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Major volcanic eruptions in the future have the potential to affect global temperatures and precipitation more dramatically than in the past because of climate change, according to a new study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
The study authors focused on the cataclysmic eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora in April 1815, which is thought to have triggered the so-called “year without a summer” in 1816. They found that if a similar eruption occurred in the year 2085, temperatures would plunge more deeply, although not enough to offset the future warming associated with climate change. The increased cooling after a future eruption would also disrupt the water cycle more severely, decreasing the amount of precipitation that falls globally.
The reason for the difference in climate response between 1815 and 2085 is tied to the oceans, which are expected to become more stratified as the planet warms, and therefore less able to moderate the climate impacts caused by volcanic eruptions.
Read more at National Center for Atmospheric Research
Image: Aerial view of the caldera of Mt Tambora at the island of Sumbawa, Indonesia.
Image Credit: Jialiang Gao via Wikimedia Commons
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