Volcanic activity makes the Earth cooler

Volcanic eruptions have contributed to significantly slowing global warming over the past 15 years.

>>>The new molecule can cool the Earth

According to Science Mag, volcanic eruptions have significantly slowed global warming from 2000 to 2013. Small particles such as dust have been pushed high, spreading into the atmosphere to reflect and scatter light. Sunlight returns to space, preventing the global average temperature from 0.05 ° C to 0.12 ° C.

Sarychev Peak volcanic eruption in Russia in 2009. (Photo: NASA)

David Ridley at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA and colleagues use laser light to survey the atmosphere at four locations in the northern hemisphere. By measuring the amount of laser light reflected when projected to Earth, researchers can estimate aerosol concentrations at different heights. Other data obtained from aerial and satellite detection will support and control laser measurements.

Research results show that the low elevation of the stratosphere contains many aerosols from small volcanic eruptions. However, their cooling effect cannot fully explain the disruption of global warming, as the average temperature of the Earth has increased slowly since the late 1990s.

Scientists believe that much of the lost heat has entered the ocean, raising heat in deep ocean waters."This finding helps us understand why the temperature of the Earth has not overheated compared to climate models in the last decade," said Brian Toon, atmospheric scientist at the University of Colorado, USA. .

The cooling effect of large volcanic eruptions has long been known. They spread into the aerosol stratosphere causing light scattering. However, the same effect of small eruptions is still controversial. Some argue that aerosols from this activity cannot pass through the troposphere.