An estimated 1,100 to 1,500 people were killed by the volcano, with minor eruptions and lava flow continuing for more than a year after the initial eruption. (travelandleisure.com)
That's because scientists have presumed that most of the aerosols from minor eruptions do not rise beyond the troposphere, the layer of Earth's atmosphere where weather occurs and where natural processes quickly clear particles from the atmosphere. (sciencemag.org)
Investigation of ash sediments from recent Mt. Pinatubo eruptions and other major volcanic events show a signature of mass independent isotope ratios of sulfur, while sediment from minor eruption does not. (astrobio.net)