A research done by American Geophysical Union has shown that even small volcanic eruptions have potentially contributed to the recent slowdown in global warming.
The research claims that small volcanic eruptions might eject more of an atmosphere-cooling gas into Earth's upper atmosphere than previously thought resulting in the slowdown in global warming.
It is well known that the volcanoes cool the atmosphere by means of sulfur dioxide. Explaining the mechanism, Science Daily has written that previous research had suggested that relatively minor eruptions do not contribute much to this cooling phenomenon.
The study done for small volcanic eruptions that occurred between 2000 and 2013 have deflected almost double the amount of solar radiation previously estimated.
The study seems a breakthrough as why the increase in global temperatures have slowed over the past 15 years.
Journal Reference:
D. A Ridley, S. Solomon, J. E. Barnes, V.D. Burlakov, T. Deshler, S.I. Dolgii, A.B. Herber, T. Nagai, R. R. Neely, A.V. Nevzorov, C. Ritter, T. Sakai, B. D. Santer, M. Sato, A. Schmidt, O. Uchino, J. P. Vernier (2014). Total volcanic stratospheric aerosol optical depths and implications for global climate change. Geophysical Research Letters.
The research claims that small volcanic eruptions might eject more of an atmosphere-cooling gas into Earth's upper atmosphere than previously thought resulting in the slowdown in global warming.
It is well known that the volcanoes cool the atmosphere by means of sulfur dioxide. Explaining the mechanism, Science Daily has written that previous research had suggested that relatively minor eruptions do not contribute much to this cooling phenomenon.
The study done for small volcanic eruptions that occurred between 2000 and 2013 have deflected almost double the amount of solar radiation previously estimated.
The study seems a breakthrough as why the increase in global temperatures have slowed over the past 15 years.
Journal Reference:
D. A Ridley, S. Solomon, J. E. Barnes, V.D. Burlakov, T. Deshler, S.I. Dolgii, A.B. Herber, T. Nagai, R. R. Neely, A.V. Nevzorov, C. Ritter, T. Sakai, B. D. Santer, M. Sato, A. Schmidt, O. Uchino, J. P. Vernier (2014). Total volcanic stratospheric aerosol optical depths and implications for global climate change. Geophysical Research Letters.
Original post: Natural Disasters List December 2, 2014