Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull Volcano eruption, showing volcanic plume and lava flow spreading northeast, spilling into Hrunagil Gully. Image was acquired on March 24, 2010, by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite
Numerous volcanoes presently active and erupting across the planet will impact short-term warming and climate change. Longer-term impacts are unknown.
On March 20, after nearly 200 years of dormancy, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano started rumbling fiercely; then, the top exploded in a massive out-pouring of lava, pyro-clastic debris and sulfurous smoke and ash. The eruption, which continues into its second week, has sent a great billowing plume of ash and gas high up into the stratosphere and across thousands of miles, blanketing a large portion of Europe.
Apart from the major disruption in flight traffic and the economy, the Icelandic volcano eruption promises in the short-term to disrupt upper atmospheric circulation patterns and temperatures, with an additional impact due to sulfuric acid “nucleation” and subsequent acid rain. But the medium to long-term impacts of continuous, or increasing, volcanic eruptions is a matter of on-going scientific debate.