Changes in Environment due to volcanic eruption
What volcanoes have to do with environment change? Volcanic eruptions are often discussed in relation to climate change because they release CO 2 (and other gases) into our atmosphere. However, human contributions to the carbon cycle are more than 100 times those from all the volcanoes in the world - combined. In comparison, while volcanic eruptions do cause an increase in atmospheric CO 2 , human activities emit a Mount St. Helens-sized eruption of CO 2 every 2.5 hours and a Mount Pinatubo-sized eruption of CO 2 twice daily. The largest possible eruptions come from super volcanoes like Yellowstone or Mount Toba (which erupt very rarely, about every 100,000 to 200,000 years or more), but the total annual CO 2 emissions from human activities is like one or more Yellowstone-sized super eruptions going off every year. Essentially, CO 2 emissions from human activities dwarf those of volcanoes. Climate...