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Volcanic Eruptions Curb Global Warming

We have discussed in our astronomy blog spacescan.org earlier that volcanic eruptions have led to mass extinction of several species in the prehistoric period. But, it proves friendly towards combating or rather controlling global warming, which in turn had and may rob the world of several species. Scientists say that violent volcanic eruptions help to combat some of the effects of global warming by cooling the Earth and keeping a check on rises in sea level. Eruptions are known to have a cooling effect on the planet’s atmosphere. The fine particles, the volcanoes throw up in the air, linger at high altitudes and reflect sunlight and warming infrared radiation before it can hit the Earth’s surface.

In a study reported in the journal Nature, John Church at the Australian Government’s CSIRO research facility and scientists at the U.S. National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Colorado found that the huge eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991 led to a vast cloud of fine particles that triggered a dramatic cooling of ocean waters, equivalent to losing the amount of energy contained in more than 700 million tonnes of oil.

Via: The Hindu, The Guardian

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