Volcanic degassing couples processes in Earth’s interior with the atmosphere, crucially influencing the atmospheric redox state and climate. Moreover, volcanic gases are toxic and trigger explosive volcanic activity, posing diverse threats to life in volcanic vicinity.

As - particularly more vigorous - volcanic activity tends to prevent itself from being studied, there remain large gaps in the understanding of many processes linked to volcanic degassing. The development of novel analytical tools is crucial to improve field observations and to better understand deep processes, the influence of volcanic gases on the atmosphere, and the predictability of volcanic eruptions.

This talk outlines novel instrument concepts and modelling approaches for volcanic gas research, developed at the IUP during the last decade. For instance, unprecedented insight into processes occurring at the direct interface between magma and Earth’s atmosphere is achieved by coupled modelling of high-temperature chemical kinetics and atmospheric turbulent mixing. The use of Fabry-Pérot interferometers in spectrographs and imaging spectrometers increases the spatio-temporal and spectral resolution of field observations of volcanic gases. This enables, for instance, the detection of so far unmeasurable gas species and substantially extends monitoring opportunities through automated remote sensing measurements of volcanic plume gases.