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Factual: Science & Nature

Programme answering listeners' questions about planet Earth and our impact upon it

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Home Planet: 27/04/2010

27/04/2010

BBC Radio 4 - Home Planet, 27/04/2010

Volcanic ash as fertiliser, intense winter Sun and cooling the Earth.

Could ash from the Icelandic volcano fertilise the North Atlantic, producing a bumper catch of fish? And is it feasible to pump gases into the atmosphere to cool the Earth?

The eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull has brought major disruption to thousands of travelers, and has dominated the headlines. On this edition of Home Planet, listeners ask about some other aspects of this spectacular natural event. 

Has the reduction in aircraft emissions been balanced by the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the volcano in that time? All volcanoes emit sulphurous gases which have a cooling effect on the Earth. Is it feasible to deliberately pump sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere to counter the effects of global warming? And will the ash landing in the seas around Northern Europe fertilise the ocean this summer, producing a larger than normal algal bloom and hence a bumper catch of fish? 

Then there's the curious observation from one listener that the Sun appeared to be much brighter this winter. Is there any scientific evidence to back up this idea and if not, why not? 

We finish with the complex but fascinating question of why there is so little lithium in the Universe. The answer takes us back to the origins of time itself.

The panel this week is ecologist Dr Lynn Dicks of Cambridge University; Dr Carolin Crawford, an astronomer also at Cambridge University and Mike Hulme, Professor of Climate Change at the University of East Anglia.

Presented by Richard Daniel.

Producer: Toby Murcott
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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