Question about volcanoes and climate change

[Pendrench]

Hello -

I saw this posted on Facebook earlier today:

That one little burp by Mt Etna has already put more than 10,000 times the CO2 into the atmosphere than mankind has in our ENTIRE time on earth but don't worry a scam is in the works to tax you your minuscule footprint....

I was wondering if anyone can suggest a reputable source that discusses how volcanic eruptions impact climate change (so I can be more knowledgeable when discussing this topic).

Thank you very much.

Tim

[Blues Heron]

1. Your friend is in deep denial

[Pendrench]

6. Hi Blues Heron - thank you for your reply (and the graphic!)

He's actually my wife's cousin's husband

As you correctly surmised, he's very conservative, and likes to post things like this to get a reaction.

This will be very helpful.

Thanks again!

Tim

[pscot]

2. Skeptical Science is your goto source

for rebutting denialist fantasies.

https://www.skepticalscience.com/volcanoes-and-global-warming.htm

[Pendrench]

7. Hi pscot - thank you!

I'll be sure to check out this site.

Thanks again for your reply!

Tim

[saturnsring]

8. wow thanks for the link i was un-aware of it .....eom

[packman]

3. Never argue with someone who thinks they have all the answers

Its like wrestling with a pig in the mud. You'll come out dirty, tired and looking foolish while the pig will be happy, contented and thinking, "Thanks for the message"

That volcano bullshit and forest fires bullshit spewed by climate deniers might or might not be true - but what difference does it make? That's nature, we have no control over it. What we do have control over is the added crap we are contributing to global warming.

You see a car accident, a body - person still alive - is laying there injured and bleeding. What do you do? Rush over with a baseball bat and finish them off OR drag them away from the scene, call for help, and stop the bleeding.


Nature is nature, nothing or little we can do about it. Factory emissions and other manmade garbage we can do something about.

[Pendrench]

9. Hi packman - thank you for your reply!

Excellent points - and I agree that we should control that which we can control

Thank you again -

Tim

[think]

4. From a US Govt website in 2007 when Bush was still in power:

Which produces more CO2, volcanic or human activity?

February 15, 2007

This seems like a huge amount of CO2, but a visit to the U.S. Department of Energy's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) website (http://cdiac.ornl.gov/) helps anyone armed with a handheld calculator and a high school chemistry text put the volcanic CO2 tally into perspective. Because while 200 million tonnes of CO2 is large, the global fossil fuel CO2 emissions for 2003 tipped the scales at 26.8 billion tonnes. Thus, not only does volcanic CO2 not dwarf that of human activity, it actually comprises less than 1 percent of that value.

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/2007/07_02_15.html

Little more info:

The carbon footprint of a volcano:
1 million tonnes CO2: Mount Etna, Italy, in a quiet year
42 million tonnes CO2: Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, 1991
300 million tonnes CO2: all volcanoes in a typical year

If you have been a victim of the rumour, persistent in some circles,
that volcanic CO2 emissions dwarf those of human activity, now is the
time to be liberated.

According to the British Geological Survey:

The contribution to the present day atmospheric CO2 loading from volcanic emissions is, however, relatively insignificant, and it has been estimated that subaerial volcanism releases around 300 Mt/yr CO2.

The US Geological Survey estimate is lower still:

Volcanoes emit … about 130–230 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. This estimate includes both subaerial and submarine volcanoes, about in equal amounts.

These different figures show that the precise contribution of volcanoes to atmospheric CO2 levels isn't accurately known, but what is clear is that humans emit much more – around 100 times more.

Nonetheless, as the figures above show, each active volcano does have a massive footprint, with a really major eruption causing as much as 42 million tonnes of CO2 – equivalent to several weeks of emissions from the whole of the UK.

~Snip~

This article draws on text from How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee

Read more:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/green-living-blog/2010/oct/07/carbon-footprint-volcano

[Pendrench]

10. Hi think - thank you very much!

This information is very helpful...I will be sure to read more at the links.

Thanks again!

Tim

[Gregorian]

5. From a link on the environment forum, volcanoes actually decrease warming.

A google search gives the info you want.

I don't recall if global dimming is part of the answer.

[Pendrench]

11. Hi Gregorian - thank you very much!

I will be sure to check out the link you suggested.

Thanks again!

Tim

[Gregorian]

12. I'm sorry I couldn't find that link.

I've had this discussion come up before, and definitely did find that the whole volcano adding to global warming was a myth.

I can't reply with intelligence since I can't find that link. But at least you are going in the right direction.

Cheers.

[Agnosticsherbet]

13. What's the carbon footprint of ... a volcano? (Guardian)

What's the carbon footprint of ... a volcano?
According to the British Geological Survey:


The contribution to the present day atmospheric CO2 loading from volcanic emissions is, however, relatively insignificant, and it has been estimated that subaerial volcanism releases around 300 Mt/yr CO2.

The idea that Volcanos are the problem is bogus.