Tree rings and volcanic cooling

Stratospheric aerosol-Observations, processes, and impact on climate

Interest in stratospheric aerosol and its role in climate have increased over the last decade due to the observed increase in stratospheric aerosol since 2000 and the potential for changes in the sulfur cycle induced by climate change. This review provides an overview about the advances in stratospheric aerosol research since the last comprehensive assessment of stratospheric aerosol was published in 2006. A crucial development since 2006 is the substantial improvement in the agreement between in situ and space-based inferences of stratospheric aerosol properties during volcanically quiescent periods. Furthermore, new measurement systems and techniques, both in situ and space based, have be…

Volcanic climate forcing preceding the inception of the Younger Dryas: Implications for tracing the Laacher See eruption

Climatic warming from the last glacial maximum to the current interglacial period was punctuated by a similar to 1300 years long cold period, commonly referred to as the Younger Dryas (YD). Several hypotheses have been proposed for the mechanism triggering the abrupt inception of the YD, including freshwater forcing, an extra-terrestrial impact, and aerosols from volcanic eruptions. Here, we use synchronised sulphate and sulphur records from both Greenland and Antarctic ice cores to reconstruct volcanic forcing between 13,200-12,800 a BPGICC05 (years before 1950 CE on the Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005; GICC05). This continuous reconstruction of stratospheric sulphur injections highligh…