What about those volcanic gases?

The recent eruption of the Tonga volcano was captured by various geostationary satellites showing us the size and scale of that eruption. The eruption plume was about 162 miles in diameter before upper winds disrupted it. The Tonga volcano, officially called the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano, is mostly under water. It is about 12.5 miles wide and is 6,000 feet high. The volcano is 40 miles north of capital of Tonga (175˚23’W, 20˚33’S).

This volcano’s recent past activity was in 2009 and 2014-15 when it pumped out magma and steam through the ocean’s surface. The latest eruptions began in late December 2021 into January 2022. Scientists have researched its historic past eruptions finding it erupts on a massive scale about every 1,000 years. The last major eruption was about 1,100 AD. This research also shows that the 1,000-year eruption cycle has involved many separate explosive events. We may see more activity in that part of the world.

Do volcanic eruptions have an effect on our atmosphere or not? Short answer, in a small way these modern-day eruptions have a slight, passing effect on our atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels at the hands of humanity, you, me and them, ongoing massive landscape changes, like deforestation, as well as continuous industrial operations, emitted 36.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (C02) as measured in 2019. With the start of the global pandemic, the number dropped a bit to 34.81 billion metric tons in 2020. Fossil fuel C02 emissions continue to trend upward. Keep in mind the global burning of fossil fuels, global deforestation and industrial operations are non-stop, they are continuous.

United States Geologic Survey (USGS) research projects show that volcanic activity, eruptions and ongoing volcanic activity, release a small percentage of carbon dioxide as compared to continuous burning of fossil fuels. Dr. Terrence Gerlach, A Geochemist with the USGS, mentions these research projects with this comment: “Taken at face value, their results imply that anthropogenic [human-caused] CO2 exceeds global volcanic CO2 by at least a factor of 60 times.

Dr. Gerlach further states, “The most frequent question that I have gotten (and still get), in my 30 some years as a volcanic gas geochemist from the general public and from geoscientists working in fields outside of volcanology, is ‘Do volcanoes emit more carbon dioxide than human activities?’ Research findings indicate unequivocally that the answer to this question is ‘No’—anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions dwarf global volcanic carbon dioxide emissions.”

If we take a trip backwards on the Geologic Time Scale, there have been devastating affects from colossal volcanic activity. Scientists hypothesize that more than a quarter billion years ago, a period that spanned the Permian-Triassic boundary, a.k.a. P-T boundary, there was extensive flooding of lava that poured form the ground in Siberia known as the Siberian Traps, and it lasted for hundreds of thousands of years. They surmise that episode may have raised global temperatures enough to have caused a global extinction event. Humanity has not witnessed volcanic activity on such a scale. Our Grand Coulee landscape, in part, was formed by great lava flooding called the Columbia River Flood Basalt. As you drive along Banks Lake in the Grand Coulee, the walls of basalt are everyday reminders of the Columbia River Flood Basalt. You’ve seen some of that basalt in the form of columns used in yards and at businesses.

Let’s look at predicted weather conditions for our region. The National Climate Prediction Center (CPC) is stating we will have a chance of below normal temperatures and above normal precipitation for the three-month period of February, March and April. I’ll take it, especially the precipitation.

Let’s review the weather data for January 2022. All data are from my home weather station. In January, I measured 6.4 inches of snow with a Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) of 0.77 inches. The all-time high snowfall was in 1950 at 21.6 inches. The all-time mean snowfall for January is 6.2 inches. The high temperature was 41.3˚F on the 12th, the low was -1.8˚F on the 1st. The mean temperature was 27.7˚F. The all-time high was in 1971 at 57˚F, the all-time low was in 1950 at -17˚F. The all-time mean for January is 27˚F.

We will have a full Moon on Feb. 16th. If the sky is clear and you want to view some planets in our solar system, EarthSky.com says these are the planets to watch for in February 2022 – Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, and Mars. Venus will be bright in the morning sky at dawn. Jupiter will be seen during sunset, low on the horizon. Saturn and the Sun will travel across the sky during the day. Watch for it at sunrise and sunset. Mercury will be seen briefly, low on the east horizon just before sunrise. Mars too, will begin to gain brightness during February’s sunrises below Venus.