American scientists from Columbia University in New York evaluated the consequences of a possible supervolcano eruption on the Earth’s climate. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Climate.
Super volcanoes are volcanoes with enormous power that are formed as a result of long-term accumulation of underground magma. They erupt very rarely, but each such event can have catastrophic consequences.
For example, the eruption of the Toba supervolcano in India 75 thousand years ago caused a sharp cooling of the planet due to the enormous amount of ash and gas entering the atmosphere. It is believed to have led to the mass extinction of animals, plants, and much of humanity.
According to previous studies, potential estimates of temperature drop due to volcanic winter ranged from 2 °C to 8 °C.
In a new study, scientists used computer simulations to recreate the effects of a disaster similar to the eruption of Mount Toba. Calculations showed that even with the most powerful explosion, the temperature on Earth would not drop by more than 1.5 °C.
According to experts, the discrepancy in temperature estimates is due to a variable that is very difficult to determine: the size of the sulfur particles that will enter the atmosphere during the super eruption.
Researchers simulating supereruptions using different particle sizes found that they may not change global temperatures much more than the largest eruptions of modern times. For example, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991 caused global temperatures to drop by approximately 0.5°C in two years.
The scientists said their results point to the low effectiveness of geoengineering projects, which attempt to recreate volcanic winter conditions by spraying sulfur-based aerosols into the atmosphere.
Previous scientists named The most powerful volcanic eruption in human history.