Will ASTER see the Etna SO2 plume?

The aim of this paper is to show the feasibility of evaluating the sulphur dioxide (SO,) flux emitted by Mt Etna volcano, using remotely sensed data of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection radiometer (ASTER) in the thermal infrared (TIR). ASTER is one of the instruments on board the first Earth Observation System (EOS) satellite launched on 18 December 1999. To simulate the ASTER data, Multispectral Infrared and Visible Imaging. Spectrometer (MINIS) images, acquired during the 'Sicily '97' campaign, were used. The SO2 column abundance maps shown in this paper have been obtained by means of a simple algorithm based on the split-window technique. The parameters of the algorithm were computed using Moderate Resolution Atmospheric Radiance and Transmittance Model (MODTRAN) simulations performed with atmospheric profiles acquired during MINIS flights. The mean SO, flux on 12 and 16 June 1997, obtained using the ASTER simulated images, results in 42 and 33 kg s(-1) respectively; these values are in good agreement with the results obtained by the inversion procedure used by Teggi et al. (1999) applied to the MINIS data and with the Correlation Spectrometer (COSPEC) measurements performed during the campaign by other teams.