According
to a new study published online in the 'Nature Communications',
explosive volcanic eruptions in the tropics can lead to El Niños, the
warming periods in the Pacific Ocean that cause abnormal weather
patterns around the globe.
An El Niño is a reoccurring natural
phenomenon that takes place when sea surface temperatures in the Pacific
Ocean near the equator warm up. The increased ocean surface
temperatures affect the air and moisture movements around the world,
causing worldwide impacts on the climate.
The study used
climate models collected after an El Niño that happened in the same year
as a large volcanic eruption that occurred at Mount Pinatubo in the
Philippines in 1991.
It was found that enormous volcanic
eruptions can trigger El Niños by pumping millions of tons of sulfur
dioxide into the stratosphere. This acts as a sulfuric acid cloud,
reflecting solar radiation and reducing the average global surface
temperature. Increases in sea surface temperature correlated with El
Niño events recorded since 1882: Santa María in 1902, Mount Agung in
1963, El Chichón in 1982, and Pinatubo in 1991.
Read more about this fascinating story at: http://earthsky.org/earth/tropical-volcanoes-trigger-el-ninos?mc_cid=910e322a75&mc_eid=9ad71e9706
Or check out the full study at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00755-6
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Monday, October 16, 2017
Tropical Volcanoes Can Trigger El Niños
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