http://www.sott.net/articles/show/205542-Global-cooling-What-happens-if-the-Iceland-volcano-blows
“The potential eruption of Iceland’s volcano Katla would likely send the world, including the USA, into an extended deep freeze.
“When Katla went off in the 1700s, the USA suffered a very cold winter,” says Gary Hufford, a scientist with the Alaska Region of the National Weather Service. “To the point, the Mississippi River froze just north of New Orleans and the East Coast, especially New England, had an extremely cold winter.
“Depending on a new eruption, Katla could cause some serious weather changes.”
Eyjafjallajokull, the Icelandic volcano that has continued to belch lava, ash and steam since first erupting last weekend, isn’t the direct problem. It’s Katla, the noisier neighbor, that’s the concern. If lava flowing from Eyjafjallajokull melts the glaciers that hold down the top of Katla, then Katla could blow its top, pumping gigantic amounts of ash into the atmosphere.
Scientists say history has proven that whenever the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts, Katla always follows — the only question is how soon.
“If it (Eyjafjallajokull) continues to belch, then you worry,” says Hufford.
What’s key in having volcanic eruptions affect the weather is both the duration of the eruption, and how high the ash gets blasted into the stratosphere, according to Hufford.
For example, he says, Mount Pinatubo pumped ash for two days in 1991, and spewed it 70,000 feet into the stratosphere. This dropped temperatures worldwide about four degrees for about a year.
“When volcanic ash reaches the stratosphere, it remains for a long time,” reports Hufford. “The ash becomes a very effective block of the incoming solar radiation, thus cooling the atmosphere’s temperatures.”
Mt. Pinatubo released more CARBON DIOXIDE than the entire Western Industrial Revolution from 1840 to the present.
Undersea volcanoes are estimated at over 3 million with 200,000 identified, and 30,000 of those are active. Acidification of the ocean is from this cause, and warming of oceans from volcanic activity is a currently unmeasurable, but real phenomenon.
I am a firm believer that the Earth will fix it's self. The atmosphere gets a little out of whack, we have an extra active hurricane season. The CO2 levels get lower, we have a couple of major volcanic eruptions. Of course I am basing this on 0% fact, and just my uneducated observation.
poor Algor, can’t catch a break, can he?
Nature IS a mother!
If lava flowing from Eyjafjallajokull melts the glaciers that hold down the top of Katla, then Katla could blow its top, pumping gigantic amounts of ash into the atmosphere.
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I am a little puzzled by this statement. If you have knowledge in this field, could you please explain to me how glacial ice could impede a volcano, as there are so much heat and pressure involved in a volcanic eruption.
Now that is an awesome factoid...