Despite being one of the hottest things on the surface of the planet, volcanic eruptions actually helped to keep the oceans cool for 1,800-years before temperatures began to increase due to man-made global warming. Dr Vasile Ersek, from Northumbria University’s Department of Geography, was part of a 75-strong international team of researchers who found that volcanic eruptions were more than likely responsible for cooling the surface layer of the Earth’s oceans. Read more.