How can volcanic eruptions cause red sunsets??

What will be the ideal response?


ANSWER: Volcanic eruptions rich in sulfur can produce red sunsets. Such red sunsets are actually produced by a highly reflective cloud of sulfuric acid droplets, formed from sulfur dioxide gas injected into the stratosphere during powerful eruptions. Two examples are the Mexican volcano El Chichón in 1982 and the Philippine volcano Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. These fine particles, moved by the winds aloft, circled the globe, producing beautiful sunrises and sunsets for months and even years after the eruptions. These same volcanic particles in the stratosphere can turn the sky red after sunset, as some of the red light from the setting Sun bounces off the bottom of the particles back to Earth’s surface. Generally, these volcanic red sunsets occur about an hour after the actual sunset (see Fig. 20.12).?

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

You might also like to view...

Ocean currents that are influenced by both temperature and salinity are called

A. polar descending currents. B. equatorial currents. C. thermohaline currents. D. polar ascending currents.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Plate tectonic theory provides a framework for the study of geology due to its predictive and explanatory powers

Define plate tectonics and give three examples of what plate tectonics predicts or explains. What will be an ideal response?

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

The azimuth for a wind blowing toward the south is [INSERT FIGURE 4-25. NO CAPTION]

A) 0o B) 90 o C) 180 o D) 270 o

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

A student makes the following statement: "Soils are immature in Alaska mainly because there is little rain fall in the arctic." Evaluate this statement

A) It is true. B) It is false. The main factor is time. C) It is false. The main factor is temperature. D) It is false. The main factor is organic matter.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences