Video describing formation and implications of a nuclear winter

1. NUCLEAR WINTER
Extreme Weather
Brooke Callaghan

2. BACK GROUND
• Late 20th century
discoveries on
environmental
impact of a nuclear
war
• TTAPS study: Dust/
ash released from
burning of plastics
and fuels in a
nuclear war would
produce a “nuclear
winter”

3. NUCLEAR WINTER FORMATION
Nuclear explosions
Ash spread by winds all around earth in stratosphere
Sunlight blocked
Temperature drop
Dust/ ash released into atmosphere
Collapse of food chain
Destruction of
Human race

5. • 5,000 megatons of
nuclear bombs= 225
million tons of smoke
• Weeks to months of
sunlight blockage
• Temperatures -15 to -25
degrees

6. OZONE DESTRUCTION

7. WORLD REACTION TO THEORY
UN reported :“ The criticisms and objections that have been raised from time to time… do not
invalidate that a large-scale nuclear war would have a significant effect on global climate”

8. POLICY IMPLICATIONS/WAR PROTECTION
• INF
• START

9. VOLCANOES
• Potential cause of nuclear winter when a pole shift causes a buckling in earth’s
crust and volcanoes become hyperactive
• Sulfur-rich gas emitted would combine with water vapor to produce clouds of
sulfuric acid
• Sunlight would be absorbed and reflected off of acid droplets which would block
sunlight and reduce temperatures

10. WORKS CITED
"Possible Earth Events." Volcanoes & Nuclear Winter. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.timeline2012.net/prepare/possible-earth-events/
volcanoes>. Copy & Paste | Parenthetical
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "nuclear winter." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/421885/nuclear-winter>. Copy & Paste | Parenthetical
"Top 10 Tips for Surviving a Nuclear Winter - Listverse." Listverse. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014. <http://listverse.com/2012/12/04/top-10-tips-for-
surviving-a-nuclear-winter/>. Copy & Paste | Parenthetical
http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/RobockAmbioNW.pdf