Tree rings’ lack of volcanic signature confuses climate calculations
Call it the curious incident of the trees in the volcano-time.
Like the dog in the night-time, which Sherlock Holmes realized did not bark during a horse theft, so too are these trees mute on a big happening right under their nose. Their bark doesn’t reveal evidence for the largest volcanic eruption of the last millennium. And that could be bad news for scientists trying to understand how natural factors affect Earth’s climate.
Powerful eruptions can spew sulfur particles kilometers high, where they spread out and act like an umbrella to block the sun’s rays. The last time this happened in a big way, when Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, it cooled the planet up to half a degree Celsius for several years — noticeable enough for even Dr. Watson to spot.