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Is there a link between climate change and increased volcanic activity, and are there volcanoes large enough to cause this on their own?

by pc86 6y ago

layoutIfNeeded 6y ago
1. Yes 2. Yes
Dirlewanger 6y ago
Look up Year without a Summer.
askl56 6y ago
The explosive eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 injected enough sulfur-containing compounds into the stratosphere to substantially reduce the amount of sunlight reaching Earth's surface. In response to the increased reflectivity of the planet, the surface temperature cooled by about 0.3°C during 1992, with temperatures returning to their normal levels by 1994. But what happens when a much, much large eruption occurs? Roughly 74,000 years ago, a "super-eruption" took place in Indonesia, the largest know eruption in the past 100,000 years. The Toba eruption was enormous, throwing out roughly 1000 times as much rock as the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens (Fig. 1). Dust trapped in polar ice cores shows that ejected material spread around the globe, indicating that the eruption injected substantial material into the stratosphere, where it can strongly affect climate. How much and for how long the Toba eruption actually affected climate and life on the Earth's surface has been the subject of intense debate. https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/shindell_12/ https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/shindell_12/
jfengel 6y ago
The current climate change is not caused by increased volcanic activity, because there isn't one. If volcanic activity were to increase, the effect would depend on what kind of increase. Volcanoes do produce CO2, and more CO2 would of course worsen climate change. But they can also produce SO2, which cools the climate rather than warms it. Unlike CO2, SO2 degrades, so the effect isn't as long-lasting. Volcanoes can also put particulates into the air which block sunlight. Again, the effect is temporary, as the particles fall out. So it would take a permanent, ongoing change in volcanism to counter warming. It would also cause a lot of other climate changes, which are hard to predict.

Is there a link between climate change and increased volcanic activity, and are there volcanoes large enough to cause this on their own?

by pc86 6y ago

Is there a link between climate change and increased volcanic activity, and are there volcanoes large enough to cause this on their own?

layoutIfNeeded 6y ago

1. Yes 2. Yes

Dirlewanger 6y ago

Look up Year without a Summer.

askl56 6y ago

The explosive eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 injected enough sulfur-containing compounds into the stratosphere to substantially reduce the amount of sunlight reaching Earth's surface. In response to the increased reflectivity of the planet, the surface temperature cooled by about 0.3°C during 1992, with temperatures returning to their normal levels by 1994. But what happens when a much, much large eruption occurs? Roughly 74,000 years ago, a "super-eruption" took place in Indonesia, the largest know eruption in the past 100,000 years. The Toba eruption was enormous, throwing out roughly 1000 times as much rock as the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens (Fig. 1). Dust trapped in polar ice cores shows that ejected material spread around the globe, indicating that the eruption injected substantial material into the stratosphere, where it can strongly affect climate. How much and for how long the Toba eruption actually affected climate and life on the Earth's surface has been the subject of intense debate. https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/shindell_12/ https://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/shindell_12/

jfengel 6y ago

The current climate change is not caused by increased volcanic activity, because there isn't one. If volcanic activity were to increase, the effect would depend on what kind of increase. Volcanoes do produce CO2, and more CO2 would of course worsen climate change. But they can also produce SO2, which cools the climate rather than warms it. Unlike CO2, SO2 degrades, so the effect isn't as long-lasting. Volcanoes can also put particulates into the air which block sunlight. Again, the effect is temporary, as the particles fall out. So it would take a permanent, ongoing change in volcanism to counter warming. It would also cause a lot of other climate changes, which are hard to predict.