The explosive volcanic eruption signal in northern hemisphere continental temperature records

Abstract

Several catalogs of explosive volcanic eruptions are reviewed and their limitations assessed. A new, homogeneous set of high quality gridded temperature data for continental regions of the northern hemisphere is then examined in relation to the timing of major explosive eruptions. Several of the largest eruptions are associated with significant drops in summer and fall temperatures, whereas pronounced negative anomalies in winter and spring temperatures are generally unrelated to volcanic activity. The effect of explosive eruptions on temperature decreases latitudinally away from the location of the eruption. High latitude eruptions have the greatest impact on high and mid latitudes; low latitude eruptions mainly influence low and mid latitudes. Temperature depressions following major eruptions are very abrupt but short-lived (1 to 3 months) decreasing in magnitude over the course of the subsequent 1 to 3 years. Generally any signal is indistinguishable from noise after 12 months but a small recurrent drop in temperature is evident about 12 to 24 months after the initial anomaly. Considering all known eruptions which injected material into the stratosphere over the last 100 years (except the 5 largest eruptions) a significant temperature depression is observed over the continents only in the month immediately following the eruption. There is no evidence that large eruptions over the last 100 years have had a significant effect on low frequency temperature changes.

Multicentennial Ring-Width Chronologies of Scots Pine Along a North–South Gradient Across Finland

“…Kelly and Sear 1984;Bradley 1988) suppressed the pine growth in the regions of northern and middle boreal forest belts (Regions A, B and C), but not in the south (Region D), where the summer temperatures of the concurrent year do not have such an impact on pine growth (see Figure 4). However, one can find 1992 as the first in the list of the most extreme negative growth indices in Region D (Table 1).…”

Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Climate in Medieval Times Revisited

“…Explosive volcanism also appears to play a significant role in modulating large-scale climate patterns and can account for a significant fraction of the temporal evolution of hemispheric and regional temperature changes for the last 1,000 years (Bradley 1988;Bradley et al 2003a,b;Crowley 2000;Crowley and Lowery 2000;Crowley et al 2003;Mann et al 2005;Fischer et al 2007;Jungclaus et al 2010;Shindell et al 2004). Both modeling studies and extensive climate observations over the past few centuries indicate that secular variations in the frequency and intensity of explosive volcanism, particularly when the eruptions arise from the tropics, can have long-lasting impacts on climate that are reflected in decadal and longer climatic changes.…”

The contribution of Hubert H. Lamb to the study of volcanic effects on climate

“…The large expanse of ocean in the Southern Hemisphere damped down the reaction of temperatures in that hemisphere, with little effect evident from northern eruptions and a slow response to Southern Hemisphere events. Bradley (1988) showed that there were seasonal differences in the impact on temperature levels, with cooling most pronounced during the summer months. Jones and Kelly (1988) compared the scale and duration of the volcanic impact on hemispheric temperature with that of the El Nirio Southern Oscillation phenomenon, showing a close correspondence on both counts.…”