Fumarole

{{Short description|Volcanic opening that emits hot gases}} {{Redirect|Solfatara|the volcanic crater in Italy|Solfatara (volcano)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}} [[File:Sol de Mañana 2018.jpg|thumb|Fumarole at Sol de Mañana, Bolivia]]

A '''fumarole''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|juː|m|ə|ˌ|r|oʊ|l}}; also spelled '''fumerole''')<ref name="MerriamWebsterE">{{cite Merriam-Webster|fumerole |access-date=2023-06-04}}</ref> is a vent through the surface of Earth or another terrestrial planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcanic activity, but fumarole activity can also precede a volcanic eruption and has been used for eruption prediction. Most fumaroles die down within a few days or weeks of the end of an eruption, but a few are persistent, lasting for decades or longer. An area containing fumaroles is known as a '''fumarole field'''.

The predominant vapor emitted by fumaroles is steam, formed by the circulation of groundwater through heated rock. This is typically accompanied by volcanic gases given off by magma cooling deep below the surface. These volcanic gases include sulfur compounds, such as various sulfur oxides and hydrogen sulfide, and sometimes hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, and other gases. A fumarole that emits significant sulfur compounds is sometimes called a '''solfatara'''.

Fumarole activity can break down rock around the vent, while simultaneously depositing sulfur and other minerals. Valuable hydrothermal mineral deposits can form beneath fumaroles. However, active fumaroles can be a hazard due to their emission of hot, poisonous gases.

A ''fumarole'' (or ''fumerole''; from French ''fumerolle'', a domed structure with lateral openings, built over a kitchen to permit the escape of smoke<ref>{{oed|fumarole}}</ref>) is an opening in a planet's crust which emits steam and gases, but no liquid or solid material.<ref name=MacdonaldEtal1983>{{cite book |last1=Macdonald |first1=Gordon A. |last2=Abbott |first2=Agatin T. |last3=Peterson |first3=Frank L. |title=Volcanoes in the sea : the geology of Hawaii |date=1983 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |location=Honolulu |isbn=0824808320 |edition=2nd |pages=53–55}}</ref> The temperature of the gases leaving the vent ranges from about {{convert|100 to 1000|C|sigfig=2|sp=us}}.<ref name=Allaby2012fumarole>{{cite book |last1=Allaby |first1=Michael |title=A dictionary of geology and earth sciences |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780199653065 |edition=Fourth}}</ref> The steam forms when groundwater is superheated by hot rock, then flashes (boils due to depressurization) as it approaches the surface.<ref name=PhilpottsAgue2009>{{cite book |last1=Philpotts |first1=Anthony R. |last2=Ague |first2=Jay J. |title=Principles of igneous and metamorphic petrology |date=2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=9780521880060 |edition=2nd |page=70}}</ref>

In addition to steam, gases released by fumaroles include carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride. These have their origin in magma cooling underground. Not all these gases are present in all fumaroles; for example, fumaroles of Kilauea in Hawaii, US, contain almost no hydrogen chloride or hydrogen fluoride.<ref name=MacdonaldEtal1983/> The gases may also include traces of carbonyl sulfide, carbon disulfide, hydrogen, methane, or carbon monoxide.<ref name = hansulrich>{{cite book|last =Schmincke|date =2004|page=47|publisher= Springer Science & Business Media|isbn = 9783540436508|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XHlJrFAhth4C&pg=PA47|first = Hans-Ulrich|title = Volcanism}}</ref> A fumarole that emits sulfurous gases can be referred to as a ''solfatara'' (from old Italian ''solfo'', "sulfur"<ref>{{oed|solfatara}}</ref><ref name="Merriam-Webster1">{{cite web | url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solfatara | title=Solfatara | publisher= Merriam-Webster | work=Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary | access-date=20 February 2020}}</ref>). Acid-sulfate hot springs can be formed by fumaroles when some of the steam condenses at the surface. Rising acidic vapors from below, such as CO<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>S, will then dissolve, creating steam-heated low-pH hot springs.<ref name=WhiteEtal1971>{{cite journal|last1=White |first1=D.E. |last2=Muffler |first2=L.J.P. |last3=Truesdell |first3=A.H. |title= Vapor-dominated hydrothermal systems compared with hot-water systems |journal=Economic Geology |date=1971 |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=75–97|doi=10.2113/gsecongeo.66.1.75 |bibcode=1971EcGeo..66...75W }}</ref>

