Volcanic Emissions: Do They Outweigh Human Carbon Pollution?

It is a common misconception that volcanic eruptions produce more carbon dioxide than human activity. While volcanoes do emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide, these events are rare and fleeting. On the other hand, human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, cement production, deforestation, and landscape changes, have led to a drastic increase in carbon dioxide emissions. According to various sources and scientific estimates, human activities emit up to 60 times more carbon dioxide than volcanoes annually, with some individual US states emitting more carbon dioxide than all the volcanoes on Earth combined.

Human activities emit 60+ times more CO2 than volcanoes each year

Human activities emit 60 or more times the amount of carbon dioxide released by volcanoes each year. While volcanic eruptions can emit significant amounts of CO2, these events are rare and fleeting. The largest volcanic eruptions in recent history emitted approximately 10–50 million tons of carbon dioxide, while human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, emitted roughly 40 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2015 alone. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, human activities have added more than 2,000 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Volcanic CO2 emissions account for less than 1% of human-caused CO2 emissions. Actively erupting volcanoes release much more CO2 than dormant ones, but even the most active volcanoes only release a fraction of the CO2 emitted by human activities. For example, Kīlauea Volcano has been releasing more than twice the amount of sulfur dioxide gas as the dirtiest power plant in the US, but this is still a relatively small amount compared to human emissions.

Large volcanic eruptions can match the rate of human emissions for a few hours, but they are too infrequent and short-lived to rival humanity's annual emissions. It would take more than 700 Mount Pinatubo-sized eruptions over a year to match the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by humans in that time. Individual US states emit more carbon dioxide in a year than all the volcanoes on the planet combined.

Human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and industrial processes, have dramatically increased CO2 emissions over the past few decades, while volcanic emissions have remained relatively stable. The overwhelming scientific evidence shows that climate change is caused by human behaviour, and the impact of volcanic CO2 emissions is negligible in comparison.

Large eruptions may match human emissions, but only for a few hours

While human activity produces far more carbon dioxide than volcanic eruptions, large eruptions can emit significant amounts of CO2. However, these events are infrequent and fleeting. For instance, during its eruption on May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens emitted carbon dioxide at a rate that may have matched human emissions for about nine hours. Similarly, the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo lasted for approximately nine hours and released CO2 at a rate comparable to that of human activity.

Nevertheless, such massive eruptions are infrequent and brief, and the annual emissions from volcanoes are significantly lower than those from human activities. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, global volcanic CO2 emissions range from 0.13 to 0.44 gigatons per year. In contrast, human activities emitted roughly 40 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2015 alone. This disparity is further exacerbated by the fact that volcanic emissions have remained relatively stable, while human emissions have skyrocketed in recent decades.

The discrepancy between volcanic and human CO2 emissions is substantial. Human activities emit 60 or more times the amount of carbon dioxide released by volcanoes annually. This means that several individual U.S. states emit more carbon dioxide in a year than all the volcanoes on Earth combined. Furthermore, it would require over 700 eruptions of Mount Pinatubo-sized volcanoes in a single year to match the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by human activities.

Volcanic eruptions, despite their dramatic and destructive nature, are short-lived events that release large amounts of CO2 over a short period. On the other hand, human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels and cement production, have led to a steady and continuous increase in CO2 emissions, significantly outpacing volcanic emissions. Thus, while large volcanic eruptions may momentarily rival human emissions, their overall contribution to global CO2 levels pales in comparison to human activities.

Human activity has added over 2000 billion tons of CO2 since the Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution, which began in the mid-1700s, marked a significant shift in human activity and its impact on the environment. Before this period, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were at 280 ppm or less. However, with the increased use of fossil fuels and industrialization, carbon dioxide emissions have soared.

According to the Global Carbon Project, human activities emitted roughly 40 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2015 alone. This is in stark contrast to volcanic emissions, which produce less than 1 billion metric tons annually. In fact, several individual U.S. states emit more carbon dioxide in a year than all the volcanoes on Earth combined.

The impact of human activity on CO2 levels is evident when comparing the rate of increase to previous natural increases. Since the Industrial Revolution, the annual rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide has been about 100 times faster than natural increases, such as those that occurred at the end of the last ice age. As a result, carbon dioxide concentrations are now 50% higher than they were before the Industrial Revolution.

While the COVID-19 pandemic caused a temporary drop in global CO2 emissions, with a decrease of 1.5 billion metric tons in 2020, emissions quickly rebounded as countries resumed their economic activities. This highlights the significant impact of human activity on CO2 emissions and the need for a sustained reduction in emissions to combat climate change.

Volcanoes produce less than 1% of the CO2 emissions produced by humans

Volcanoes produce a negligible amount of carbon dioxide compared to human activity. While volcanoes can emit carbon dioxide at a very high rate, these rates are only sustained for short periods of time. Large eruptions can emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide, but they are rare and fleeting. On the other hand, human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, cement production, deforestation, and landscape changes, have led to a dramatic increase in CO2 emissions in recent decades.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the global CO2 emissions from all volcanoes on land and underwater are estimated to be between 0.13 and 0.44 billion metric tons per year. In comparison, human activities emitted roughly 40 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2015 alone. This represents more than a 90-fold difference in emissions between human activities and volcanic activity.

The impact of human activity on CO2 emissions becomes even more apparent when looking at cumulative emissions since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Since this period, human activities have added more than 2,000 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, while volcanic emissions have remained relatively stable.

While it is true that some individual volcanic eruptions can match human emission rates for short periods, it would take more than 700 Mount Pinatubo-sized eruptions over a year to equal human emissions. Furthermore, several individual U.S. states emit more carbon dioxide annually than all the volcanoes on Earth combined.

In summary, while volcanoes do contribute to carbon dioxide emissions, their impact is minimal compared to human activity. The overwhelming scientific evidence shows that climate change and the rise in global CO2 concentrations are predominantly caused by human behaviour.

Volcanoes emit CO2 at a high rate, but only for a short time

Volcanoes do emit carbon dioxide, and eruptions can release significant amounts of CO2. However, these high-rate emissions are short-lived and are not comparable to human CO2 emissions. Human activity produces far more carbon dioxide than volcanoes, with some individual US states emitting more CO2 in a year than all the volcanoes on Earth combined.

Volcanic eruptions can result in substantial CO2 emissions, but these events are infrequent and fleeting. Large eruptions, such as the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, can match human emission rates for a few hours, but they are too rare to rival humanity's annual emissions. While actively erupting volcanoes release more CO2 than dormant ones, the combined activity of all volcanoes on Earth contributes only a fraction of the CO2 emitted by human activities.

Human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels, cement production, deforestation, and landscape changes, have led to significant CO2 emissions. Since the Industrial Revolution, human emissions have risen to more than 35 billion metric tons per year and continue to increase. In contrast, volcanoes produce less than 1 billion metric tons of CO2 annually, with global estimates ranging from 0.13 to 0.44 gigatons per year.

The scale of human CO2 emissions dwarfs that of volcanic emissions. Human activities emit 60 or more times the amount of carbon dioxide released by volcanoes each year. It would take over 700 eruptions of Mount Pinatubo-sized volcanoes in a year to match human CO2 emissions. This highlights the significant impact of human behaviour on climate change.

In summary, while volcanoes can emit carbon dioxide at high rates during eruptions, these emissions are short-lived and do not come close to matching the sustained and extensive CO2 emissions resulting from human activities. The cumulative effect of human behaviour has led to a dramatic increase in CO2 levels, contributing significantly to global climate change.

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