When examining the influence and impacts of volcanic eruptions upon the earth’s climate system we have to consider occurrences both in the present and in the past. It has been noted by McGuire et al. that “Volcanic activity and environmental change have been linked during recent times and in the geological record.” (2002:88) With thousands of volcanic events having transpired since the Archean, there is an abundance of evidence to support the theory that volcanoes have impacted our climate for over 2.5 Billion years. In particular, I will be looking at examples from the Permian era, where “large basaltic flood eruptions have been associated with mass extinctions and the most voluminous explosive super eruptions have been held responsible for initiating the episodes of severe global cooling known as volcanic winters” (Rampino 1992, 1993a cited by McGuire et al 2002:88) and I will also be looking at instances from the more recent Holocene. We are able to study their impacts through various scientific means (such as examining northern and southern hemisphere ice cores), and are able to explore the control they have had upon our climate in the preceding years and how they have influenced it today. It is also necessary to explore equally the spatial and temporal scales of volcanic eruptions and their controlling factors, to determine their effects upon the earth’s climate and how they can affect it.
One of the largest volcanic eruptions to occur in our history is the Indonesian
One of the biggest tectonic events that has an effect on the earth climate is volcanic activity.
Assess the extent to which primary rather than secondary impacts are the more serious effects arising from volcanic eruptions. (30 marks)
analyse the factors that cause differences in the hazards posed by volcanoes around the world (40 marks)
Earth has experienced many episodes of dramatic climate changes with different periods in earth history. There have been periods during which the entire planet has been covered in ice and at another time it has been scorchingly hot and dry. In this regards, earth has experienced at least three major periods of long- term frigid climate and ice ages interspersed with periods of warm climate. The last glacial period which current glaciers are the result of it, occurring during the last years of Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years age (Clayton, 1997). Indeed, glaciers present sensitive indicators of climate change and global warming and by estimating and monitoring the dynamic evolution of these ice masses, several
Analyse the factors that causes differences in the hazards posed by volcanoes around the world (40 marks)
The Earth has been experiencing a considerable amount of climate change for the last several decades. Natural factors that contribute to the climate system consist of: solar output, volcanic activity and earth’s orbit around the sun. The two factors relevant on timescales of contemporary climate exist in volcanic activity and changes in solar radiation. The earth’s energy balance primarily influences the amount of incoming energy from volcanic eruptions, which have a relatively short-term effect on climate. Changes in solar output have contributed greatly to climate trends over the past century. The effect of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been at least ten times that of changes in the Sun’s output and the ocean covers more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface, receiving twice the amount of earth’s radiation. Although the sun is the engine that drives all the weather, oceans and atmosphere control the sun 's energy along certain
How did the described volcanoes in Iceland and the Philippines change the environment to lesser or greater extents?
There are over one thousand five hundred volcanoes all around the world, and when they erupt, they spew searing hot lava that changes the surface of the earth. Earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes are just three examples of the many geo-processes that are constantly shaping and changing the Earth.
Volcanoes are in fact important because without volcanoes the atmosphere wouldn’t have its oxygen rich properties. Many of years ago, Earth’s atmosphere was swarm with rock-forming minerals of the earth 's crust. During earlier volcanic eruptions many gasses enters into the earth atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, water vapor and many other gases
the lifespan of the Earth that there were hundreds of thousands eruptions. There are scientists
Lately, much open consideration has concentrated on the way that Yellowstone sits with on leg on each side of one of the world's biggest dynamic volcanic frameworks. Addresses routinely emerge as to the probability of a volcanic emission in Yellowstone and the effect of such an ejection.
Throughout history climates have drastically changed. There have been shifts from warm climates to the Ice Ages (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009, p.204). Evidence suggests there have been at least a dozen abrupt climate changes throughout the history of the earth. There are a few suspected reasons for these past climate changes. One reason may be that asteroids hitting the earth and volcanic eruptions caused some of them. A further assumption is that 22-year solar magnetic cycles and 11-year sunspot cycles played a part in the changes. A further possibility is that a regular shifting in the angle of the moon orbiting earth causing changing tides and atmospheric circulation affects the global climate (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009,
How will the rise in warmer temperatures and other atmospheric changes affect volcanoes and their sensitivity to erupting? How much more significant will the effects of these eruptions be in the future?
Introduction: Since the beginning of time, volcanoes have been wreaking havoc on the world, as we know it. Yet in the more recent times, there has been a great amount of debate regarding the effect of volcanic eruptions on world climate change. In this report, the effects of these volcanoes will be explored, particularly in regards to cooling and the depletion of the ozone.
How volcanoes affect people and environments? A volcano is a mountain or hill having a crater or vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapor, and gas are in. Volcanoes can change the weather. They can cause rain, thunder and lightning. Volcanoes can also have long-term effects on the climate, making the world cooler.