What effect did the 1991 Pinatubo eruption have on the global mean surface temperature?
When Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines June 15, 1991, an estimated 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide and ash particles blasted more than 12 miles (20 km) high into the atmosphere. The eruption caused widespread destruction and loss of human life.n 1991 after the Pinatubo eruption, when the amount of CFCs in the stratosphere increased, the ozone content in the mid-latitudes decreased by 5 percent to 8 percent, affecting highly populated regions, says Stenchikov. A huge cloud of volcanic ash and gas rises above Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, on June 12, 1991. Three days later, the volcano exploded in the second-largest volcanic eruption on Earth in this century.hen even more highly gas charged magma reached Pinatubo's surface on June 15, the volcano exploded in a cataclysmic eruption that ejected more than 1 cubic mile (5 cubic kilometers) of material. The ash cloud from this climactic eruption rose 22 miles (35 kilometers) into the air. Mount Pinatubo (Filipino: Bundok Pinatubo) is an active stratovolcano in the Cabusilan Mountains on the island of Luzon, near the tripoint of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga. Before the volcanic activities of 1991, its eruptive history was unknown to most people.t injected more particulate into the stratosphere than any eruption since Krakatoa in 1883. Over the following months, the aerosols formed a global layer of sulfuric acid haze. Global temperatures dropped by about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) in the years 1991-93, and ozone depletion temporarily increased substantially. TOMS Images from El Chichon and Mt. Pinatubo. This composite shows false-color images of the SO2 clouds on the second day after each eruption. Following the devastating eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines in June 1991 there has been a resurgence of interest in the global effects of volcanism.Mt. Pinatubo was the second largest eruption of this century and produced approxmately 10 cubic kilometers of rock and ash (called tephra by volcanologists).OMS Images from El Chichon and Mt. Pinatubo. This composite shows false-color images of the SO2 clouds on the second day after each eruption. Following the devastating eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines in June 1991 there has been a resurgence of interest in the global effects of volcanism. The second-largest volcanic eruption of this century, and by far the largest eruption to affect a densely populated area, occurred at Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines on June 15, 1991.The eruption produced high-speed avalanches of hot ash and gas, giant mudflows, and a cloud of volcanic ash hundreds of miles across.hen even more highly gas charged magma reached Pinatubo's surface on June 15, the volcano exploded in a cataclysmic eruption that ejected more than 1 cubic mile (5 cubic kilometers) of material. The ash cloud from this climactic eruption rose 22 miles (35 kilometers) into the air. HadCRUT3 global monthly temperatures illustrating the effect of the June 1991 volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. The temperature effect apparently lasted to the end of 1992, as indicated by the shaded area. Some of the tephra fell on Singapore, over 2000 km away to the southwest.hen even more highly gas charged magma reached Pinatubo's surface on June 15, the volcano exploded in a cataclysmic eruption that ejected more than 5 cubic kilometres of material. The ash cloud from this climactic eruption rose nearly 40 kilometres into the air, high into the stratosphere. The effects of the eruption were felt worldwide. It ejected roughly 10,000,000,000 tonnes (1.1 × 10 10 short tons) or 10 km 3 (2.4 cu mi) of magma, and 20,000,000 tonnes (22,000,000 short tons) SO 2, bringing vast quantities of minerals and metals to the surface environment.t injected more particulate into the stratosphere than any eruption since Krakatoa in 1883. Over the following months, the aerosols formed a global layer of sulfuric acid haze. Global temperatures dropped by about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) in the years 1991-93, and ozone depletion temporarily increased substantially. The 1991 eruption of Pinatubo, culminating in a 9-h climactic plinian and pyroclastic-flow-producing phase on June 15, produced about 5 km 3 of dacitic magma and is the second largest volcanic eruption of the century in terms of magnitude (volume of magma produced).he 1991 Pinatubo eruption, about 5 km 3 DRE, could well be the second largest this century, after Katmai-Novarupta, Alaska, in 1912. It is slightly bigger than either the plinian eruption of Santa Maria, María, guatemala in 1902 or the 4 km 3 dre plinian eruption Of Cerro, Azul, chile in (1932 hildreth And, drake). 1992 In the case of Mount Pinatubo, the result was a measurable cooling of the Earth’s surface for a period of almost two years. Because they scatter and absorb incoming sunlight, aerosol particles exert a cooling effect on the Earth’s surface.The Pinatubo eruption increased aerosol optical depth in the stratosphere by a factor of 10 to 100 times normal levels measured prior to the eruption.ecause they scatter and absorb incoming sunlight, aerosol particles exert a cooling effect on the Earth’s surface. The Pinatubo eruption increased aerosol optical depth in the stratosphere by a factor of 10 to 100 times normal levels measured prior to the eruption. Ten years ago today (June 15, 2001), Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted with a tremendous force, ejecting vast amounts of ash and gas high into the atmosphere; so high that the volcano’s plume penetrated into the stratosphere.ecause they scatter and absorb incoming sunlight, aerosol particles exert a cooling effect on the Earth’s surface. The Pinatubo eruption increased aerosol optical depth in the stratosphere by a factor of 10 to 100 times normal levels measured prior to the eruption.
The result was a measurable cooling of the Earth’s surface for a period of almost two years.