It was estimated that the eruption of the Mount Pinatubo volcano resulted in the injection of 20 million metric tons of SO₂ into the atmosphere. Most of this SO₂ underwent oxidation to SO₃, which reacts with atmospheric water to form an aerosol.

(a) Write chemical equations for the processes leading to formation of the aerosol.

(b) The aerosols caused a 0.590.6°C drop in surface temperature in the northern hemisphere. What is the mechanism by which this occurs?

(c) The sulfate aerosols, as they are called, also cause loss of ozone from the stratosphere. How might this occur?