Magnús Ólafsson

Sulfur gas emissions from geothermal power plants in Iceland

Abstract Sulfur gas (H 2 S and SO 2 ) emissions from geothermal fields in Iceland have been studied as part of a project, aimed at enhancing environmental research concerning effects of geothermal development. Short-term measurements of the gases have been carried out in several high-temperature geothermal fields in Iceland. In four exploited fields, baseline values for the concentration of sulfur gases have been obtained by long-term measurements. The data strongly reflect the dependence of gas concentrations on climatic factors, especially precipitation. Interpretation of the data by air distribution modeling, and by simple experiment, indicate minor, or at least very slow conversion of H 2 S to SO 2 at atmospheric conditions in Iceland.