Volcanic gas

Volcanic gases include a variety of substances given off by active (or, at times, by dormant) volcanoes. These include gases trapped in cavities (vesicles) in volcanic rocks, dissolved or dissociated gases in magma and lava, or gases emanating directly from lava or indirectly through ground water heated by volcanic action.

The sources of volcanic gases on Earth include:

Substances that may become gaseous or give off gases when heated are termed volatile substances.

Composition

The principal components of volcanic gases are water vapor (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), sulfur either as sulfur dioxide (SO₂) (high-temperature volcanic gases) or hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) (low-temperature volcanic gases), nitrogen, argon, helium, neon, methane, carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Other compounds detected in volcanic gases are oxygen (meteoric), hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen bromide, nitrogen oxide (NO_x), sulfur hexafluoride, carbonyl sulfide, and organic compounds. Exotic trace compounds include mercury, halocarbons (including CFCs), and halogen oxide radicals.