Visualizing Environmental Science

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998

Year

Mount Pinatubo

erupts, June 1991

Global average temperature (°C)

14.0

14.1

14.2

14.3

14.4

14.5

14.6

AFP Photo/Halldor Kolbeins/NewsCom

Courtesy of National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA)

a. Mount Pinatubo. USGS

When the Philippine

volcano Mount Pinatubo

erupted in 1991, it

released huge amounts

of particulate matter.

b. Global Average Temperature, 1987 to 1998. Climate
scientists observed that the years following Mount Pinatubo’s
eruption were cooler than previous and subsequent years.
This brief cooling period temporarily interrupted a longer-term
warming trend (Chapter 9).

c. The Eyjafjallajokull Volcano. In 2010, the Eyjafjallajokull

volcano in Iceland erupted. The resulting ash cloud disrupted air

traffic for days.

Types and Sources of Air Pollution 199

WHAT A SCIENTIST SEES

Air Pollution from Volcanoes

Volcanoes occur where the hot magma inside Earth reaches the surface. Active volcanoes can release large quantities of pollutants.

Interpreting Data

What was the average temperature

from 1992 to 1993? from 1996 to

1998? from 1987 to 1998?