'Vog' Kills Plants, Casts Haze Over Hawaii

aumakuara 04:05:28 PM May 17 2008

preparing to be on yer own for awhile

hadesrigidus 05:42:39 AM May 15 2008

Sounds like someone is into geology.

dkandmp 10:20:04 PM May 10 2008

The effects of SO2 on people and the environment vary widely depending on (1) the amount of gas a volcano emits into the atmosphere; (2) whether the gas is injected into the troposphere or stratosphere; and (3) the regional or global wind and weather pattern that disperses the gas. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a colorless gas with a pungent odor that irritates skin and the tissues and mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and throat. Sulfur dioxide chiefly affects upper respiratory tract and bronchi. The World Health Organization recommends a concentration of no greater than 0.5 ppm over 24 hours for maximum exposure. A concentration of 6-12 ppm can cause immediate irritation of the nose and throat; 20 ppm can cause eye irritation; 10,000 ppm will irritate moist skin within minutes.

Emission rates of SO2 from an active volcano range from <20 tonnes/day to >10 million tonnes/day according to the style of volcanic activity and type and volume of magma involved.

dkandmp 10:18:51 PM May 10 2008

Locally, sulfur dioxide gas can lead to acid rain and air pollution downwind from a volcano. Globally, large explosive eruptions that inject a tremendous volume of sulfur aerosols into the stratosphere can lead to lower surface temperatures and promote depletion of the Earth's ozone layer. Because carbon dioxide gas is heavier than air, the gas may flow into in low-lying areas and collect in the soil. The concentration of carbon dioxide gas in these areas can be lethal to people, animals, and vegetation. A few historic eruptions have released sufficient fluorine-compounds to deform or kill animals that grazed on vegetation coated with volcanic ash; fluorine compounds tend to become concentrated on fine-grained ash particles, which can be ingested by animals.

dkandmp 10:16:46 PM May 10 2008

The most abundant gas typically released into the atmosphere from volcanic systems is water vapor (H20), followed by carbon dioxide (C02) and sulfur dioxide (S02). Volcanoes also release smaller amounts of others gases, including hydrogen sulfide (H2S), hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen chloride (HCL), hydrogen fluoride (HF), and helium (He).

Humans are responsible for 99% of all sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere, leaving volcanoes to fill the other 1%. Humans put 130 times the amount of CO2 into the atmosphere than do volcanoes. That would be like adding 8,000 volcanoes the size of Kilauea to the planet every year. Scientists have calculated that volcanoes emit between about 130-230 million tonnes (145-255 million tons) of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. Emissions of CO2 by human activities, including fossil fuel burning, cement production, and gas flaring, amount to about 27 billion tonnes per year (30 billion tons)

hccharles3 09:30:55 PM May 06 2008

A Voggy day in Hawaii town,
Had me up and had me down.
la, la, la,

Hawai V O- g
Starring Al Gore as Steve McGarrett, Michael Moore as Dano.
A QM production of Volcan entetrprises. This week's episode: Paradise Lost.

One look at today's Vog magazine, and I would erupt too. Sorry plants, but nature calls. This news is so upsetting.

flclk 09:16:04 PM May 06 2008

Well put oorahdad..................

flclk 09:14:13 PM May 06 2008

I wonder if congress voted on it, before the gases invaded?

ukabek 08:44:06 PM May 06 2008

This is natures way of giving liberal tree huggers its' own version of a "Dirty Sanchez"...Take a big wiff

askrobarczyk2 08:41:27 PM May 06 2008

I thought that only humans were capable of polluting the earth?