Investigating and quantifying the volcanic eruption induced climate extremes during the late Holocene

Abstract:

Numerous research studies have documented societal impacts of hydroclimatic shocks during the late Holocene (~2500 years BP) during the time of the Roman and Ptolemaic Kingdoms. Large, strato-volcanic eruptions of sulfur dioxide cool the planet, often yielding decreased regional rainfall, evidence of which is the historical records of the Nile not being able to flood, resulting in crop failure. Here we quantify the regional climate impacts of explosive volcanic eruptions during the late Holocene period over the Nile river region and investigate whether human alteration of the landscape could have in turn impacted regional climate.

We use the NASA GISS modelE-2.1 Earth System Model with interactive aerosol and chemistry to simulate the impact of various documented volcanic eruptions around 2500-2000BP. This study also aims to explore and investigate the effect of volcanic eruption over the domain corresponding to different geographical regions, eruption strength, clustering of multiple volcanic events, and seasonal timings of eruptions. Furthermore, it is also aimed to compare the response of the climate system to a few recent time eruptions to validate the model’s capabilities to simulate the climate response of historical volcanic eruptions.