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Another story about global warming causing volcanoes…
124 Comments
October 2, 2014 10:17 am
Reblogged this on CraigM350 and commented:
“The link between climate change and volcanism is still poorly understood”
But if we can blame it on ‘carbon pollution’ we’ll speculate anyway.
Reminds me of the contortions Jo Abbas twisted herself into trying to link climate change to the Kobe earthquake.
October 2, 2014 11:13 am
Don Andersen and James Natland a professor emeritus at the University of Miamidescribe their analysis about the roots of volcanism online in the september 8 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . In essence it apostulates , the engine behind earth interior processes is not heat from the interior , but cooling of the planets surface . The paper is titled Mantle updrafts and mechanisms of oceanic volcanism , To put it briefly increased volcanism is caused by a cooling of the earth surface .
Absolute balderdash..
On shorter timescales, outgassing from volcanic activity can cool the earths surface, there is absolutely no effect from ice sheets or cooling on the surface of earths crust which can effect the interior processes of this planet.
“Over geologic time, the inner core grows as the whole Earth cools.“
This process takes place over millions of years as the entire earth cools, not just the surface
October 2, 2014 11:59 am
The link between climate change and volcanism is still poorly understood
Not that will stop the alarmists jumping all over this claim has ‘proof’ or stop the authors grant hunting of the back of this idea. While such everything and its dog is down to AGW studies are seen ,its clear there is still much money in the area . We will know even academia has dumped ‘the cause’ , once all we see are real studies , which ironical may have real value, as there is no longer any easy cash to be had pimping AGW.
October 2, 2014 3:43 pm
One of the assertions made by Ronald D Voisin refrenced in this article:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/09/24/an-engineers-questions-regarding-holocene-climate-change/
and discussed in his full paper, which is linked at the end of his article, is an increase of volcanic activity at the start/end of glaciation/interglacial caused by what he terms the ‘startup’ and ‘blowout’ of the geo core reactor. Put simply, when the core reactor becomes more active (end of glaciation beginning of an interglacial) more heat gets pumped into the mantle, which causes thermal expansion which in turn causes more movement of magma towards the crust. When the core reactor becomes less active less heat gets pumped into the mantle, which causes thermal contraction and ‘chaotic’ magma movement, even greater than at ‘startup’ due to the less viscous nature the mantle at that point. Thus, his hypothesis expects increased volcanic activity at both the beginning and end of an interglacial.
(page 13 of 20)
It might easily be so that the gravitationally precipitated “start-up” of a previously “blown-out” core geo-reactor is geologically observed to be a smooth and rapid function, as observed. Once the process begins in nascent form it might likely proceed uninterrupted and very quickly as a relatively high viscosity / low-fluid dynamics situation is transformed to a lower viscosity / higher fluid dynamics one. Only after a geologically short delay would accumulated heat and enhanced reaction kinetics give rise to more vigorous, violent and
susceptible activity (as the reactor continues to grow in size).
On the other side, the “blow-out” of this now enlarged and highly energetic reactor is likely to be far more chaotic with its high fluid dynamics. It might be a staged process wherein an initial chaotic external fluid flow scatters one now-giant reactor into a few large spatial components that individually continue to be large enough to be highly reactive. This external fluid flow already had to be very hot to be so dynamic as to enter the central core. This then slows the overall kinetics but possibly only partially. The variously sized reactor sub-components might then likely experience their own chaotic, incoherent shut-downs (dispersions) and occasional restarts as gravitational influences begin to act on these large (now randomly displaced) spatial components of the original reactor. Consequently the whole of the shutdown process might be geologically step-staged over time, as observed, and the asymmetry of large amplitude temperature swings may well be consistent with the overall hypothesis presented herein. (It appears obvious to consider that these asymmetries are fundamental to the primary driver itself and not some artifact of other less influential drivers.)
Ryan October 2, 2014 at 4:53 pm
Are you referring to Ronald Ronald D Voisin’s article? If so, you exhibit serious misunderstanding. He is talking about the core and mantle of the the earth, warming and cooling, becoming more and less viscous in response to fission reactions that cause the core to expand and contract depending on how vigorous the reactions run over time. He is not talking about the small changes in surface temperatures caused by seasonal variations.
October 2, 2014 10:11 pm
“A 2009 study, for example, concluded that between 12,000 and 7,000 years ago, the global level of volcanic activity rose by up to six times. Around the same period the rate of volcanic activity in Iceland soared to at least 30 times today’s level.”
Speculation. No volcanologist during that time. The Sumerians had yet to invent writing.
“when an ice sheet melts, and its mass is removed, the crust springs back. This upward flexing can lead to a drop in stress in the underlying rocks, which, the theory goes, makes it easier for magma to reach the surface and feed volcanic eruptions.”
The ice sheet is in Antarctica. The volcano is in Japan. Look at the world map to see how far the magma has to travel. Gravitational force is vertical. Magma has to travel horizontally. Don’t make sense. Another attempt to blame everything to climate change.
October 2, 2014 11:13 pm
What better way to scare people than to claim that volcanoes will go off if you drive your SUV. Next it will be earthquakes and tsunamis.
Believe it or not I have actually experienced this kind of claim in my working life. When trying to access a remote village in the 3rd world, green NGOs told the locals that tsunamis could come if any development was allowed. So we weren’t allowed in.
