BATON ROUGE On March 20, Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano woke from its nearly 200-year slumber to change the way the world viewed volcanoes forever. Bringing almost all transatlantic air travel to a halt for the first time in modern history, this volcano reminded humanity of the powers these forces of nature contain and of our relative inability to understand them. Associate Professor Huiming Bao of LSU's Department of Geology & Geophysics has published research in the journal Nature about massive volcanic eruptions and their atmospheric consequences in the past in North America.
"Past volcanic eruptions have had significant impacts on the environment," said Bao. "We humans have witnessed the various impacts of volcanic eruptions like the 1991 Mount Pinatubo and the more recent Icelandic one. The physical aspect of the impacts such as explosion or ash plumes is often short-lived, but the chemical consequence of its emitted massive gases can have a long-lasting effect on global climate."
The paper, titled "Massive Volcanic SO2 Oxidation and Sulfate Aerosol Deposition in Cenozoic North America," represents research into the Earth's climactic past. Using computer models and geological data, Bao and his colleagues, Shocai Yu of the EPA and Daniel Tong of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, were able to simulate the sulfur gas oxidation chemistry and atmospheric condition of the northern high plains region of North America long before human activities began significantly impact the air quality. Yu and Tong contributed to the modeling aspect of the study. They used a state-of-the-art atmospheric sulfur chemistry and transport model to simulate the atmospheric conditions necessary for the observed sulfate isotope data preserved in rock records.
Bao and his colleagues discovered that many of the volcanic ash beds are rich in sulfate, the product of atmospheric oxidation of sulfur gases. Most importantly, t
'/>"/>
| Contact: Ashley Berthelot aberth4@lsu.edu 225-578-3870 Louisiana State University Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. LSU professors work to improve efficiency of ethanol fuel
2. LSU professor looks for life in and under antarctic ice
3. UGA Odum School of Ecology professor receives grant to study West Nile Virus in NYC
4. ETH Zurich professor Ari Helenius awarded Benoist Prize
5. Bad carbs not the enemy, University of Virginia professor finds
6. KGI professor contributes new insights on jumping genes
7. Professor Sir Martin Evans wins Nobel Prize for Medicine
8. Iowa State professors genome research published in the latest issue of Science
9. LSU professor studies army-ant-following birds
10. K-State chemistry professor to receive Masao Horiba award
11. TAU professor finds global warming is melting soft coral
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |