Sulfur speciation with high performance liquid chromatography as a tool for El Chichón volcano, crater lake monitoring

The monitoring of sulfur species in crater lakes has proven to be useful for forecasting episodes of volcanic unrest in certain active volcanoes, including Poás, Costa Rica; Kusatsu-Shirane, Japan; and Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand. In this study, we have improved the current geochemical monitoring of El Chichón volcano through the setting of optimal high-performance liquid chromatography conditions (HPLC) for the analysis of S²⁻, SO₃²⁻, S₂O₃²⁻, S₄O₆²⁻ and SO₄²⁻ using a common chromatographic system. The procedure was applied to the analysis of lake samples taken in March, July and October of 2014 and April of 2015. The results were promising, since nearly all species were detected (with the exception of S₂O₃²⁻) in measurable amounts, including S²⁻ (<0.85–5.05 mg/L), SO₃²⁻ (<2.77–26.1 mg/L), S₄O₆²⁻ (108.27–303.82 mg/L) and SO₄²⁻ (489.58–676.26 mg/L). The spatial distribution of these species along the lakeshore showed zones of increased concentrations to the east and southeast of the lake, which provides information on the distribution of faults or cracks that feed hydrothermal fluids to the lake. This method thus provides additional information linked to the volcanic and hydrothermal activity of the volcano.