An underwater volcano that erupted near the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa is giving scientists a closer look at how ocean ecosystems could respond to climate change, from dying fish to adapting plankton.
The ecosystem responded much as the researchers would have expected to the high temperatures and changes in acidity caused by the uneasy volcano south of El Hierro island. But the strength of the response was a surprise, study researcher Eugenio Fraile-Nuez of the Instituto Español de Oceanografía in Spain told LiveScience.
“The physical and chemical response of the system was predictable, but we never have imagined that we would reach this magnitude,” Fraile-Nuez said.
The eruption killed or drove away all of the fish in the region (though many were seen floating dead on the ocean’s surface), the researchers found. Some phytoplankton, or the floating plants that sit at the bottom of the ocean food chain, were able to adapt.
This is a really egregious one. CBS should be ashamed of themselves.
Here’s a bit of what they say:
“Meanwhile, carbon and carbon dioxide values shot up, and the pH of the water went down by 2.8, meaning it became more acidic.”
Nowhere in the entire article do they even once mention that volcanic eruptions emit huge amounts of sulfuric acid! Not once. Its CO2 this, CO2 that. The el Hierro eruption was seeing over 100 t/d of SO2 reaching the atmosphere back in November, and SO2 is very soluble in water – much more would have dissolved, as would any H2SO4 emitted. Then add all the hydrofluoric, which is instantly water soluble – basaltic eruptions emit a lot of HF as the Icelanders could tell you. Put several hundred tonnes a day of sulfuric acid and hydrofluoric into the ocean and sure the pH will become acidic. Idiots!
Its stuff like this that makes me absolutely, absolutely sure this whole CAGW thing is shonky. They’re ignoring even elementary science now! As well as steadfastly ignoring climate related data like solar indirect effects on clouds and that global temperature has been falling for a decade.
How much do these undersea volcanoes raise sea level? A couple mm a year?
On average no rise at all. As the volcanoes erupt they’re balanced out by sea floor disappearing down ocean trenches.
Its possible for volcanic heat to warm the oceans more than usual, and therefore raise sea level by making the water expand, but there’s no sign this is happening at the moment. We’d know if it was…think of the movie “2012″. Deccan & Siberian flood basalts both resulted from this type of eruptive event. More chance though of being hit by an asteroid than having an undersea flood basalt event.