AN IN SITU VOLCANIC GASEOUS EMISSIONS CONCENTRATION MEASUREMENT SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY FOR WELIRANG VOLCANO, MALANG, INDONESIA

Abstract

Gaseous emissions and particulate matter in different aerodynamic diameters can be derived from many sources, such as volcanic activities. According to previous studies, gaseous emissions, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, may affect human health. Furthermore, there is a significant correlation between exposure to gaseous emissions and cell deformation, indicating the organ system's abnormalities. Therefore, there is a need to mitigate and identify volcanic gaseous emissions as an identification system. Thus, this study conducted an in situ volcanic gaseous emissions concentration measurement system collected directly from areas near the plume of Welirang volcano, Malang, East Java Province, Indonesia (7o43'59" S 112o34'29" E). The measurement system consisted of several gases and particulate matter sensors. The measurements were conducted on ten areas surrounding the Welirang volcano's plume to identify the highest volcanic emission dispersion. The emission concentrations were measured for five minutes every 30 seconds as the interval time. The results show that emissions consisted of several gases and particulate matters in different concentrations, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and toluene. In addition, the concentrations were influenced by the distance of the measurement sites to the plume. Therefore, the system works well with a response time of fewer than two seconds and the sensitivity of 0.56 Volt/ppm and 0.63 Volt/ppm, respectively, for methane and toluene. The range of the system measurement is 0-100 ppm (carbon monoxide), 400-1,000 ppm (carbon dioxide), 0-100 ppm (methane), and 0-100 ppm (toluene).