Is there a link between volcanic eruption and climate change and what the relationship between the two may be - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages A., & Wilson, L. (2008).
Donald Rapp in his book about climatic changes states that volcanic eruptions, though minor, are one of the factors for global warming, but injecting radiations into the earth’s atmosphere. Volcanos erupts huge amounts of ash, magma and sulfuric contents that remain in the environment, polluting it. (Rapp, D. (2008)
When the issues regarding global warming got into discussions, human activities like the release of gases having CFC’s and burning of fossil fuels were considered as the primary factors for the climatic change. But some people disagree and claim that human activities pose less danger to our environment than natural procedures such as volcanic eruptions. This statement led human to study the affects of volcanic eruptions in detail. (Stenchikov, Georgiy L., Ingo Kirchner, Alan Robock, Hans-F. Graf, Juan Carlos Antuna, R. G. Grainger, Alyn Lambert, and Larry Thomason, 1998)
Mount Pinatubo in Philippines got erupted on June 15, 1991, where approximately about 20 million tons of SO2 and ash particles spread into the air for more than 12 miles. The gases and solids that bumped into the atmosphere at the time Mount Pinatubo erupted lasted for 2 weeks in the air. Volcanic outbreak of this scale can shock earth’s climate, dropping the quantity of sun rays getting in the Earths shell, and altering atmospheric activity model. But the degree to which these changes happen, may vary. (Geology, sdsu; climatic effects of volcanic eruptions (2001).
Extensive volcanic motion may precede only a couple of days, but the huge out break of solid ash and gases containing high sulfur content, may last for a long period of time. The erupted sulfuric gases convert themselves to “Sulfate Aerosols”. After the volcanic eruption, these aerosol particles may rest in the Earth’s stratosphere for as long as a ...Download file to see next pagesRead More