WHAT ARE THE LINKS BETWEEN GLOBAL WARMING AND VOLCANOES
Anne Fornier
Anne Fornier
Volcanoes affect the climate because of what they inject into the atmosphere when they erupt. These eruptions produce large quantities of gases, particles (called aerosols), ash, and metals, which temporarily change the local, regional, and even global climate.
The effects on the climate
It would be logical to think that explosions of molten gas and lava would warm the atmosphere, but science proves otherwise. Although the eruptions spew out CO2, which in turn contributes to global warming (note that if all the world’s volcanoes erupted at the same time, they would only produce one-hundredth of the carbon emitted by human activities), they have a cooling effect on the climate.
Eruptions and climate change
Some studies point out that changing atmospheric circulation patterns could alter the cooling effect of volcanic plumes. Research by Cambridge University and the Met Office shows that a warm climate will influence large and small eruptions differently. “For large eruptions like Pinatubo, which typically occur once or twice a century, climate change will cause ash plumes to rise higher and higher and aerosols to spread faster around the globe, amplifying the cooling effect by about 15% compared to the current climate,” says Anya Schmidt.
Scientists are also studying the possibility that climate change is influencing the frequency of volcanic eruptions. “There is an interesting link here,” confirms Santiago Arellano, “because global warming causes glaciers to melt, which are often found in active volcanic areas. According to Arellano, massive melting will reduce the pressure on the planet’s surface, modifying the processes of the Earth’s crust and causing, for example, molten magma to come into contact with aquifers. However, further studies are needed because, as Anya Schmidt points out, there is no evidence that the melting of the glaciers has increased the frequency of eruptions between 1850 and today.
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