Kīlauea Volcano’s Ash Prompted Largest Open Ocean Phytoplankton Bloom, Study Reveals
We know that large volcanic eruptions which throw large amounts of ash into the upper atmosphere can cool the earth’s climate for 1 to 2 years. Krakatoa being one of the most well-known instances in recorded history as well as Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines in more recent times. Less well-known is that volcanic ash falling into oceans can lead to dramatic phytoplankton blooms which in turn take large amounts of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and sequester it on the ocean floor. Volcanic eruptions also put lots of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere so we may not be gaining much ground there. Volcanic ash is variable in chemical composition with varying amounts of iron, phosphorus and trace elements which lead to variable phytoplankton blooms. Volcanic ash fall on land has variable fertilizing effects on soils and ecosystems there. I have long speculated that Mama Earth might go into a phase of increased volcanic activity as a way of cooling our overheating world. Let’s keep our eyes open and have a more in-depth discussion of these things in our Global Earth Repair circles. ~ Michael Pilarski
Pinatubo is a stratovolcano in the Philippines. June 15, 1991, it erupted, resulting in the second-largest eruption of the 20th century. The ash plume height reaching more than 40 km (28 mi) high and ejecting more than 10 km3 of magma, classifying it as plinian/ultra plinian eruption style and VEI 6 in eruption size. This aspect of Pinatubo’s 1991 activity riveted the attention of climatologists and atmospheric scientists around the world, who estimated that the event caused a global temperature decrease of about 0.5 degree Celsius (0.9 degree Fahrenheit) over the ensuing year. ~ Google AI
In 1815, Mt. Tambora in Indonesia underwent the most deadly volcanic eruption in recorded history. The “super colossal” eruption, which measured 7 on the volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), pumped out enormous amounts of dust and ash, destroyed crops and vegetation, killed tens of thousands of people and even caused tsunamis. A century and a half later, American oceanographer Henry Stommel and his wife, Elizabeth, published an article in 1979’s Scientific American entitled “The Year Without a Summer.” They suggested that the eruption had caused a severe summertime cold snap during 1816 that resulted in killer frosts in New England and Europe. Soaring food prices and famine followed the frosts, to the degree that 1816 was also nicknamed “Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death.” ~ Google AI
