Prof. Dr. Christian von Savigny, head of the Environmental Physics working group at the Institute of Physics at the University of Greifswald, will be speaking at the lecture series
Volcanic eruptions are one of the most important natural causes of climate variability over periods of up to a decade. They are typically associated with a cooling of the Earth's surface caused by a volcanic layer of sulphuric acid aerosols at an altitude of 20 to 30 km. Due to their great importance for the climate as well as the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere, volcanic effects are an important subject of current atmospheric research.
In this lecture, we will first explain the important fundamental relationships before going on to discuss a few selected volcanic eruptions, such as the eruptions of Tambora in 1815, Krakatau in 1883, Pinatubo in 1991 and the Hunga volcano in January 2022. The Hunga eruption was spectacular in many respects. At almost 60 km, it reached greater heights than any other eruption of the past century. It also injected large quantities of water vapor into the middle atmosphere, which led to unexpected climatic effects on the Earth's surface.
