Another Big Volcanic Outburst

A momentary respite from gloom and doom: let's look at the impact of a big volcanic eruption from space!


The Daily Mail of London is on top of this story, so to speak.

A chance recording by astronauts on the International Space Station has captured the moment a volcano explosively erupted, sending massive shockwaves through the atmosphere.

Sarychev Peak, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, had been sitting quietly in the Kuril Island chain near Japan for 20 years, when it suddenly sprang to life on June 12.

Fortuitously, the International Space Station was flying overhead at the time, and managed to capture this spectacular image of the ash-cloud tearing through the atmosphere, sending clouds scattering in its wake in a perfect circle.

Mind you, a volcano spews both greenhouse gases AND ash into the atmosphere. The short term effect is a cooling of the earth. The long-term effect might be warming, but then again, maybe not. At any rate, no one is asking the hundreds of volcanoes on land and below the sea to purchase any carbon offsets.

So I guess it's up to us to subsidize them.

Dang, gloom and doom after all.

Mount Redoubt Fires It Up

So how will the global warming, er, climate change alarmists spin this?

Mount Redoubt, an Alaskan volcano 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, has interrupted its 20-year slumber, spewing ash up to nine miles high into the air, more than enough to get dispersed by jet streams and affect temperatures (especially if there are several weeks or months of this activity).

Stay tuned.

Undersea Volcano in South Pacific

This must be an impressive sight in person. It's the ash cloud from an undersea volcano off Tonga.

Authorities in Tonga said there was no immediate danger to people living on the island. Tonga's chief geologist, Kelepi Mafi, said: "It's a very significant eruption, on quite a large scale." However, he added, "This is not unusual for this area and we expect this to happen here at any time."

Tonga's police deputy commander Taniela Faletau said coastal villages close to the broiling ocean site were not yet at risk and that no warnings had been issued.

On Thursday, trade winds were blowing gas and steam away from the island, although large amounts of pumice thrown up by the volcano would probably soon line beaches on the southern coast of nearby Fiji.

However if the volcano continued to grow, it had the potential to be devastating, one expert told The Times. Professor Simon Turner, a geochemist at Macquarie University in Sydney, said: 'Underwater volcanos can be violent, and have a strong climatic effect ... This one isn't getting into the stratosphere yet but as it continues to grow that is a possibility. "

UPDATE -- This afternoon a 7.9 scale earthquake hit the same area, triggering a tsunami warning. Apparently it was a precautionary run for your life moment as the news is quiet now.

It Could Get Colder

Add a potential new threat to global temperatures: Residents of southern and central Alaska are preparing for the potential eruption of Mount Redoubt volcano. Located about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, the state's largest city, it's last eruption cycle began in 1990 and lasted for a couple of years.

What also happens when a major volcano blows is that the ash, the abrasive particulate matter, gets shot into the various jet streams up to 40,000 feet up and dispersed.

If the sun is active, some of the cooling effect is offset. But right now the sun is very quiet and the combination of new ash and a quiet sun could push down temps dramatically. Doubtful, however, that you'll hear much about this from the MSM as they are busy pushing the radical "the earth is on fire" religion of Algore.