Sulfur gas emissions from geothermal power plants in Iceland

Sulfur gas (H2S and SO2) emissions from geothermal fields in Iceland have b een studied as part of a project, aimed at enhancing environmental research concerning effects of geothermal development. Short-term measurements of t he gases have been carried out in several high-temperature geothermal field s in Iceland. In four exploited fields, baseline values for the concentrati on of sulfur gases have been obtained by long-term measurements. The data s trongly reflect the dependence of gas concentrations on climatic factors, e specially precipitation. Interpretation of the data by air distribution mod eling, and by simple experiment, indicate minor, or at least very slow conv ersion of H2S to SO2 at atmospheric conditions in Iceland. (C) 2000 CNR. Pu blished by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.