Atmospheric impact of the 1783–1784 Laki Eruption: Part II Climatic effect of sulphate aerosol

Highwood, Eleanor J.; Stevenson, David S.

doi:10.5194/acp-3-1177-2003

Cited by 75 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The processes leading to El Niño-like anomalies in response to high-latitude eruptions are thus very different from those hypothesized to act in response to tropical eruptions (25,26) and rely on better-understood mechanisms (19,20). Only a few modeling studies (27)(28)(29)(30) have investigated the climate impacts of high-latitude volcanic eruptions, and none has looked at a potential influence on ENSO. Oman et al (29), using an atmospheric model coupled to a mixed-layer ocean, found a weakening of the summer monsoon circulation and precipitation over Africa and Asia in the summer of the eruption, consistent with our findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of high-latitude volcanic eruptions on ENSO and AMOC

Pausata

Chafik

Caballero

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

151

161

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Large volcanic eruptions can have major impacts on global climate, affecting both atmospheric and ocean circulation through changes in atmospheric chemical composition and optical properties. The residence time of volcanic aerosol from strong eruptions is roughly 2-3 y. Attention has consequently focused on their short-term impacts, whereas the long-term, ocean-mediated response has not been well studied. Most studies have focused on tropical eruptions; high-latitude eruptions have drawn less attention because their impacts are thought to be merely hemispheric rather than global. No study to date has investigated the long-term effects of high-latitude eruptions. Here, we use a climate model to show that large summer high-latitude eruptions in the Northern Hemisphere cause strong hemispheric cooling, which could induce an El Niño-like anomaly, in the equatorial Pacific during the first 8-9 mo after the start of the eruption. The hemispherically asymmetric cooling shifts the Intertropical Convergence Zone southward, triggering a weakening of the trade winds over the western and central equatorial Pacific that favors the development of an El Niño-like anomaly. In the model used here, the specified high-latitude eruption also leads to a strengthening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the first 25 y after the eruption, followed by a weakening lasting at least 35 y. The long-lived changes in the AMOC strength also alter the variability of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).high-latitude volcanic eruptions | AMOC-ENSO interaction | volcanism P roxy data (1, 2) suggest that the strong reduction of surface insolation over the tropics associated with tropical volcanic eruptions may increase the likelihood of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and a consequent reduction of the zonal sea surface temperature (SST) gradient along the equatorial Pacific. Modeling studies do not yield consistent results and show both an El Niño-like (3-5) or La Niña-like (6, 7) anomalies following a tropical eruption. Recent studies have also suggested that volcanic eruptions can have a large imprint on ocean circulation, affecting the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) (8-12) on 5-to 20-y timescales and inducing ocean heat content (OHC) anomalies (13, 14) that may persist for decades. However, this slow recovery has been questioned and may be an artifact of experimental design (15). Furthermore, all previous work on the climate impact of volcanic eruptions has focused on tropical volcanoes; no studies have addressed the potential effects of high-latitude eruptions on ENSO. Here, we use a coupled atmospheric-ocean-aerosol model 17)] to identify the mechanisms by which high-latitude volcanic eruptions can impact ENSO behavior in both the short term (up to 2-3 y) and long term (approximately half-century), the latter being mediated by volcano-induced changes in ocean circulation.We simulate an extreme high-latitude multistage eruption starting on June 1st. We inject 100 Tg of SO...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of high-latitude volcanic eruptions on ENSO and AMOC

Pausata

Chafik

Caballero

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

151

161

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“…The nucleation events detected in the volcanic plume are characterized by J 2 that are four times higher (J 2 ¼ 4.76 AE 2.63 s −1 ) than the average values computed from long-term measurements (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011) at the station (J 2 ¼ 1.32 AE 0.9 s −1 on 34 comparable events) and 10% higher than the J 2 99th-percentile value (3.66 s −1 calculated on 34 comparable events). After the observations of the presence of H 2 SO 4 and water in volcanic particles during the Pinatubo eruption by Deshler et al (9), the majority of studies used the H 2 SO 4 − H 2 O binary homogeneous nucleation (BHN) theory (6,7,12,19) to estimate the particle formation rates. In the same manner, we can calculate from our data the H 2 SO 4 − H 2 O binary homogeneous nucleation rate J 2;BHN using Yu's procedure (20), which is the closest to the BHN theory (21).…”

Section: New Particle Formation Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sulfur dioxide emitted in large amounts during explosive volcanic eruptions (8) can be oxidized to sulfuric acid, thus many authors suspect that the formed sulfuric acid gives rise to the formation of new secondary particle from binary homogeneous nucleation mechanism (1,(9)(10)(11)(12). Those new particles can then affect the atmospheric radiative balance both directly and indirectly because they can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) (13).…”

