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Originally Posted by Anonymous Idiot Savant
Brought to you by THA MUTHA FUCKIN US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, DAWG!
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So, that's the baseline WITHOUT major eruptions. Add in eruptions like Krakatoa and you'll start to get the picture.
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In addition to the gases that come out of volcanoes, there are large amounts of solid materials ejected, typically the smaller particles of dust reach the highest levels in the atmosphere. For strong vertical eruptions, dust can be propelled up into the stratosphere, above 17 kilometers. Once there, the suspended dust particles can block solar radiation, effectively heating up the stratosphere while the lower troposphere cools. This eruptive cooling was first noted by Ben Franklin in 1783 while he was in Europe, and he attributed the cooling to eruption of Laki on Iceland that year. The most important eruptions for influencing climate are massive vertical eruptions, which propel material into the stratosphere. Examples include the 1815 eruption of Tambora, which gave out 30-150 cubic kilometers of material and the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. The eruption of Mt. Mazama which was the volcano preceding the collapsed caldera of Crater Lake, Oregon erupted in about 4000 B.C., sending out 5 cubic miles of material, more than 100 times that produced by the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens.
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And those aren't the supervolcanos, figure times a thousand for those.
My point is that we need to prepare to carry on in spite of an extinction-level geologic event. The sands are running out on that hourglass, all the early warning signs are there. Spyder is right about establishing a presence off world, it's stupid to have all your species eggs in one violent basket if you can avoid it. We have to lay down our bet, which is going to happen first. Are we going to do everything we can right now to develop the technologies that will enable us to live despite the inevitable geologic maelstrom and to secure our species survival by spreading off-world, or are we gonna spend that time reducing CO2 output.
If your answer is to do both, mankind as a group doesn't appear to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.