Volcanic winter

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/volcanic-winter

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the stratospheric aerosol composition?Primarily sulfuric acid (H2SO4) droplets formed from volcanic SO2
2. What is the radiative effect?Increased Earth albedo due to scattering of solar radiation, causing surface cooling
3. How do volcanoes make the Earth colder?The volcano sends sulfur dioxide into the sky, which turns into tiny acid particles that bounce sunlight back into space, making the Earth cooler.
4. Why do volcanoes in the tropics cause more cooling?Volcanoes near the equator send their gases higher into the middle of the atmosphere, so the cooling spreads all over the world.

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2): A gas released by volcanoes that forms sulfuric acid aerosols in the stratosphere.
Radiative Forcing: The change in the net energy balance of the Earth's climate system due to some factor.
Albedo: The proportion of incident light or radiation that is reflected by a surface, indicating reflectivity.
Atmospheric Feedbacks: Processes within the atmosphere that can amplify or dampen initial climate changes.