Regional warming of the lower atmosphere in the wake of volcanic eruptions: the role of the Laki fissure eruption in the hot summer of 1783

Grattan, John; Sadler, John

doi:10.1144/gsl.sp.1999.161.01.11

Cited by 28 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The data show a summer that was actually warmer than average, especially the month of July over Europe (Grattan and Brayshay, 1995;Grattan and Sadler, 1999;Thordarson and Self, 2003;Luterbacher et al, 2004). To our knowledge, no model has been able to reproduce the observed warming, and given the scarcity of the records and their limited spatial distribution, it is challenging to attribute the warm European summer of 1783 to a specific forcing related to the Laki eruption.…”

Section: Nh Temperature and Precipitationmentioning

confidence: 94%

High-latitude volcanic eruptions in the Norwegian Earth System Model: the effect of different initial conditions and of the ensemble size

Pausata¹,

Grini²,

Caballero³

et al. 2015

Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology

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A B S T R A C T Large volcanic eruptions have strong impacts on both atmospheric and ocean dynamics that can last for decades. Numerical models have attempted to reproduce the effects of major volcanic eruptions on climate; however, there are remarkable inter-model disagreements related to both short-term dynamical response to volcanic forcing and long-term oceanic evolution. The lack of robust simulated behaviour is related to various aspects from model formulation to simulated background internal variability to the eruption details. Here, we use the Norwegian Earth System Model version 1 to calculate interactively the volcanic aerosol loading resulting from SO 2 emissions of the second largest high-latitude volcanic eruption in historical time (the Laki eruption of 1783). We use two different approaches commonly used interchangeably in the literature to generate ensembles. The ensembles start from different background initial states, and we show that the two approaches are not identical on short-time scales ( B1 yr) in discerning the volcanic effects on climate, depending on the background initial state in which the simulated eruption occurred. Our results also show that volcanic eruptions alter surface climate variability (in general increasing it) when aerosols are allowed to realistically interact with circulation: Simulations with fixed volcanic aerosol show no significant change in surface climate variability. Our simulations also highlight that the change in climate variability is not a linear function of the amount of the volcanic aerosol injected. We then provide a tentative estimation of the ensemble size needed to discern a given volcanic signal on surface temperature from the natural internal variability on regional scale: At least 20Á25 members are necessary to significantly detect seasonally averaged anomalies of 0.58C; however, when focusing on North America and in winter, a higher number of ensemble members (35Á40) is necessary.

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Section: Nh Temperature and Precipitationmentioning

confidence: 94%

High-latitude volcanic eruptions in the Norwegian Earth System Model: the effect of different initial conditions and of the ensemble size

Pausata¹,

Grini²,

Caballero³

et al. 2015

Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition to elevated atmospheric [CO 2 ] (McElwain et al, 1999;Berner and Beerling, 2007) and proposed emissions of methane (Palfy et al, 2001;Beerling and Berner, 2002), tropospheric SO 2 is also a powerful greenhouse gas (Grattan and Sadler, 1999). When released into the stratosphere, SO 2 causes global cooling (Zielinski et al, 1994); however, SO 2 released into the troposphere by an effusive eruption such as the CAMP may have developed into regional areas of dry fog, increasing its atmospheric residence time due to its localized heating of the lower atmosphere (Grattan and Sadler, 1999;Hantemirov et al, 2000). This may have further exacerbated leaf thermal damage in some areas.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

On the reconstruction of plant photosynthetic and stress physiology across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary

Haworth¹,

Gallagher²,

Sum³

et al. 2014

Turkish J Earth Sci

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“…The optical depth _Lacis et al, 1992. and residence time of the aerosol layer are also important. In some cases, atmospheric warming of both the stratosphere and troposphere _Lacis et al, 1992;Lary et al, 1994;Grattan and Sadler, 1997. is possible.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Volcanoes as agents of past environmental change

Sadler

Grattan

1999

Global and Planetary Change

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In recent years a sequence of papers has discussed the impact of volcanic eruptions upon global environments. Emphasis has been placed upon their potential role in depressing hemispheric temperatures and affecting global weather patterns. Many researchers have related ecological, environmental and historical phenomena to individual eruptions. However, the linking of spatially and temporally disparate phenomenon to eruption chronologies involves several levels of supposition and at each level in the argument greater potential for error arises. This paper examines critically a number of important issues that arise from these studies. How valid are the linkages that are drawn? Do they establish a dependent relationship or merely coincidence? The validity of linking volcanic activity with disparate spatial and temporal events in the climatic, historical and palaeoecological records is addressed. There can be little doubt that volcanoes have a great effect on proximal climates and environments, but their global impact is less well understood. The scale and magnitude of responses to large eruptions such as the historically notorious Tambora_1815.and Mt. Pinatubo_1991.is far from consistent. This paper urges the adoption of a more critical perspective when considering these issues.

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Regional warming of the lower atmosphere in the wake of volcanic eruptions: the role of the Laki fissure eruption in the hot summer of 1783

Abstract: A suggestion is made that the gases emitted in the Laki fissure eruption in

Cited by 28 publications

References 45 publications

High-latitude volcanic eruptions in the Norwegian Earth System Model: the effect of different initial conditions and of the ensemble size

High-latitude volcanic eruptions in the Norwegian Earth System Model: the effect of different initial conditions and of the ensemble size

On the reconstruction of plant photosynthetic and stress physiology across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary

Volcanoes as agents of past environmental change

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