Tag Archives for " volcanoes "

Are your air purifiers and emergency supplies ready? Bad air quality can come from any direction!

Are your air purifiers and emergency supplies ready?  Bad air quality can come from any direction!

“Wildfire season” historically starts June 1, but the concept of a “fire year” is more accurate when fires in Canada begin in April.  This year’s fires in British Columbia and Alberta started in April, and now nearly all of Canada’s ten provinces have fires burning.  The problem for Americans, especially northern states, is that air currents carry the smoke aloft and bring it to remote places, sometimes thousands of miles away.  Certainly people on the mid-Atlantic coast did not expect to see hazy skies or low air quality, but we now know that distant events can wreak havoc on our air quality.  

Take for instance volcanoes.  According to research published in 2018 by scientists at the Imperial College of London, Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1816 may have in part been caused by a volcanic eruption in Indonesia two months prior.  This eruption of Mount Tambora was the most destructive explosion on earth in the past 10,000 years, killing over 90.000 people and blasting 12 cubic miles of gasses, dust and rock into the atmosphere and over the island and surrounding area.  (Blast from the Past) The ash spewed into the air was carried even higher than it would be by winds alone, due to electrostatic forces.  Negative charges from volcano plume gave the ash a negative charge, repelling it into the air and even as high as the ionosphere, which is a layer of our atmosphere that extends from 50-400 miles above the earth and is responsible for cloud formation.  Even though the charged ash did not reach Europe, it “short-circuited” the ionosphere, initially stopping clouds from forming.  Later, however, the clouds surged back, inundating places like Waterloo which normally only had 2” of rain for the entire month of June.  On 16-18 of June 1815, however, the area received unseasonably heavy rains that made the earth very soft, slowing down cavalry and artillery movements, and delaying the battle on June 18 so that the Prussian forces arrived in time to support the Allies and defeat Napoleon.   This type of cloud suppression was documented following the eruption of another Indonesian volcano, Krakatau in 1883, and reports of ionosphere disturbance followed the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines in 1993.  

So now we know that volcanoes can interrupt flight schedules, battle plans, and…global rain clouds.  Less rain equals more drought, and more drought equals more wildfires.  When the clouds come back to a drought-damaged area, lightning can spark many fires. In Quebec, for example, fires were sparked by lightning, but officials in Alberta have said that the cause of fires there is currently unknown.  (How did the Canadian wildfires start?)   This is how volcano eruptions can change world events and weather, halfway around the world!  

So, while interruptions to daily activities in the Northeast are hopefully temporary due to the Canadian wildfires, we have to look further to be prepared for the next blanket of wildfire smoke.  Studies regarding erupting volcanoes have shown that they have different atmospheric consequences depending on which hemisphere they are located.  Here are some of the results:

  • Scientists studied 54 large explosive eruptions during 501–2000 AD including 16 in the Northern Hemisphere (NH), 25 equatorial and 13 in the Southern Hemisphere (SH).  In the first two years following an eruption, NH volcanoes decrease NH monsoon volume, and SH volcanoes decrease SH monsoon volume.  They tend to have the opposite effect on the opposite hemisphere, for example, a volcano in the NH will increase precipitation in the SH the first year, with diminished increase in the second year.  (Global monsoon precipitation responses to large volcanic eruptions)

  • Long-term, however, volcanoes near the equator tend to have greater impacts than the high-latitude eruptions on global climate because their stratospheric aerosol clouds cover a larger surface area and have a longer residence time, and because the aerosols are then transported poleward in both hemispheres and eventually cover the entire globe. (Climate response to large, high-latitude and low-latitude volcanic eruptions in the Community Climate System Model

  • Volcanoes inject a number of things into the atmosphere when they erupt.  Rocks and larger particles are the first to fall out of the atmosphere, ash can linger for several months, H20 , N2, and CO2 are the most abundant, and sulfur aerosols are responsible for reflecting light back into space and generally cooling the atmosphere. For example, the Pinatubo eruption in 1991 injected an estimated 20 metric tons of SO2 into the atmosphere, leading to a temporary (∼2 years) reversal of the late twentieth century global warming trend.  Did you know that volcanoes also inspire art?  The famous 1893 Edvard Munch painting, "The Scream," shows a red volcanic sunset over the Oslo harbor produced by the 1892 Awu eruption, and the 1815 Mount Tambora explosion inspired the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley due to the 1816 “year without a summer” which was unseasonably cold and gloomy. (Volcanic Eruptions and Climate)