Fumaroles are normally associated with the late stages of volcanic activity,<ref name=Jackson1997fumarole>{{cite book |editor1-last=Jackson |editor1-first=Julia A. |title=Glossary of geology. |date=1997 |publisher=American Geological Institute |location=Alexandria, Virginia |isbn=0922152349 |edition=Fourth |chapter=fumarole}}</ref> although they may also precede volcanic activity<ref name=Allaby2012fumarole/> and have been used to predict volcanic eruptions.<ref name=PhilpottsAgue2009/> In particular, changes in the composition and temperature of fumarole gases may point to an imminent eruption.<ref name=MacdonaldEtal1983/> An increase in sulfur oxide emissions is a particularly robust indication that new magma is rising from the depths, and may be detectable months to years before the eruption. Continued sulfur oxide emissions after an eruption is an indication that magma is continuing to rise towards the surface.<ref name = hansulrich/>

Fumaroles may occur along tiny cracks, along long fissures, or in chaotic clusters or fields. They also occur on the surface of lava flows and pyroclastic flows.<ref name=usgs>{{USGS|url=https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/images/pglossary/fumarole.php|work=USGS Photo Glossary|title=Fumarole|access-date=2019-02-06}}</ref> A ''fumarole field'' is an area of thermal springs and gas vents where shallow magma or hot igneous rocks release gases or interact with groundwater.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Neuendorf | first1 = Klaus K. E. | editor1-last = Jackson | editor1-first = Julia A. | editor2-last = Mehl | editor2-first = James P. | editor3-last = Neuendorf | editor3-first = Klaus K. E. | title = Glossary of Geology | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SfnSesBc-RgC | publisher = Springer Science & Business Media | date = 2005 | page = 257 | isbn = 9780922152766 | access-date = 2015-06-06 | quote = fumarole field[:] A group of cool fumaroles. }} </ref> When they occur in freezing environments, fumaroles may cause fumarolic ice towers.

Fumaroles may persist for decades or centuries if located above a persistent heat source; or they may disappear within weeks to months if they occur atop a fresh volcanic deposit that quickly cools.<ref name=usgs/> The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, for example, was formed during the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in Alaska. Initially, thousands of fumaroles occurred in the cooling ash from the eruption, but over time most of them have become extinct.<ref name="USGS2">{{cite book |last1=Hildreth |first1=W. |title=The Novarupta-Katmai eruption of 1912– largest eruption of the twentieth century; centennial perspectives |last2=Fierstein |first2=J. |date=2012 |publisher=USGS Professional Paper 1791 |location=Reston |page=135 |author-link=Wes Hildreth |author-link2=Judy Fierstein}}</ref> Persistent fumaroles are found at Sulfur Bank on the northern edge of the Kilauea caldera, but most fumaroles in Hawaii last no more than a few months.<ref name=MacdonaldEtal1983/> There are still numerous active fumaroles at Yellowstone National Park, US,<ref name="YellowstoneFumarole">{{cite web |title=Fumaroles |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/fumaroles.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710053820/https://www.nps.gov/articles/fumaroles.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 July 2019 |website=Volcanic Features and Landforms |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> some 70,000 years after the most recent eruption.<ref name="USGSYellowstoneEruptionHistory">{{cite web |title=Summary of Eruption History |url=https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/summary-eruption-history |website=Yellowstone Geology and History |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref>

== Economic resources and hazards == [[File:Bergelut dengan asap nan beracun.jpg|thumb|upright|Traditional sulfur mining at Kawah Ijen.]]

