Bidecadal temperature anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau and Arctic in response to the 1450s volcanic eruptions

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
• Main Authors: Liu, Wei, Shi, Feng, Xiao, Guoqiao, Xue, Huihong, Yin, Qiuzhen, Liu, Fei, Duan, Anmin, Xiao, Cunde, Guo, Zhengtang
• Other Authors: UCL - SST/ELI/ELIC - Earth & Climate
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Yang Ping 2022
• Subjects: Tibetan Plateau; Arctic; Volcanic eruptions; albedo; Climate change
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/262940; https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035769

Volcanic eruptions have been the most dominant natural forcing of climate change over the past millennium, affecting temperature change at multiple timescales. However, how volcanic eruptions affect regional temperature variability on the decadal timescale remains unclear. We analyzed the bidecadal effects of volcanic eruptions in the mid-fifteenth century on two representative regions (the Tibetan plateau [TP] and the Arctic) in the Northern Hemisphere by combining proxy reconstructions, model ensemble simulations, and model sensitive experiments. The results show that the TP experienced bidecadal cooling during the mid-fifteenth century as a result of the long-term heat uptake in the midlatitude ocean that reduced latent heat transfer to the atmosphere. A positive sea ice–albedo feedback led to a bidecadal summer temperature decrease in the Arctic comparable to that on the TP, whereas the Arctic winter experienced stronger bidecadal cooling caused by a reduced ocean–atmosphere energy exchange and atmospheric poleward energy transport. In addition, our results show that it took ∼20 years for the temperature in these two regions to return to the level that existed before the first eruption, and this was linked to the strengthening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and ocean heat transport.