Name:   MAJ USA RET - Subject:   Ashfall and climate Date:   11/26/2018 11:42:58 AM (updated 11/26/2018 12:02:00 PM)

“Volcanic ash is normally rich in nutrients which act as natural fertilizers for the plants in the area, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and sulphur. These elements are all macronutrients essential for plant growth and survival…”

https://volcanicbenefitstomankind.weebly.com/volcanic-activity-and-agriculture.html

However, photosynthesis depends on sunlight and warmth.  Temperatures below 40F are dangerous for leafy vegetables and all fruits. Freezing destroys cell structure in many agricultural species.)  Fortunately for humankind, some species are adapted to low temperatures.

Long term global cooling and warming cycles have occurred for hundreds of millions of years.  Yes GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE is normal.  There are the cyclical variations in solar output.  There are non-cyclical volcanic events which have a direct effect on global climate change.

Mt. St. Helens erupted during a solar maximum (slightly less than 160 sunspots).  Thus we had a thin, nutrient rich volcanic ashfall accompanied by a warm growing season.  Had the ash layer been thicker, the smothering effect would have been catastrophic.  Had the ashfall occurred in 1996 during a solar minimum (15 sunspots) there may also have been a temperature problem.

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But, it is MUCH more complicated than that.  “It is not simply, the sun or CO2 when looking at global temperatures, it is the Sun, volcanoes, tilt of the Earth’s axis, water vapor, methane, clouds, ocean cycles, plate tectonics, albedo, atmospheric dust, Atmospheric Circulation, cosmic rays, particulates like Carbon Soot, forests and land use, etc. Climate change is governed by hundreds of factors, or variables, not just CO2.”  - Philip Stott, University of London, 2008*

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- LMF Curmudgeon

* Philip Stott (born England, 1945) is a professor emeritus of biogeography at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and a former editor (1987–2004) of the Journal of Biogeography