The acidic fumes from fumaroles can break down the rock around the vents, producing brightly colored ''alteration haloes''.<ref name=PhilpottsAgue2009/> At Sulphur Banks near Kilauea in Hawaii, mild alteration reduces the rock to gray to white opal and kaolinite with the original texture of the rock still discernible. Alteration begins along joints in the rock and works inwards until the entire joint block is altered. More extreme alteration (at lower pH) reduces the material to clay minerals and iron oxides to produce red to reddish-brown clay.{{sfn|Macdonald|Abbott|Peterson|1983|p=134}} The same process can produce valuable hydrothermal ore deposits at depth.<ref name=PhilpottsAgue2009/>

Fumaroles emitting sulfurous vapors form surface deposits of sulfur-rich minerals and of fumarole minerals. Sulfur crystals at Sulfur Banks near Kilauea can grow to {{convert|2|cm|sigfig=1|sp=us}} in length, and considerable sulfur has been deposited at Sulfur Cone within Mauna Loa caldera.<ref name=MacdonaldEtal1983/> Places in which these deposits have been mined include:

* Kawah Ijen<ref name=JakartaPost>{{cite news |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/12/19/kawah-ijen-between-potential-threat.html |title=Kawah Ijen: Between potential & threat |newspaper=The Jakarta Post |date=19 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dukehart |first1=Coburn |title=The Struggle and Strain of Mining "Devil's Gold" |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/the-struggle-and-strain-of-mining-devils-gold |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409213710/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/the-struggle-and-strain-of-mining-devils-gold |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 April 2021 |access-date=1 March 2022 |agency=National Geographic |date=17 November 2015}}</ref> and Arjuno-Welirang,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pfeiffer |first1=Tom |title=Welirang volcano photos |url=http://www.decadevolcano.net/photos/welirang_volcano_photos.htm |website=Volcano Discovery |access-date=1 March 2022 |date=2006}}</ref> Indonesia * Purico Complex<ref>[http://www.volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=355094 Global Volcanism Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution]</ref> near San Pedro de Atacama in Chile * Mount Tongariro in the central North Island, New Zealand (mined by Māori until 1950)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simpson |first1=Mark P. |last2=Bignall |first2=Greg |title=Undeveloped high-enthalpy geothermal fields of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand |journal=Geothermics |date=January 2016 |volume=59 |pages=325–346 |doi=10.1016/j.geothermics.2015.08.006|bibcode=2016Geoth..59..325S }}</ref> * Whakaari / White Island in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand (mined from the 1880s to the 1930s)<ref>{{cite web |title=Eruption on Whakaari White Island kills 10 people |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/eruption-whakaari-white-island-kills-10-people |website=nzhistory.govt.nz |access-date=26 October 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Disaster at White Island |url=https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/disaster-at-white-island/ |website=New Zealand Geographic |access-date=26 October 2021 |language=en-NZ}}</ref> * Sicily, which had a near-monopoly on sulfur prior to development of the Frasch process for mining sulfur from salt domes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ferrara |first1=Vincenzo |title=Essays on the History of Mechanical Engineering |chapter=The Sulphur Mining Industry in Sicily |series=History of Mechanism and Machine Science |date=2016 |volume=31 |pages=111–130 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-22680-4_8|isbn=978-3-319-22679-8 }}</ref>

Sulfur mining in Indonesia is sometimes done for low pay, by hand, without respirators or other protective equipment.<ref name=JakartaPost/>

