A massive volcanic eruption in Scotland on the same scale as the infamous Krakatoa blast may have contributed to prehistoric global warming.
Scientists say that global temperatures spiked around 56 million years ago.
And a new study suggests that a major explosive eruption from the Red Hills on the Isle of Skye may have been a contributing factor to the massive climate disturbance.
Large explosive volcanic eruptions can have lasting effects on climate and have been held responsible for severe climate effects in Earth’s history.
One such event occurred around 56 million years ago when global temperatures increased by up to 8 degrees Celcius (46 degrees Fahrenheit.)
The event has been named the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM).
The warm period was associated with volcanic activity in the North Atlantic region, especially in Greenland, the British Isles and the present day North Sea region.
But, until now, no large-scale explosive eruptions had been confirmed in present-day Scotland.
A team of researchers from St Andrews University, Durham University and Uppsala University in Sweden along with the Scottish Environmental Research Center in Glasgow now seem to have found a missing piece of the puzzle.
By studying volcanic rocks called pitchstones from islands more than 18 miles apart in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, the researchers found “plausible” evidence of a major eruption from what is today the Isle of Skye.
The researchers, whose findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports, used several different methods to compare the pitchstones recovered from the two sites – Sgùrr of Eigg and Òigh-sgeir – including isotope geochemistry.
“Samples from the two pitchstone outcrops display identical textures and compositions in all analyses, confirming that the two outcrops represent deposits of a single, massive and explosive volcanic eruption,” Dr. Valentin Troll, of Uppsala University, said in a statement.
The researchers’ geochemical data identify the Red Hills on Skye, around 25 miles to the North, as the most likely vent area for the eruption.
Troll said: “Using this vent location, a reconstruction estimates the eruption to have been similar in magnitude to the infamous Krakatoa eruption of 1883, one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic events in recorded history.”
He added: “Earth scientists have long thought that the Scottish sector of the North Atlantic Volcanic province did not see any large explosive eruptions at the time of the PETM.”
He said that notion is now contradicted by the findings of the study.
Troll added: “Large explosive volcanic events in the Scottish sector of the North Atlantic Volcanic Province were likely a major contributing factor to the climate disturbance of the PETM.”
Read more at NY Post
Not a penny to those scam artists!
Humans can’t control the climate, we can only respond to it. The poorer we are made by their crooked schemes, the less we’ll be able to deal with any real emergency, if it arises.
“… if it arises.” Try “… when it arises”.
I don’t find this plausible in the slightest. This looks like a total non-starter to me. Not saying the volcanoes didn’t happen, but they sure didn’t lead to an 8C increase in global temperature.
Squidly, how do you get your picture to appear in your comments?
Modern volcanoes cool the world. Krakatoa caused many crop failures. So how did this old volcano warm the world?
I had the same reaction. I suspect that the author assumed huge releases of carbon dioxide and therefore by modern global warming theory would cause an increase in Earth’s temperature. If I’m right, he must assume readers would come to that conclusion without him mentioning it. This is the typical practice of those believing in anthropological climate change of placing more faith in their theories than real world observations. As you said, modern volcanoes cool the world
8 Celsius degrees equals 14.4 Fahrenheit degrees. No need to add 32 in this case.
Exaggeration is a tactic I expect from the Alarmists.
You are being too kind. I suspect the author just put 8 degrees Celsius into an on line converter and got 46 degrees. They were not competent enough to know the difference between a temperature reading and changes in temperature. That says a lot about how much we can trust the article.
Volcanos have a bigger effect on our weather and Climate then do all the SUV’s Factories and Backyard BBQ,s ever will no matter what we hear from the Eco-Freaks