Aug. 15, 2007 — Emulating the sun-dimming effects of large volcanic eruptions to slow the Earth's greenhouse effect, as some have proposed, may just make matters worse, say scientists studying the effects of nature's recent volcanics.
The eruption of the Philippine's Mount Pinatubo in 1991 shows that the far-flung effects of its sun-blocking particles led to a marked decrease in precipitation worldwide.
An attempt to mimic volcanoes to cool the Earth by blocking solar energy reaching the Earth's surface could have similar short-term effects — which could be worse than global warming.
"They're all designed to cut the incoming (solar) radiation," said climate researcher Kevin Trenberth, referring to various proposals to "geo-engineer" our way out of global warming. But you can't engineer the climate without thinking about the entire flow of that incoming heat, he added.
That heat flow warms tropical oceans, which evaporates lots of water. The water vapor moves to higher latitudes, where it rains down and releases heat that can radiate back into space.
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