In April 2006 fumarole emissions killed three ski-patrol workers east of Chair 3 at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California. The workers were overpowered by an accumulation of toxic fumes (a ''mazuku'') in a crevasse they had fallen into.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-apr-09-me-mammoth9-story.html |title= How Routine Turned to Tragedy at Mammoth |date= 2006-04-09 |first1= Steve |last1= Hymon |first2= Amanda |last2= Covarrubias |access-date= 2011-05-09 |newspaper= Los Angeles Times}} </ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cantrell |first1=Lee |last2=Young |first2=Michael |title=Fatal Fall into a Volcanic Fumarole |journal=Wilderness & Environmental Medicine |date=March 2009 |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=77–79 |doi=10.1580/08-WEME-CR-199.1|pmid=19364170 |s2cid=207182190 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Occurrences == Fumaroles are found around the world in areas of volcanic activity. A few notable examples include: * Campi Flegrei, Italy, known since ancient times and regarded as the entrance to Hell,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carrabba |first1=Paola |title=Natural Heritage from East to West |chapter=The Gate of Hades: The Phlegraean Fields |date=2010 |pages=193–200 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-01577-9_24|isbn=978-3-642-01576-2 }}</ref> which is now closely monitored because of the hazard it poses to nearby urbanization.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Troiano |first1=A. |last2=Isaia |first2=R. |last3=Tramparulo |first3=F. D. A. |last4=Di Giuseppe |first4=M. G. |title=The Pisciarelli main fumarole mechanisms reconstructed by electrical resistivity and induced polarization imaging |journal=Scientific Reports |date=December 2021 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=18639 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-97413-1|pmid=34545113 |pmc=8452721 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1118639T }}</ref> * Central Volcanic Zone, South America<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tamburello |first1=G. |last2=Hansteen |first2=T. H. |last3=Bredemeyer |first3=S. |last4=Aiuppa |first4=A. |last5=Tassi |first5=F. |title=Gas emissions from five volcanoes in northern Chile and implications for the volatiles budget of the Central Volcanic Zone: Volatiles budget of the CVZ, Chile |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |date=28 July 2014 |volume=41 |issue=14 |pages=4961–4969 |doi=10.1002/2014GL060653|hdl=10447/99158 |s2cid=55877335 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> * Corbetti Caldera, Ethiopia, where a geothermal power station is under construction<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Paola |first1=G. M. |title=Geology of the Corbetti Caldera area (Main Ethiopian Rift Valley) |journal=Bulletin Volcanologique |date=June 1971 |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=497–506 |doi=10.1007/BF02596970|bibcode=1971BVol...35..497D |s2cid=130428510 }}</ref> * Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand, where fumaroles support a unique and critically endangered ecosystem<ref>{{cite web |title=Fumaroles |url=https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/naturally-uncommon-ecosystems/geothermal/fumaroles/ |website=Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research |access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref> * Mount Usu, Japan<ref>{{cite journal |title=Long-term geochemical surveillance of fumaroles at Showa-Shinzan dome, Usu volcano, Japan |journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research |first1=R.B. |last1=Symonds |first2=Y. |last2=Mizutani |first3=Paul H. |last3=Briggs |year=1996 |volume=73 |number=3–4 |pages=177–211|doi=10.1016/0377-0273(96)00029-7 |bibcode=1996JVGR...73..177S }}</ref> * Valley of Desolation in Morne Trois Pitons National Park in Dominica<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite web|year=1997|title=Morne Trois Pitons National Park|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/814|access-date=28 July 2020|website=UNESCO}}</ref> * Furnas, São Miguel Island, Azores (Portugal) * Yellowstone National Park has thousands of fumaroles, including Black Growler at Norris Geyser Basin and numerous fumaroles dotting Roaring Mountain.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hydrothermal Features |url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/hydrothermal-features.htm |website=Yellowstone National Park |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref>

=== On Mars === The formation known as Home Plate at Gusev Crater on Mars, which was examined by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) ''Spirit'', is suspected to be the eroded remains of an ancient and extinct fumarole.<ref>R.V.Morris, S.W.Squyres, et al. "The Hydrothermal System at Home Plate in Gusev Crater, Mars". ''Lunar & Planetary Science'' XXXIX(2008)</ref>

== See also == * Boiling Lake * Cold seep * Hydrothermal vent * Mofetta * Mudpot * Mud volcano

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{wikt}} {{commons and category|Fumaroles}} *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1MpKj_yCnk Sulfur Mining on Gunung Welirang Volcano] *{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Fumarole|volume=11|pages=300–301}}

Category:Fumaroles