The Effects of the Tambora Volcano Eruption on the Atmosphere

In 1815 the Tambora volcano in Indonesia erupted and sent millions of tons of ash and sulfuric acid into the atmosphere. Tiny drops of liquid ash and sulfuric acid formed an aerosol cloud that spread throughout the winter of 1815-1816, carried by winds until it covered the Earth, cooling global temperatures by reflecting and scattering sunlight. Although the cloud reflected only 0.5 to 1 percent of the incoming energy, it reduced the Northern Hemisphere average temperature in 1816 by about 1 degree Celsius, a seemingly small amount of cooling that had a considerable impact on global weather patterns, with devastating consequences for agriculture on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean

Ironically, however, the effects of Tambora’s aerosol cloud could have been far worse if the eruption had been slightly weaker. While immense in size and scope, Tambora’s aerosol cloud was not particularly efficient at reflecting sunlight. Stronger volcanic eruptions tend to eject more sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere than do weaker eruptions, and they lead to more sulfuric acid droplets within the same volume of atmospheric gases. A greater number of droplets increases the chance that droplets will meet and collide, forming larger droplets that will be removed more quickly from the stratosphere by gravity. A single, larger droplet also has less total surface area than two smaller droplets, and so is less effective at scattering sunlight. There is therefore a balance to be struck between eruptions that are too weak to penetrate the stratosphere-and so produce a small, short-lived amount of cooling-and eruptions that produce large, less effective sulfuric acid droplets. By measuring the remnants of Tambora’s aerosol cloud in material taken from ice sheets and lake sediments, modern scientists have determined that the climatic consequences-while undoubtedly devastating-could have been far worse if the particles had been roughly half their size.

Unlike the sudden drop in temperatures in Indonesia that occurred immediately after the eruption of Mount Tambora, the planetwide cooling was a gradual process that took up to a year to be fully realized. While air temperatures can, and frequently do, change rapidly in response to variations in solar energy, soil and ocean temperatures adjust much more slowly. The land and sea possess considerable capacity to store heat, while the atmosphere has practically no storage capacity. When the atmosphere is cooler than the land and sea, heat will flow from these reservoirs back into the air; but since the air cannot store heat for long, much of this is soon lost to space. If, on the other hand, the atmosphere is warmer, some of that excess heat will be stored in soil and water until a balance is reached

As Tambora’s stratospheric aerosol cloud began to cool air temperatures by subtly reducing the amount of solar energy reaching Earth, the land and oceans would have resisted this cooling by transferring stored heat into the atmosphere and cooling themselves as a result. By early 1816 the land, ocean, and atmosphere were shifting toward a new balance of energies, largely as a result of the solar-dimming effect of the aerosol cloud. The adjustment cooled first air, then land, and finally ocean temperatures across the globe. Using information from tree rings the width of each ring is related to the growing conditions (mostly temperature and rain or snowfall) that year-climatologists have determined that 1816 was the second-coldest year in the Northern Hemisphere since 1400, surpassed only by 1601 following the eruption of the Huaynaputina volcano in Peru.

In the meantime, the aerosol cloud had produced other noticeable optical phenomena, most notably a series of spectacular red, purple, and orange sunsets in London in the summer and autumn of 1815. Sunsets typically appear yellow, orange, or red because atmospheric gases scatter blue light more effectively than they do light of other colors, skewing the visible-light spectrum toward red. The effect is even more pronounced when the Sun is low on the horizon, since its light must pass through a thicker layer of the atmosphere to reach the ground, resulting in less blue light and more red light. Stratospheric ash, dust, and soot particles from volcanic eruptions enhance this atmospheric scattering effect leading to brilliant red sunsets.

 

 

1

In 1815 the Tambora volcano in Indonesia erupted and sent millions of tons of ash and sulfuric acid into the atmosphere. Tiny drops of liquid ash and sulfuric acid formed an aerosol cloud that spread throughout the winter of 1815-1816, carried by winds until it covered the Earth, cooling global temperatures by reflecting and scattering sunlight. Although the cloud reflected only 0.5 to 1 percent of the incoming energy, it reduced the Northern Hemisphere average temperature in 1816 by about 1 degree Celsius, a seemingly small amount of cooling that had a considerable impact on global weather patterns, with devastating consequences for agriculture on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean

Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

AThe cloud reflected only a small part of the incoming energy but enough to globally disrupt weather patterns and devastate agriculture.

BThe cloud reflected only 0.5 to 1 percent of the incoming energy in the Northern Hemisphere in 1816, resulting in a relatively small amount of cooling.

CAlthough the cloud reduced global temperatures by as much as 1 degree Celsius, this was only a small amount of cooling.

