmers.se
Collaborative work will allow us to reach our
(editor) or shidalgo@igepn.edu.ec (secretary).
goals.
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