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The influence of volcanic eruptions on weather regimes over the North Atlantic simulated by ECHAM5/MPI-OM ensemble runs from 800 to 2000 CE

Guðlaugsdóttir, H. ; Steen-Larsen, H. C. ; Sjolte, J. LU orcid ; Masson-Delmotte, V. ; Werner, M. and Sveinbjörnsdóttir, E. (2018) In Atmospheric Research 213. p.211-223
Abstract

The volcanic fingerprint on the winter North Atlantic atmospheric circulation and climate is analyzed in six ensemble runs of ECHAM5/MPI-OM covering 800–2000 CE, both for equatorial and Northern Hemisphere (NH) eruptions. Large volcanic eruptions influence climate on both annual and decadal time scales due to dynamic interactions of different climate components in the Earth's system. It is well known that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) tends to shift towards its positive phase during winter in the first 1–2 years after large tropical volcanic eruptions, causing warming over Europe, but other North Atlantic weather regimes have received less attention. Here we investigate the four dominant weather regimes in the North Atlantic: The... (More)

The volcanic fingerprint on the winter North Atlantic atmospheric circulation and climate is analyzed in six ensemble runs of ECHAM5/MPI-OM covering 800–2000 CE, both for equatorial and Northern Hemisphere (NH) eruptions. Large volcanic eruptions influence climate on both annual and decadal time scales due to dynamic interactions of different climate components in the Earth's system. It is well known that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) tends to shift towards its positive phase during winter in the first 1–2 years after large tropical volcanic eruptions, causing warming over Europe, but other North Atlantic weather regimes have received less attention. Here we investigate the four dominant weather regimes in the North Atlantic: The negative and positive phase of NAO as well as the Atlantic Ridge, Scandinavian blocking. The volcanic fingerprint is detected as a change in the frequency of occurrence and anomalies in the wind and temperature fields as well as in the sea ice cover. We observe a strong significant increase in the frequency of Atlantic Ridge in the second year after equatorial eruptions that precede the NAO+ detected in year 3–5 as a result of a strong zonal wind anomalies in year 1–2. Evidence for a stronger polar vortex is detected in years 12–14 where NAO+ is detected both as a frequency increase and in the wind and temperature fields. A short-term response is also detected 2–4 years after NH eruptions. The longterm signal after NH eruptions indicate a weak polar vortex around a decade after an eruption. Although the signal after NH eruptions is weaker our results stress the need for further studies. The simulated atmospheric response recorded in ECHAM5 after volcanic eruptions suggest a more dynamic response than previously thought. The methodology used can also be applied to other forcing scenario, for example for future climate projections where the aim is to search for a long-term climate signal.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Atmospheric Research
volume
213
pages
13 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85048820651
ISSN
0169-8095
DOI
10.1016/j.atmosres.2018.04.021
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
39f1b8cb-ae80-4392-a071-dc6cb1d53c19
date added to LUP
2018-07-04 10:03:05
date last changed
2022-04-02 01:04:37
@article{39f1b8cb-ae80-4392-a071-dc6cb1d53c19,
  abstract     = {{<p>The volcanic fingerprint on the winter North Atlantic atmospheric circulation and climate is analyzed in six ensemble runs of ECHAM5/MPI-OM covering 800–2000 CE, both for equatorial and Northern Hemisphere (NH) eruptions. Large volcanic eruptions influence climate on both annual and decadal time scales due to dynamic interactions of different climate components in the Earth's system. It is well known that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) tends to shift towards its positive phase during winter in the first 1–2 years after large tropical volcanic eruptions, causing warming over Europe, but other North Atlantic weather regimes have received less attention. Here we investigate the four dominant weather regimes in the North Atlantic: The negative and positive phase of NAO as well as the Atlantic Ridge, Scandinavian blocking. The volcanic fingerprint is detected as a change in the frequency of occurrence and anomalies in the wind and temperature fields as well as in the sea ice cover. We observe a strong significant increase in the frequency of Atlantic Ridge in the second year after equatorial eruptions that precede the NAO+ detected in year 3–5 as a result of a strong zonal wind anomalies in year 1–2. Evidence for a stronger polar vortex is detected in years 12–14 where NAO+ is detected both as a frequency increase and in the wind and temperature fields. A short-term response is also detected 2–4 years after NH eruptions. The longterm signal after NH eruptions indicate a weak polar vortex around a decade after an eruption. Although the signal after NH eruptions is weaker our results stress the need for further studies. The simulated atmospheric response recorded in ECHAM5 after volcanic eruptions suggest a more dynamic response than previously thought. The methodology used can also be applied to other forcing scenario, for example for future climate projections where the aim is to search for a long-term climate signal.</p>}},
  author       = {{Guðlaugsdóttir, H. and Steen-Larsen, H. C. and Sjolte, J. and Masson-Delmotte, V. and Werner, M. and Sveinbjörnsdóttir, E.}},
  issn         = {{0169-8095}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  pages        = {{211--223}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Atmospheric Research}},
  title        = {{The influence of volcanic eruptions on weather regimes over the North Atlantic simulated by ECHAM5/MPI-OM ensemble runs from 800 to 2000 CE}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2018.04.021}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.atmosres.2018.04.021}},
  volume       = {{213}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}