GLOBAL COOLING FROM THE VOLCANO?
Written by: Bob Metcalfe
Wow, it's amazing what you miss when you don't see television for 7 days while you're cruising in the Caribbean! (Sorry, I had to rub it in! By the way, I did see rain in fact, and there was clouds most of the days, if that makes you feel any better...) I first heard about this volcano while I was at the craps table when the pit boss said that she was upset she couldn't get back home because all flights were grounded. I thought she was joking!
This volcano really is quite amazing, especially because of the added fringe effects of bringing air travel in northern Europe to a screeching halt.
For my own personal gratification, I google'd "volcano weather" to see what has been written about how this could effect weather patterns. I also did it to see if Al Gore was going to find a way to tax the volcano for the sulfur dioxide it spewed... sorry, I couldn't help it!
Anyways, I'll admit that my knowledge about major volcano effects on global-scale weather patterns is pretty minimal. I think I overslept that day in college. So here's what I can gather from a few articles:
-This volcano is tiny compared to other major recent volcanoes like Pinatubo in 1991. How much smaller? 10,000 times smaller.
-Most of the sulfur dioxide released has remained in the troposphere (the layer where we and our weather live) This is good because the problems start when it reaches the stratosphere. This is where we could see a global cool down, but it is highly unlikely at this point.
-Pinatubo brought world temperatures down by about 1 degree for the 1 to two years following it. The life cycle of the current volcano will be about 1/100 of Pinatubo. Basically a drop in the bucket.
So there is some reassuring data that this won't have global implications further down the road. But I think this goes to show you just how active the earth's crust is right now. Think of the increased earthquake activity, and now the volcano. I'm not sure where we stand statistically... but I'll do some digging to find out. Look for another blog post on it later this week.
Hey Bob, Al Gore hasn't found a way to tax the volcano just yet. BUT....You'll be interested to hear that global warming is being blamed on it nonetheless. Yes, that's right. I read an article explaining how the melting glaciers are releasing weight from the volcanic mountain tops, thus releasing pressure, and allowing the magma to rise to the surface more easily.
ReplyDeleteSo there you have if folks - Human beings are now responsible for Volcanos. Aren't we just horrible...
I read that too. Maybe we need to warm the planet more because the more volcanic eruptions spewing ash into the atmosphere will eventually cool the planet (Tongue in Cheek)
ReplyDeleteIt seems anytime anything bad happens in nature immediately it's not normal it's never happened and the only logical cause is climate change or global warming.
As I have said many times I am not a skeptic. I think we do play a role in the current warming but what hurts the one sides argument are stories like these. Also to say you can't use a weather event to prove or disprove climate change and yet go on to use a weather event to make your argument.
(steps off my soap box for now)