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The Impact Of Volcanic Eruptions On The Earth 's Climate System Essay

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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

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