Climate and Global Change Notes 15-1 Volcanoes & Climate Volcanic Activity Effect on Climate Mt. Pinatubo Science Concepts SO 2 Effect The Earth System (Kump, Kastin & Crane) Chap. 15 (pp )

Climate and Global Change Notes 15-2 The Earth’s Climate System Stratospheric Chemistry/Dynamics Ocean Dynamics Terrestrial Energy/Moisture Global Moisture Marine/ Biogeochemistry External Forcing CO 2 Sun Volcanoes Soil Climate Change Atmospheric Physics/Dynamics Land Use CO 2 Pollu- tants Tropospheric Chemistry Human Activities Terrestrial Ecosystems Biogeochemical Systems Physical Climate Systems Human Forcing

Climate and Global Change Notes 15-3 Volcanoes & Climate Ben Franklin Observation Benjamin Franklin was serving the United States as an ambassador to France and living in Paris when Laki volcano in Iceland erupted During several of the summer months of the year 1783, when the effect of the sun’s rays to heat the earth in these northern regions should have been greatest, there existed a constant fog over all Europe, and great part of North America. This fog was of a permanent nature; it was dry, and the rays of the sun seemed to have little effect towards dissipating it, as they easily do a moist fog, arising from water. They were indeed rendered so faint in passing through it, that when collected in the focus of a burning glass, they would scarce kindle brown paper. Of course, their summer effect in heating the earth was exceedingly diminished. Hence the earth was early frozen, Hence the first snows remained on it unmelted, and received continual additions. Hence the air was more chilled, and the winds more severely cold. Hence perhaps the winter of , was more severe, than any that had happened for many years.

Climate and Global Change Notes 15-4 Volcanoes & Climate Ben Franklin Observation (Con’t) The cause of this universal fog is not yet ascertained. Whether it was adventitious to this earth, and merely a smoke, proceeding from the consumption by fire of some of those great burning balls or globes which we happen to meet within our rapid course round the sun, and which are sometimes seen to kindle and be destroyed in passing our atmosphere, and whose smoke might be attracted and retained by our earth; or whether it was the vast quantity of smoke, long continuing to issue during the summer from Hecla in Iceland, and that other volcano which arose out of the sea near that island, which smoke might be spread by various winds, over the northern part of the world, is yet uncertain. Franklin, B., Meteorological imaginations and conjectures, Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society Memoirs and Proceedings, 2, 122, [Reprinted in Weatherwise, 35, p. 262, 1982.]

Climate and Global Change Notes 15-5 Volcanoes & Climate National Public Radio story - “How a Volcano Eruption Wiped Away Summer” by Michael Sullivan 10/22/07 “Darkness” By Lord Byron I had a dream, which was not all a dream. The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars Did wander darkling in the eternal space, Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air; Morn came and went—and came, and brought no day, And men forgot their passions in the dread Of this their desolation; and all hearts Were chill'd into a selfish prayer for light: And they did live by watchfires—and the thrones, The palaces of crowned kings—the huts,... Written summer of 1816 when Percy Bysshe Shelley, his wife Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (wrote novel “Frankenstein”), and their friend Lord Byron went to Lake Geneva, Switzerland for their summer holiday. Tambora in Indonesia erupted in 1815 and produced the “Year Without a Summer” (1816)

Climate and Global Change Notes 15-6 Volcanoes & Climate Volcanic Activity Red triangles indicate volcanoes

Climate and Global Change Notes 15-7 Volcanic Global Cooling Volcanoes eject sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and other gases during eruptions SO 2 combines and H 2 O in the stratosphere to form fine droplets or “aerosols” of sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) that form a haze Haze increases the atmospheric albedo, thus reducing the solar energy reaching the Earth’s surface Example: -Mt Tambora in Indonesia (1815) Year without a summer -June snows; frost in July and August in the northeast -New England temperatures cooler than normal; 2-4°C in July; 1-2°C in August -Caused 80% reduction in harvest Volcanoes & Climate

Climate and Global Change Notes 15-8 Tree-Ring Width Vs Year of EruptionGrowth index for the 24 largest volcanoes Temperature Vs Year of EruptionComposite global surface temperature change near the time of the five volcanoes producing the greatest optical depths since 1880: Krakatau (1883), Santa Maria (1902), Agung (1963), El Chichon (1982) and Pinatubo (1991) Volcanoes & Climate

Climate and Global Change Notes 15-9 Estimated Effects of Volcanoes VolcanoLatitudeDateDT (°C) St. Helens 46°N1980<0.1 Agung8°S1963<0.05 El Chichon17°N1982<0.4 Krakatau6°S Tambora8°S Toba3°N7,000 B.P.large? Laki64°N ? Roza47°N4,000 B.P.large? Volcanoes & Climate

Climate and Global Change Notes Erupted 9 June 1991 After Several Hundred Years of InactivityDescription -Location: Philippines -Latitude: N, Longitude: E -Height: 1,745 meters before June 15, 1991 eruption -Height: 1,485 meters (high point caldera rim) after eruption -Second in size to eruption of Katmai, Alaska (1912) -Ten times larger than Mt St. Helens eruption in Ash cloud rose km into the sky Mt. Pinatubo ov/Volcanoes/ Philippines/Pinatubo/ images.html

Climate and Global Change Notes Mt. Pinatubo Mt. Pintatubo Eruption - June

Climate and Global Change Notes Mt. Pinatubo Mt. Pintatubo Ash at Clark Air Force Base Philippines/Pinatubo/images.html Spread of Mt. Pintatubo Ash and Gases

Climate and Global Change Notes Mt. Pinatubo Nimbus-7 Sulfur Dioxide June 17 June 19

Climate and Global Change Notes Mt. Pinatubo Nimbus-7 Sulfur Dioxide June 16 June 19 June 22 June 25

Climate and Global Change Notes Mt. Pinatubo SAGE II 1020  m Stratospheric Optical Depth 15 Apr- 25 May Jun- 26 Jul Feb- 26 Mar

Climate and Global Change Notes Volcanoes & Climate Volcanic EruptionsAtmospheric SO 2 detected by TOMS per volcano since

Climate and Global Change Notes Volcanoes & Climate SAGE II 1020  m Strato- spheric Optical Depth