Ancient Climate Rebounds After Massive Eruptions

The eruptions that created the massive Columbia River Basalt Group were responsible for releasing tons of sulfur dioxide, but the climate may have rebounded quickly.

IMAGE: The Columbia River flood basalt eruptions produced extensive lava flows that lasted for 2 million years, but they likely didn’t impact global climate for nearly that long. Flood basalt eruptions are extended periods of near-continuous but low-intensity volcanism punctuated by large explosive events, somewhat resembling the lava flows from Kīlauea Volcano’s Lower East Rift Zone, above. CREDIT: USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

When we talk about climate change, there is definitely an air of doom and gloom about the stories. We hear rumblings in the scientific community of how close we are getting to a tipping point from which the climate may never recover, but new research published in Geophysical Research Letters suggests that the climate may be more resilient than previously understood.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest here in the U.S., you are likely familiar with the Columbia River Basalt Group. It’s an area of basaltic flood rock that basically takes up much of Washington and Oregon. And we mean… much. For context, take the ongoing eruption of Kīlauea and have it last for millions of years rather than decades, on and off, almost constantly. And then punctuate that long-term eruption with some large explosive ones, similar to the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption earlier this year.

Again, have this keep going for millions of years. Flood the region with 210,000 square kilometers of basalt, and you have the Columbia River Flood Basalt event.