not sure who the "mockers" of U.S. Republican Senator Murkowski would be; however, the scientist's quote that shows up repeatedly in relation to Murkowski's comment on volcanoes is one
Princeton professor, Michael Oppenheimer... who was asked by NPR for a comment on Murkowski's statement:
Murkowski: "
The emissions that are being put in the air by that volcano (Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano) are a thousand years' worth of emissions that would come from all of the vehicles, all of the manufacturing in Europe"
Oppenheimer: "
It's simply untrue. I don't know where she gets that number from". Oppenheimer says it's actually the other way around: Annual emissions from Europe are 10 times bigger than the annual emissions of all volcanoes put together. And he says the argument misses a bigger point: Humans are adding carbon dioxide to what was a balanced system. "
So not only is the number wrong, but the context is highly deceptive. Sulfur dioxide is toxic, but it's not responsible for global warming. In fact, it actually cools the planet".
volcanoes emit sulfate aerosols which reflect incoming sunlight, cooling the planet... the Bardarbunga volcano emits ~ 35,000 tons of toxic sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere every day - on par with a large power plant's monthly output.
As an aerosol effect, SO2 isn't responsible for global warming... it actually has a cooling impact.
volcanoes have always been considered
a part of the influence on why the rate of more recent surface temperature warming is reduced as compared to prior decades... this referenced study has scientists confirming volcano signal impact evidence. From the study abstract:
One contributory factor to this “warming hiatus" is an increase involcanically-induced cooling over the early 21st century. Here, we identify the signals of late 20th and early 21st century volcanic activity in multiple observed climate variables. Volcanic signals are statistically discernible in spatial averagesof tropical and near-global SST, tropospheric temperature, net clear-sky short-wave radiation, and atmospheric water vapor. Signals of late 20th and early 21st century volcanic eruptions are also detectable in near-global averages of rainfall. In tropical-average rainfall, however, only a Pinatubo-caused drying signal is identifiable. Successful volcanic signal detection is critically dependent on removal of variability induced by the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
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