How does the eruption of a volcano lower the atmospheric temperature?
Answers
When volcanoes erupt, they emit a mixture of gases and particles into the air. Some of them, such as ash and sulphur dioxide, have a cooling effect, because they (or the substances they cause) reflect sunlight away from the earth. Others, such as CO2, cause warming by adding to the the greenhouse effect.
The volcanic eruption can decrease the atmospheric temperature in the following way-
• We know that the main source of atmospheric temperature is the solar radiation.
• Now,when the volcano eruption takes place, different gases and large aerosol particles are also produced from this eruption.
• These gases and aerosol particles makes a thin barrier in our atmosphere which blocks the solar radiation to some extent.
• In this way,the temperature also goes down for a little amount due to these volcanic eruptions.