I don´t think this is the intent. A link between the ice age cycles and volcano activity is within the realm of possibility. However, we are now in an interglacial period, the ice over North America disappeared many years ago, so it has nothing to do with humanity burning fossil fuels or making cement.
I see this is as an interesting scientific puzzle we could try to solve. And it has nothing to do with anthropogenic global warming or whatever Obama was worried about before Ebola hit Dallas (I assume he´s focused on a more real danger at this point?).
Link between ice ages and volcanic eruptions is an interesting possibility. However, the mechanism proposed is contrary to known geophysics. Magma is a fluid that is almost incompressible. Large ice mass depresses the crust and increases the pressure on magma. Melting the ice inflates the crust and reduces the pressure on magma. You need high magma pressure for volcanic eruption. Melting of ice sheets has opposite effect.
A more sensible mechanism is ice mass covers the craters of volcanoes preventing eruptions. But this is contrary to the claim of more eruptions 12,000 to 7,000 years ago. There should be more today since craters are no longer covered with ice.
October 3, 2014 8:35 pm
NY Professor: Global Warming gave birth to ISIS
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-b-strozier/how-climate-change-helped_b_5903170.html
http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/30/claim-global-warming-helped-create-isis/
October 4, 2014 12:10 am
@Dale Rainwater. Strangelove 10/3 at 6:59 pm
There was a WUWT post in Dec. 20, 2012, “A link between climate, ice melt, and volcanic eruptions is found.” The main post idea was:
“In times of global warming, the glaciers are melting on the continents relatively quickly. At the same time the sea level rises. The weight on the continents decreases, while the weight on the oceanic tectonic plates increases. Thus, the stress changes within in the earth to open more routes for ascending magma” says Dr Jegen.
I don’t buy that idea. It is too indirect. But it caused a paradigm shift in my thinking. I could buy a link of volcanism caused by ice age cycles in that a drop in sea level would directly change the stresses on the flanks of thousands of volcanic islands.
When it comes to plausible mechanisms, however, I can make a very good case for climate induced volcanism
at the COLDESTinto the COLDER part of the ice age, not the warmest of the interglacial. Consider this….At the closest point,As it gets colder, we have ice sheets bearing down on the cratons of the world. Sea level isvery lowdropping until we have with beaches at the continental margins. Every volcanic island and seamount now has 100 m + of its once submerged skirt above water. The stresses on the flanks of these active / dormant / extinct volcanos is much higher than when formed. Large-run-out-landslides will become more frequent. Each one exposing the core of the volcanos to less overburden pressure inducing eruptions. Imagine the sloughing of the north slope of Mt. St. Helens causing its [explosive] eruption.
I can see this as a positive feedback loop. As sea level drops, volcanic islands are more likely to slough, inducing explosive eruptions throwing ash into the stratosphere. The earth cools, there are more severe winters, ice accumulates, dropping sea level further.
Originally in 2012, I focused on the coldest point of the cycle, but I realize now that the mechanism works all the while sea level falls. One island lets go at a 1 meter drop, another blows at 2 meters, still another at 5 meters. So this can help the process of sea level fall, but only if there is evidence of more volcanism during the cooling than during the more rapid warming and sea level rise.
From the National Post Is it volcano season? From Japan to Iceland, scientists probe the reasons why there are so many eruptions lately
Eruptions caused by climate change
In recent decades, it has become apparent that the consequences of planetary ice loss might not end with rising sea levels. Evidence has been building that in the past, periods of severe loss of glaciers were followed by a significant spike in volcanic activity.
Around 19,000 years ago, glaciation was at a peak. Much of Europe and North America was under ice. Then the climate warmed, and the glaciers began to recede. The effect on the planet was generally quite favourable for humankind. But, since the mid-1970s, a number of studies have suggested that, as the ice vanished, volcanic eruptions became much more frequent. A 2009 study, for example, concluded that between 12,000 and 7,000 years ago, the global level of volcanic activity rose by up to six times. Around the same period the rate of volcanic activity in Iceland soared to at least 30 times today’s level.
There is supporting evidence from continental Europe, North America and Antarctica that volcanic activity also increased after earlier deglaciation cycles. Bizarrely, then, volcanic activity seems — at least sometimes — to rise and fall with ice levels. But why? Again, this strange effect might come down to stress.
Eruptions cause by the melting of ice
Ice sheets are heavy. Each year, Antarctica’s loses around 40 billion metric tons of ice. The sheets are so heavy, in fact, that as they grow, they cause the Earth’s crust to bend — like a plank of wood when placed under weight. The corollary of this is that, when an ice sheet melts, and its mass is removed, the crust springs back. This upward flexing can lead to a drop in stress in the underlying rocks, which, the theory goes, makes it easier for magma to reach the surface and feed volcanic eruptions.
The link between climate change and volcanism is still poorly understood. Many volcanoes do not seem to have been affected by it. Nor is it a particularly pressing concern today, even though we face an ice-free future. It can take thousands of years after the glaciers melt for volcanic activity to rise.
Yet while it may not be an immediate hazard, this strange effect is a reminder that our planet can respond to change in unforeseen ways. Contrary to their brutish reputation, volcanoes are helping scientists understand just how sensitive our planet can be.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/09/30/is-it-volcano-season-from-japan-to-iceland-scientists-probe-the-reasons-why-there-are-so-many-eruptions-lately/
h/t to reader Cam_S