Volcanoes And Ice Ages

[Timmytour]

Interesting article here.....attributing some of the cause of the mini Ice age in Europe from 1550 to volcanoes....not so much because of what was sent into the atmosphere, but rather the cold fresh water that was sent as a result off the glaciers into the Atlantic.

http://io9.com/5880600/volcanoes-caused-a-little-ice-age-in-europe-500-years-ago-say-scientists

Just a thought.....recent winters have given us cold spells and modelling of dreamy cold spells we were finding difficult to get anywhere near just a few years. Recently there have been eruptions in Icelnadic volcanos (including a very recent eruption leading the creation of a glacial lake). There's been talk of the largest Icelandic Volcano being due to go off soon.

Could our recent "better luck" (as regards winter cold) be in anyway related?

[summer blizzard]

I personally am doubt, especially when you take into account the solar activity now and then being very low.

[Konstantinos]

Interesting article... Thank you.

[drgl]

"According to the scientists' computer simulations, these volcano-cooled summers would cause sea ice to expand, sending huge glaciers hurtling down the then relatively temperate Greenland coast. As the sea ice reached the North Atlantic, it would have melted, mixing with the regular ocean water.

The problem is that the ice had almost no salt in it, which caused the less salty surface water to stop mixing with the denser water below. This in turn would have wreaked havoc on ocean currents in the Atlantic, with the upshot being that less and less warm water could make its way back to the Arctic. An Ice Age was now on its way."

OK, so we are told climate change right now is sending loads of ice into the sea, what will be different this time?

[Timmytour]

OK, so we are told climate change right now is sending loads of ice into the sea, what will be different this time?

I'd heard that melting glaciers through "global warming" would have this effect.....but to me this suggests that the change could be a more drastic. Certainly the potential for our winters to have been epic ones have been there recently....even if that potential has struggled to be realised. But the cold in Europe is of a nature not seen for many years and perhaps it heralds the beginning of a pattern. (I'm sure it's just as Piers Corbyn will soon reveal he said would happen back when nobody cared to listen to him!!!)

What makes this interesting to me is that I think the biggest of the Icelandic volcanoes is not far off blowing.....plus there's a large one in the Arctic that looks set to go (not sure whether this would have a knock-on effect). Either way I have a feeling volcanoes will feature quite a bit in the news this year, as they did a few years ago.

[Timmytour]

Interesting related article in today's Telegraph......

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/9195178/Iceland-volcano-and-you-thought-the-last-eruption-was-bad....html

Iceland volcano: and you thought the last eruption was bad...

On the second anniversary of the ash cloud that grounded Europe’s flights, Iceland is facing further volcanic havoc, warns Andy Hooper .