Impact of Natural Disasters on the Biosphere Flashcards

1
Q

Impact on the biosphere
- Effusive eruptions

A
  • The outgassing of carbon dioxide suffocates humans and animals
  • Plants are poisoned with carbon dioxide, as it saturates the soil and enters their roots
  • The extreme heat of mafic lava destroys crops and vegetation
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2
Q

Impact on the biosphere
- Explosive eruptions

A
  • Ash causes asphyxiation and asthma attacks
  • Ash contaminates and acidifies water supplies
  • Death by burial under thick deposits of ash
  • Pyroclastic flows flatten forests and directly burn humans and animals
  • Lahars trap and bury living things
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3
Q

Impact on the atmosphere
- Effusive eruptions

A
  • Warming effect due to the outgassing of water vapour and carbon dioxide
  • Short term poor air quality
  • Depletion of ozone as chlorine is released into the atmosphere
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4
Q

Impact on the atmosphere
- Explosive eruptions

A
  • Solid ash particles block sunlight, reducing local temperatures
  • Sulfur dioxide is released into the atmosphere and reacts with water to form droplets that reflect heat
  • When these droplets reach the stratosphere, they freeze to form sulfuric acid aerosols that suspend and disperse around the globe
  • This produces a layer that reflects radiation, reducing global climate
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5
Q

Deccan traps (global warming and global cooling)

A
  • The largest basaltic flows in the world, where 1.5 million km3 of lava was produced
  • The effusive eruption ejected a large amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, including methane, carbon dioxide and water vapour, increasing temperatures
  • However, the Deccan traps may have entered a prolonged explosive stage and cooled the globe; sulfur dioxide would have created a layer of reflective aerosols in the stratosphere, decreasing global temperatures
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6
Q

Siberian traps (global warming)

A
  • The effusive eruption produced 1 million km3 of lava and a large amount of gases, including methane, carbon dioxide and water vapour, were released into the atmosphere, increasing global temperatures
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7
Q

Mount Pinatubo
– Impact on the biosphere

A
  • Volcanic ash covered 100 000 hectares of agricultural land and 20 000 hectares of forests
  • Ash travelled around Earth and caused breathing issues outside of the Philippines
  • Pyroclastic flows killed those who didn’t evacuate
  • 1 000 000 farm animals were left behind and died
  • Lahars destroyed marine communities and flooded rivers
  • 900 people died and 6 million people were impacted
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8
Q

Mount Pinatubo
– Impact on the atmosphere

A
  • Ash was projected 40km into the atmosphere
  • 20 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide were projected into the stratosphere and reacted with water to form aerosols, which remained there for 5 years
  • The temperature dropped by 0.5°C from 1991-1993.
  • From the 11th to the 17th of June, typhoon Yunya struck the Philippines with wind speeds of 195km/hr, further dispersing the ash
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