DAlthough the cloud reduced global temperatures by only about degree Celsius, the impact was greater than average on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean

 

2

Ironically, however, the effects of Tambora’s aerosol cloud could have been far worse if the eruption had been slightly weaker. While immense in size and scope, Tambora’s aerosol cloud was not particularly efficient at reflecting sunlight. Stronger volcanic eruptions tend to eject more sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere than do weaker eruptions, and they lead to more sulfuric acid droplets within the same volume of atmospheric gases. A greater number of droplets increases the chance that droplets will meet and collide, forming larger droplets that will be removed more quickly from the stratosphere by gravity. A single, larger droplet also has less total surface area than two smaller droplets, and so is less effective at scattering sunlight. There is therefore a balance to be struck between eruptions that are too weak to penetrate the stratosphere-and so produce a small, short-lived amount of cooling-and eruptions that produce large, less effective sulfuric acid droplets. By measuring the remnants of Tambora’s aerosol cloud in material taken from ice sheets and lake sediments, modern scientists have determined that the climatic consequences-while undoubtedly devastating-could have been far worse if the particles had been roughly half their size.

The word “immense” in the passage is closest in meaning to

Aunusual

Bdestructive

Cimpressive

Dhuge

 

3

Ironically, however, the effects of Tambora’s aerosol cloud could have been far worse if the eruption had been slightly weaker. While immense in size and scope, Tambora’s aerosol cloud was not particularly efficient at reflecting sunlight. Stronger volcanic eruptions tend to eject more sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere than do weaker eruptions, and they lead to more sulfuric acid droplets within the same volume of atmospheric gases. A greater number of droplets increases the chance that droplets will meet and collide, forming larger droplets that will be removed more quickly from the stratosphere by gravity. A single, larger droplet also has less total surface area than two smaller droplets, and so is less effective at scattering sunlight. There is therefore a balance to be struck between eruptions that are too weak to penetrate the stratosphere-and so produce a small, short-lived amount of cooling-and eruptions that produce large, less effective sulfuric acid droplets. By measuring the remnants of Tambora’s aerosol cloud in material taken from ice sheets and lake sediments, modern scientists have determined that the climatic consequences-while undoubtedly devastating-could have been far worse if the particles had been roughly half their size.

Why does the author provide the information that a “single, larger droplet also has less total surface area than two smaller droplets, and so is less effective at scattering sunlight”?

ATo help explain why larger droplets are removed more quickly from the atmosphere

BTo provide background for the explanation of how scientists calculate the size of past eruptions

CTo give one reason why the effects of Tambora’s aerosol cloud could have been much worse if the eruption had been slightly weaker

DTo compare the two types of droplets observed in samples taker from ice sheets and lake sediments

 

4

Ironically, however, the effects of Tambora’s aerosol cloud could have been far worse if the eruption had been slightly weaker. While immense in size and scope, Tambora’s aerosol cloud was not particularly efficient at reflecting sunlight. Stronger volcanic eruptions tend to eject more sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere than do weaker eruptions, and they lead to more sulfuric acid droplets within the same volume of atmospheric gases. A greater number of droplets increases the chance that droplets will meet and collide, forming larger droplets that will be removed more quickly from the stratosphere by gravity. A single, larger droplet also has less total surface area than two smaller droplets, and so is less effective at scattering sunlight. There is therefore a balance to be struck between eruptions that are too weak to penetrate the stratosphere-and so produce a small, short-lived amount of cooling-and eruptions that produce large, less effective sulfuric acid droplets. By measuring the remnants of Tambora’s aerosol cloud in material taken from ice sheets and lake sediments, modern scientists have determined that the climatic consequences-while undoubtedly devastating-could have been far worse if the particles had been roughly half their size.

According to paragraph 2, in comparison to droplets of sulfuric acid from weaker eruptions, sulfuric acid droplets from stronger eruptions are more likely to

Ajoin and fall to the ground

Bbe removed from the upper stratosphere by sunlight

Cmix with other atmospheric gases

Dcreate an aerosol cloud that is too large to penetrate the stratosphere

 

5

Unlike the sudden drop in temperatures in Indonesia that occurred immediately after the eruption of Mount Tambora, the planetwide cooling was a gradual process that took up to a year to be fully realized. While air temperatures can, and frequently do, change rapidly in response to variations in solar energy, soil and ocean temperatures adjust much more slowly. The land and sea possess considerable capacity to store heat, while the atmosphere has practically no storage capacity. When the atmosphere is cooler than the land and sea, heat will flow from these reservoirs back into the air; but since the air cannot store heat for long, much of this is soon lost to space. If, on the other hand, the atmosphere is warmer, some of that excess heat will be stored in soil and water until a balance is reached

Paragraph 3 suggests that some of the cooling caused by Tambora’s eruption occurred by which of the following processes?

AVariations in solar energy caused an immediate planetwide cooling of land and sea

BA sudden drop in air temperatures occurred when atmospheric heat became stored in land and sea

CDifferences in temperature gradually appeared among reservoirs that had considerable capacity to store heat.

