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This is a remote technique for measuring volcanic gases. The device on
the tripod is called a COSPEC, which stands for correlation spectrometer.
It was originally developed for measuring the pollution coming out of
factory smoke stacks. From a distance of a kilometer or so it makes
vertical traverses through a volcanic plume that is being blown
horizontally by the wind. By comparing the spectrum of natural light
shining through clear air and that shining through the plume, it can
determine the amount of gas in the plume. Then, after figuring out how
far you are from the plume and how fast the wind is blowing you can
calculate the volume of gas coming out of the volcano. In this example,
researchers from Michigan Tech. University measured an average of almost
170 tons of sulfuric acid produced per day!
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