AS
Atmospheric Sciences

volcano

How does weather affect volcanoes?

February 23, 2016
How does weather affect volcanoes?
Clouds, volcanic plume and fog around Mount Bromo, Indonesia. (Image credit: Sudiono Muji)

I was taking a plane trip home recently. To kill the time I got talking with the person sitting next to me and naturally one of their first questions was to ask me what I did for a living. To avoid a complicated discussion about the nuances of my research I summarised – ‘I am a volcanic meteorologist’. They were interested and wanted to know all about how volcanoes affect the weather, ...[Read More]

What is the biggest air pollution event in the modern era?

June 24, 2015
What is the biggest air pollution event in the modern era?
Centre of the Laki fissure, Iceland today. Credit: Daniele Trippanera (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

It’s hard to think of the scale of the biggest air pollution event in the modern era. Immediately my mind conjures up memories of black and white photographs of the Great London Smog of 1952. Then I start thinking bigger, how about the 1.2 billion vehicles world-wide on the road churning out nitrogen dioxide every single day? Well these are a drop in the ocean compared with bigger industrial pollu ...[Read More]