DHeat from soil and water flowed into the atmosphere and then into space.

 

6

As Tambora’s stratospheric aerosol cloud began to cool air temperatures by subtly reducing the amount of solar energy reaching Earth, the land and oceans would have resisted this cooling by transferring stored heat into the atmosphere and cooling themselves as a result. By early 1816 the land, ocean, and atmosphere were shifting toward a new balance of energies, largely as a result of the solar-dimming effect of the aerosol cloud. The adjustment cooled first air, then land, and finally ocean temperatures across the globe. Using information from tree rings the width of each ring is related to the growing conditions (mostly temperature and rain or snowfall) that year-climatologists have determined that 1816 was the second-coldest year in the Northern Hemisphere since 1400, surpassed only by 1601 following the eruption of the Huaynaputina volcano in Peru.

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about how“the eruption of the Huaynaputina volcano in Peru” compares to the eruption of Tambora?

AHuaynaputina had less effect on the growth of trees than Tambora did.

BHuaynaputina was more effective at reducing the amount of solar energy reaching Earth than Tambora was

CHuaynaputina affected rain and snowfall more than Tambora did.vet it had a smaller effect on temperature

DHuaynaputina did not affect the weather of the Northern Hemisphere as much as Tambora did.

 

7

As Tambora’s stratospheric aerosol cloud began to cool air temperatures by subtly reducing the amount of solar energy reaching Earth, the land and oceans would have resisted this cooling by transferring stored heat into the atmosphere and cooling themselves as a result. By early 1816 the land, ocean, and atmosphere were shifting toward a new balance of energies, largely as a result of the solar-dimming effect of the aerosol cloud. The adjustment cooled first air, then land, and finally ocean temperatures across the globe. Using information from tree rings the width of each ring is related to the growing conditions (mostly temperature and rain or snowfall) that year-climatologists have determined that 1816 was the second-coldest year in the Northern Hemisphere since 1400, surpassed only by 1601 following the eruption of the Huaynaputina volcano in Peru.

According to paragraph 4, how have researchers confirmed the impact of the Tambora eruption on the climate in some parts of the Earth?

ABy comparing shifting ocean temperatures across the globe

BBy measuring the solar-dimming effects of modern aerosol clouds

CBy measuring tree rings in the Northern Hemisphere

DBy reading rain and snowfall records written in 1816

 

8

In the meantime, the aerosol cloud had produced other noticeable optical phenomena, most notably a series of spectacular red, purple, and orange sunsets in London in the summer and autumn of 1815. Sunsets typically appear yellow, orange, or red because atmospheric gases scatter blue light more effectively than they do light of other colors, skewing the visible-light spectrum toward red. The effect is even more pronounced when the Sun is low on the horizon, since its light must pass through a thicker layer of the atmosphere to reach the ground, resulting in less blue light and more red light. Stratospheric ash, dust, and soot particles from volcanic eruptions enhance this atmospheric scattering effect leading to brilliant red sunsets.

According to paragraph 5, which of the following contributed to the spectacular sunsets seen in London in 1815?

AAsh, dust, and soot helped scatter more blue light in the atmosphere than usual

BThe atmosphere scattered less orange, yellow, and red light than usual.

COn its way to the ground, sunlight passed through less atmospheric gas than usual.

DLarger amounts of aerosol particles were present low on the London horizon than in other parts of the atmosphere.

 

9

Ironically, however, the effects of Tambora’s aerosol cloud could have been far worse if the eruption had been slightly weaker. While immense in size and scope, Tambora’s aerosol cloud was not particularly efficient at reflecting sunlight. Stronger volcanic eruptions tend to eject more sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere than do weaker eruptions, and they lead to more sulfuric acid droplets within the same volume of atmospheric gases. A greater number of droplets increases the chance that droplets will meet and collide, forming larger droplets that will be removed more quickly

Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage

Evidence collected on the ground shows that the Tambora eruption belongs to the second group.

Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square  sentence to the passage.

10

The eruption of Tambora volcano in 1815 sent millions of tons of ash and sulfuric acid into the atmosphere.

AThe aerosol cloud that spread out from the volcano prevented some sunlight from getting through the stratosphere, which affected plant growth

BNear the eruption site in Indonesia, it took a year for heat from the soil and water to return temperatures to normal after they had dropped greatly.

CTree rings and material taken from ice sheets and lake sediments suggest that the effects the eruption on rain and snowfall were greater than effects on temperatures.

Dhe Tambora eruption was not as devastating as several other eruptions that produced larger aerosol clouds that were able to travel into the stratosphere.

EEarth’s atmospheric temperatures fell quickly after the eruption, while the land and ocean cooled more gradually, making 1816 one of the coldest years in history.

FThe interaction between sunlight and the particles released into the atmosphere by the eruption led to beautiful red sunsets

 

 

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