Sabancaya is a source of volcanic gases such as SO2 and H2O. The amount of water emitted by Sabancaya is noticeably large for a volcano (about ); the source of this water might be an evaporating hydrothermal system in the volcano. Together with Ubinas Sabancaya is among the main emitters of CO2 and H2O in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes and among the top fifteen volcanic emitters on Earth.