Could you please E-Mail me some information about the main effects and consequences of a large volcanic eruption.

Sam

Dear Sam,

I guess the most serious nearby environmental effect is the burial by either ash, mud, or lava. In many cases these materials bury the area under 10's of meters. Certainly anyone caught by them will be killed, but they are also difficult to farm on. At Pinatubo it has been recently realized that the huge amount of ash deposited high on the slopes (where very few people live) has since the main eruption caused way more damage to the lower areas (where people DO live) than the original eruption did.

Yes, the brilliant sunsets are caused by sulfuric acid aerosols that get into the stratosphere. Only the largest eruptions get anything that high (ash, gas, and aerosols in the troposphere get rained out within a few weeks).

Scott Rowland, University of Hawaii

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