  • Mount Tonga, an equatorial submarine volcano, released an enormous amount of water vapor high into the atmosphere (mesosphere) when it erupted in February 2022, which caused weather anomalies globally.  Increased rainfall in the southern hemisphere following the jet stream was recorded, and much of the northern hemisphere had drier conditions than average.  (Influence of Volcanic Activity on Weather and Climate Changes)

But non-volcanic activity can be just as dangerous... 

  • Halocarbons, used in foam insulation, refrigeration and other appliances, were released during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan, amounting to 6600 metric tons.  This is an increase of 21-91% over typical levels of six halocarbons that deplete ozone, which in turn affects weather patterns.  (Deadly Japan Quake and Tsunami Spurred Global Warming, Ozone Loss)  Of course, the major headline after this earthquake was the destruction of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant when the earthquake disabled the power and cooling to its three reactors.  There were no deaths or cases of radiation sickness from the nuclear accident, but over 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes as a preventative measure.  (Fukushima Daiichi Accident)

  • Other natural disasters have damaged nuclear plants, like a 1998 tornado that knocked out power to the Davis-Besse plant outside Toledo, Ohio, and Hurricane Andrew, which knocked out power to the Turkey Point plant south of Miami site for five days in 1992. In 2008, Hurricane Gustav damaged the River Bend Nuclear Generation Station in St. Francisville, La.  At both Davis-Besse and Turkey Point, the plants' emergency diesel generators kept the equipment running until crews fixed the power lines. (Can U.S. Nuclear Plants Handle a Major Natural Disaster?)

  • The Carrington Event of 1859 was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history.  Earth narrowly missed receiving another series of solar flares in July 2012, which may have exceeded the strength of the Carrington event and prompted widespread power and communications outages. (Carrington-class CME Narrowly Misses Earth

It just goes to show that natural disasters can have global consequences.  For the next weather changes and wildfire risks, we could look far and long, or just be prepared with extra filters, masks, food and water, and a well-sealed home.  This is prudent because unfortunately, it only takes one badly-placed volcanic eruption, solar flare, earthquake, hurricane or tornado to upset a nuclear power plant or spew toxins into the air, sending the world and its weather into chaos.  

Photo by Yosh Ginsu on Unsplash

Volcanic Ash, Repurposed

Volcanic Ash, Repurposed

Inferring from news headlines, you might think that volcano eruptions are rare–maybe a couple a year.  This is definitely not the case!  As of April 14, 2023, there were 49 volcanoes in eruption, 75% of them along the “Ring of Fire” where the Pacific Ocean meets land masses on the west and east.   To see the names and places of these active volcanoes, check out this page in the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program.

Volcanoes emit several things when they erupt.  Gasses are composed of water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and hydrogen sulphide (H2S).   In actuality, lava can also contain 6% or more of its mass as gasses.  The gasses come out of solution from the lava when it erupts from the ground, in the form of bubbles or explosions.  (Volcanoes) Lava can flow in many forms above ground, below ground, and underwater.  The chemical composition of the lava causes it to have different viscosities and take different shapes as it cools and solidifies.  This page has a detailed description and fascinating photos of the many different types of lava.  

When gas and solids are emitted at the same time from a volcano–watch out!  Pyroclastic flows are the most dangerous type of eruption, where the hot pressurized gas can carry fragments of rock and ash for long distances.  Boulders can be thrown for miles if the eruption is particularly energetic, but the main danger for nearby residents is lava, fragments of rock called pumice, hot ash and gasses.  It was once thought that the residents of Pompeii perished due to suffocation of ash, but new evidence points to extreme heat.  (The Hazards of Pyroclastic Flows)

Clouds of ash can travel thousands of miles in the atmosphere.  It can disrupt airplane traffic and cause air pollution in distant cities, but when “the dust settles”, volcanic ash can be a good thing, as it’s used for many purposes.

