Solar Radiation Management.... is about reproducing the effects of a volcano eruption..... filling the stratosphere with sulfur particles to block out the sun, limiting the suns radiative heat. An eruption of Mt Laki in 1783... gives us an example of what a volcano eruption does to the environment. 1783 eruption On June 8 1783, a fissure with 130 craters opened with phreatomagmatic explosions because of the groundwater interacting with the rising basalt magma. Over a few days the eruptions became less explosive, Strombolian, and later Hawaiian in character, with high rates of lava effusion. This event is rated as 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, but the eight-month emission of sulfuric aerosols resulted in one of the most important climatic and socially repercussive events of the last millennium.[6][7] The eruption, also known as the Skaftáreldar (Skaftá fires) or Síðueldur, produced an estimated 14 km3 (3.4 cu mi) of basalt lava, and the total volume of tephra emitted was 0.91 km3 (0.2 cu mi).[1] Lava fountains were estimated to have reached heights of 800 to 1,400 m (2,600 to 4,600 ft). The gases were carried by the convective eruption column to altitudes of about 15 km (10 mi).[8] In Great Britain, the summer of 1783 was known as the sand-summer because of the ash fallout.[9] The eruption continued until 7 February 1784, but most of the lava was ejected in the first five months. Grímsvötn volcano, from which the Laki fissure extends, was also erupting at the time, from 1783 until 1785. The outpouring of gases, including an estimated 8 million tons of hydrogen fluoride and an estimated 120 million tons of sulfur dioxide, gave rise to what has since become known as the Laki haze across Europe.[8] Consequences in Iceland The consequences for Iceland—known as the Mist Hardships—were catastrophic.[10] An estimated 20–25% of the population died in the famine and fluoride poisoning after the fissure eruptions ceased. Around 80% of sheep, 50% of cattle and 50% of horses died because of dental and skeletal fluorosis from the 8 million tons of hydrogen fluoride that were released.[9][11]
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 21:42:27 +0000
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