Even a weak volcanic eruptions can have a big impact on the global climate.
Photo erupting Kit made by satellite EO-1 June 24, 2011.

In the summer of 2011 sulphur dioxide and other gases produced by a relatively small eruption, has reached a high layers of the atmosphere and spread throughout the Northern hemisphere, making contact with water vapor and forming particles that reflect sunlight and do not allow it to reach the Earth. The result is a cooling effect.

Previously, only large volcanoes - for example, MT, which was active in 1991, were believed to be able to throw gases up to the stratosphere. MT has reduced the global average temperature in 1992 by as much as 0.5 C.

Gases and particles, not reaching the stratosphere, usually quickly washed out of the atmosphere, says study co-author Alan Shy from Rutgers University (USA). However, the eruption of the volcano Kit (Eritrea), which occurred on June 13, 2011, gave an unexpected effect: warm air Asian monsoon helped volcanic couples to reach the stratosphere.

For the first time scientists were able to show that volcanoes do not necessarily have to be very powerful. Quite a suitable combination of weather conditions.

The researchers came to the conclusions by fixing the concentrations of volcanic gases in various layers of the atmosphere with the tool OSIRIS, located on the Odin satellite and can measure the amount of reflected light.

Of course, one such eruption is unlikely to have an appreciable influence on the climate, but in the past, such events could occur serially.

Specialists have calculated that the Kit has made 1,4 million tons of sulfur dioxide is the biggest release since MT, which, however, was given 10 times more. But since the eruption of the Kit were not explosive character, it did not attract special attention.

The study is published in the journal Science.

Based on the materials of Our Amazing Planet and EurekAlert!.