Solid particles emitted from volcanoes are collectively called tephra.  Products made with tephra can be from ash (fragments of rocks, minerals, and volcanic glass ranging in size from sand to clay-like (from 2 mm to less than 0.004 mm in diameter) which is hard and abrasive), or milled/crushed from larger rocks and pumice.  Here are a few examples:

  • Bricks made with 10-20% ash of Mt. Etna, a very active volcano in Italy, were less porous, more compact and less susceptible to decay, with a small loss of strength that was still in acceptable parameters. (Producing Bricks with Volcanic Ash from Mount Etna)
  • Concrete made with 30-50% ash vs. 100% Portland cement is less energy-intensive to make and is stronger. (Cities of the future may be built with locally available volcanic ash)
  • Volcanic ash can make soil incredibly fertile due to the different minerals it contains. 
  • Volcanic rock can be used to purify water.  This use is discussed in the rest of this article.

Zeolites are natural volcanic minerals with unique characteristics. They are aluminosilicates, meaning that they are composed of varying quantities of aluminum, oxygen and silicon.  Zeolites were formed when volcanic ash was deposited in ancient alkaline lakes. The interaction of the volcanic ash with the salts in the lake water altered the ash into various zeolite materials, creating “pores”.  The pores have typical diameters of 0.5 to 0.7 nm, which are slightly larger than the diameter of a water molecule. Positive ions are present in the channels, which can be exchanged for other ions.

This substitution of ions enables zeolites to selectively adsorb certain harmful or unwanted elements from soil, water and air. A good example is the removal of calcium from hard water, also called "softening".  In this case, zeolites exchange sodium ions for calcium ions, which result in soft water. Zeolites also have strong attraction for certain harmful heavy metals such as lead, chromium, nickel and zinc. (Zeolites)

The oldest evidence of use of volcanic rock in water purification exists at Tikal, a Mayan city in northern Guatemala.  The Maya collected zeolite and quartz from a crystalline tuff (a light, porous rock formed by consolidation of volcanic ash.) about 30 km northeast of the city between ~ 200 BC and 1000 A.D. They used these natural volcanic mineral resources to purify large volumes of drinking water in a tropical forest environment, which was complicated by catastrophic cyclones, volcanic events, droughts, and subsurface drainage; this is the oldest known zeolite water purification system. (Zeolite water purification at Tikal, an ancient Maya city in Guatemala)

Zeolites can also be synthesized  from volcanic ash.  In an effort to reduce landfill disposal of the ash surrounding Mt. Etna in Italy, two samples of ash were processed to form a synthetic zeolite that could adsorb cesium (a radioactive element) from polluted water. (Synthesis of zeolite from volcanic ash: Characterization and application for cesium removal)

For those whose interests lie more in beauty products, volcanic material has moved beyond pumice stones used for foot exfoliation and now the ash is having a moment in skin creams, masks and primers.  The minerals in volcanic ash (including sulfur) are antibacterial, anti-inflammatory (when used temporarily and correctly) and some products can be used to exfoliate and dry especially oily skin.  Three dermatologists weigh in on volcanic ash’s skin-clearing properties in this article.

How can you use volcanic ash or zeolite around your home? (Zeolites-applications)

  • For adsorbing odors: in shoes, carpets and kitty litter
  • For absorbing fat runoff in barbeque pits
  • For adsorbing moisture in closets and cabinets
  • As a filter medium for your fishtank (adsorbs ammonia)
  • As a filter medium for an air purifier (removes ammonia, formaldehyde, and other VOCs)
  • As a filter medium for water purifiers and softeners
  • As a garden soil additive for drainage, minerals and for landscaping textural interest

The minerals and rock formations of volcanoes vary endlessly in composition and uses.  Volcanic ash and zeolite are another of the earth’s natural filters and cleaners.   As our air and water become more polluted, we expect these resources to be used in many more ways–another example of taking “waste” and repurposing it for a cleaner environment.

Photo by Yosh Ginsu on Unsplash