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The research suggested that volcanoes might have had a dramatic effect on the prehistoric climate by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which caused warming of the oceans.
Dr David Rothery, Senior Lecturer In Earth Science, Open University, said:
“The largest volcanic eruptions – whether giant lava flows such as the flood basalts which erupted when the North Atlantic was beginning to open, or explosive ‘supervolcanoes’ like Yellowstone – certainly can put enough gas or dust into the atmosphere to cause climate change. The effect can be either warming or cooling, depending on the gas to dust balance and the height to which they are lofted. Eruptions of El Chichon (Mexico) in 1982 and Pinatubo (Philippines) in 1991 each caused global cooling of about half a degree centigrade that lasted for about a year. There has been no eruption either large enough or of the right kind to account for the current global warming trend, for which we must look for a non-volcanic explanation; most likely carbon dioxide released by human activities.”
Dr Ellie Highwood, Senior Lecturer In Climate Physics, University of Reading, said:
“As this paper suggests, volcanic eruptions have played a major role in determining atmospheric composition and climate in the past. The major eruptions described here caused vast quantities of greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere causing a warming effect. However more recent eruptions like Tambora in 1816, Krackatau in 1883 and Pinatubo in 1990 are different as they have added more sulphate aerosols to the upper atmosphere, which scatters sunlight back into to space and cools the atmosphere. The impact of CO2 emissions is much smaller and the net effect is one of the global cooling for a few years following the eruption.
“The type of volcano eruption described here has not been seen over the past 1000 years, and therefore volcanoes are unlikely to have contributed significantly to recent climate change.”