I’m surprised this isn’t more prominent in the news.
intercst
2 Likes
It was in January when it erupted.
It was January 2022 when it erupted but it’s too good a scare article to let it go to waste.
The Captain
3 Likes
True. But researchers say that volume of water vapor is likely to remain in circulation around the stratosphere for years. Smaller eruptions dissipated more quickly.
Honestly, if you’re a fossil fuels climate denier, this is good news. You legitimately have something else to blame. {{ LOL }}
intercst
3 Likes
There are lots of “legitimate somethings to blame” such as the big nuclear oven in the sky. Have you seen it?
The Captain
1 Like
I remember that story being discussed over a year ago. The difference between the Pinatubo eruption of the 1990s, which ejected aerosols and cooled the planet for a year or two, and the Tonga eruption of 2022, which ejected mostly water vapor, were interesting. Aerosols, dust and particulates, reflect sunlight which cools the planet. So as the water vapor from the eruption condenses around the normal particulates in the atmosphere over the next few years, will that contribute to increasing the warming of the planet as well? Will it increase global levels of precipitation?
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As I understand it, it will. The ice formed at high altitudes reflects some of the outgoing (longwave) radiation back toward the earth.
Low clouds ==> cooling
High clouds ==> warming
DB2
1 Like