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confidence: 99%

Observations of nucleation of new particles in a volcanic plume

Boulon

Sellegri

Hervo

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Volcanic eruptions caused major weather and climatic changes on timescales ranging from hours to centuries in the past. Volcanic particles are injected in the atmosphere both as primary particles rapidly deposited due to their large sizes on time scales of minutes to a few weeks in the troposphere, and secondary particles mainly derived from the oxidation of sulfur dioxide. These particles are responsible for the atmospheric cooling observed at both regional and global scales following large volcanic eruptions. However, large condensational sinks due to preexisting particles within the plume, and unknown nucleation mechanisms under these circumstances make the assumption of new secondary particle formation still uncertain because the phenomenon has never been observed in a volcanic plume. In this work, we report the first observation of nucleation and new secondary particle formation events in a volcanic plume. These measurements were performed at the puy de Dôme atmospheric research station in central France during the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption in Spring 2010. We show that the nucleation is indeed linked to exceptionally high concentrations of sulfuric acid and present an unusual high particle formation rate. In addition we demonstrate that the binary H 2 SO 4 − H 2 O nucleation scheme, as it is usually considered in modeling studies, underestimates by 7 to 8 orders of magnitude the observed particle formation rate and, therefore, should not be applied in tropospheric conditions. These results may help to revisit all past simulations of the impact of volcanic eruptions on climate.secondary aerosols | volcanic sulfur | nanoparticles V olcanic eruptions and their impact on climate have been extensively investigated in geological archives such as sediments (1), ice cores (2-5), and through modeling studies (6, 7) but processes taking place in the volcanic plume have rarely been directly observed. The sulfur dioxide emitted in large amounts during explosive volcanic eruptions (8) can be oxidized to sulfuric acid, thus many authors suspect that the formed sulfuric acid gives rise to the formation of new secondary particle from binary homogeneous nucleation mechanism (1, 9-12). Those new particles can then affect the atmospheric radiative balance both directly and indirectly because they can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) (13). This leads to a cooling effect, which is on a time scale from months to years, depending on the location of the eruption and the height at which volcanic gases were emitted.The Eyjafjallajokull volcano located in the south of Iceland [63°38′ N, 19°36′ W, summit 1,660 m above sea level (asl)] erupted on March 20, 2010. A major outbreak of the central crater under the covering ice cap followed on April 14, 2010 (Institute of Earth Sciences, 2010). A large volcanic plume composed of ashes and gases rose up to the tropopause level (approximately 10 km) for days and were observed by satellite and ground-based remote sensing instruments. The volcanic plume reached European altitude s...

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“…The Laki eruption of 1783/1784 suggests that sulphate injection into the lower stratosphere led to dramatic cooling of the lower atmosphere during the winters of 1783 and 1784 [70,89,90] . Curiously, however, the European summer of 1783 was also particularly hot [91] .…”

Section: Sulphur Dioxide and Halogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Siberian Traps and the End-Permian mass extinction: a critical review

2009

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The association between the Siberian Traps, the largest continental flood basalt province, and the largest-known mass extinction event at the end of the Permian period, has been strengthened by recently-published high-precision 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates from widespread localities across the Siberian province [1] . We argue that the impact of the volcanism was amplified by the prevailing late Permian environmental conditions-in particular, the hothouse climate, with sluggish oceanic circulation, that was leading to widespread oceanic anoxia. Volcanism released large masses of sulphate aerosols and carbon dioxide, the former triggering short-duration volcanic winters, the latter leading to long-term warming. Whilst the mass of CO 2 released from individual eruptions was small compared with the total mass of carbon in the atmosphere-ocean system, the long 'mean lifetime' of atmospheric CO 2 , compared with the eruption flux and duration, meant that significant accumulation could occur over periods of 10 5 years. Compromise of the carbon sequestration systems (by curtailment of photosynthesis, destruction of biomass, and warming and acidification of the oceans) probably led to rapid atmospheric CO 2 build-up, warming, and shallow-water anoxia, leading ultimately to mass extinction.continental flood basalts, oceanic anoxia, radiometric dating, CO 2 , SO 2

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Atmospheric impact of the 1783–1784 Laki Eruption: Part II Climatic effect of sulphate aerosol

Cited by 75 publications

References 43 publications

Impacts of high-latitude volcanic eruptions on ENSO and AMOC

Impacts of high-latitude volcanic eruptions on ENSO and AMOC

Observations of nucleation of new particles in a volcanic plume

The Siberian Traps and the End-Permian mass extinction: a critical review

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