Relaying Volcanic Plume Measurements in Real Time by Using a Balloon-Borne Multi-Gas and Particles Sensors System

Volcanic emissions are composed of particles (ash, water droplets, sulphates) and gases (mainly <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}, \text{CO}_{2}, \text{SO}_{2}, \text{HCl}$</tex> and <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{S}$</tex>). Their presence in the atmosphere can produce serious implications on environment, climate, life on Earth, human society and aviation [Delmelle et al., 2002; Robock 2000; Casadevall, 1994]. The detection and retrievals of volcanic emissions is generally carried out by using satellite and ground based remote sensing systems that have advantages and drawbacks. The satellite systems are characterised by high density, large spatial coverage and are irreplaceable for volcanic monitoring on a global scale, while ground-based systems, offer real-time, continuous, high spatial and temporal coverage.