The Climate Response to Multiple Volcanic Eruptions Mediated by Ocean Heat Uptake: Damping Processes and Accumulation Potential
A hierarchy of models is used to explore the role of the ocean in mediating the response of the climate to a single volcanic eruption and to a series of eruptions by drawing cold temperature anomalies into its interior, as measured by the ocean heat exchange parameter q (W m-2 K-1). The response to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Meteorological Society
2020
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125326 |
| _version_ | 1811088480737951744 |
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| author | Gupta, Mukund Marshall, John C |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Gupta, Mukund Marshall, John C |
| author_sort | Gupta, Mukund |
| collection | MIT |
| description | A hierarchy of models is used to explore the role of the ocean in mediating the response of the climate to a single volcanic eruption and to a series of eruptions by drawing cold temperature anomalies into its interior, as measured by the ocean heat exchange parameter q (W m-2 K-1). The response to a single (Pinatubo-like) eruption comprises two primary time scales: one fast (year) and one slow (decadal). Over the fast time scale, the ocean sequesters cooling anomalies induced by the eruption into its depth, enhancing the damping rate of sea surface temperature (SST) relative to that which would be expected if the atmosphere acted alone. This compromises the ability to constrain atmospheric feedback rates measured by λ (~1 W m-2 K-1) from study of the relaxation of SST back toward equilibrium, but yields information about the transient climate sensitivity proportional to λ + q. Our study suggests that q can significantly exceed λ in the immediate aftermath of an eruption. Shielded from damping to the atmosphere, the effect of the volcanic eruption persists on longer decadal time scales. We contrast the response to an "impulse" from that of a "step" in which the forcing is kept constant in time. Finally, we assess the "accumulation potential" of a succession of volcanic eruptions over time, a process that may in part explain the prolongation of cold surface temperatures experienced during, for example, the Little Ice Age. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:02:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/125326 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T14:02:49Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | American Meteorological Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1253262022-10-01T18:50:26Z The Climate Response to Multiple Volcanic Eruptions Mediated by Ocean Heat Uptake: Damping Processes and Accumulation Potential Gupta, Mukund Marshall, John C Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences A hierarchy of models is used to explore the role of the ocean in mediating the response of the climate to a single volcanic eruption and to a series of eruptions by drawing cold temperature anomalies into its interior, as measured by the ocean heat exchange parameter q (W m-2 K-1). The response to a single (Pinatubo-like) eruption comprises two primary time scales: one fast (year) and one slow (decadal). Over the fast time scale, the ocean sequesters cooling anomalies induced by the eruption into its depth, enhancing the damping rate of sea surface temperature (SST) relative to that which would be expected if the atmosphere acted alone. This compromises the ability to constrain atmospheric feedback rates measured by λ (~1 W m-2 K-1) from study of the relaxation of SST back toward equilibrium, but yields information about the transient climate sensitivity proportional to λ + q. Our study suggests that q can significantly exceed λ in the immediate aftermath of an eruption. Shielded from damping to the atmosphere, the effect of the volcanic eruption persists on longer decadal time scales. We contrast the response to an "impulse" from that of a "step" in which the forcing is kept constant in time. Finally, we assess the "accumulation potential" of a succession of volcanic eruptions over time, a process that may in part explain the prolongation of cold surface temperatures experienced during, for example, the Little Ice Age. 2020-05-19T20:20:14Z 2020-05-19T20:20:14Z 2018-09 2017-10 2020-04-21T17:35:50Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0894-8755 1520-0442 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125326 Gupta, Mukund and John Marshall. "The Climate Response to Multiple Volcanic Eruptions Mediated by Ocean Heat Uptake: Damping Processes and Accumulation Potential." Journal of Climate 31, 21 (November 2018): 8669-8687 © 2018 American Meteorological Society en http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-17-0703.1 Journal of Climate Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf American Meteorological Society MIT web domain |
| spellingShingle | Gupta, Mukund Marshall, John C The Climate Response to Multiple Volcanic Eruptions Mediated by Ocean Heat Uptake: Damping Processes and Accumulation Potential |
| title | The Climate Response to Multiple Volcanic Eruptions Mediated by Ocean Heat Uptake: Damping Processes and Accumulation Potential |
| title_full | The Climate Response to Multiple Volcanic Eruptions Mediated by Ocean Heat Uptake: Damping Processes and Accumulation Potential |
| title_fullStr | The Climate Response to Multiple Volcanic Eruptions Mediated by Ocean Heat Uptake: Damping Processes and Accumulation Potential |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Climate Response to Multiple Volcanic Eruptions Mediated by Ocean Heat Uptake: Damping Processes and Accumulation Potential |
| title_short | The Climate Response to Multiple Volcanic Eruptions Mediated by Ocean Heat Uptake: Damping Processes and Accumulation Potential |
| title_sort | climate response to multiple volcanic eruptions mediated by ocean heat uptake damping processes and accumulation potential |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125326 |
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