Bidecadal North Atlantic ocean circulation variability controlled by timing of volcanic eruptions

Didier Swingedouw (), Pablo Ortega, Juliette Mignot, Eric Guilyardi, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Paul G. Butler, Myriam Khodri and Roland Séférian
Additional contact information
Didier Swingedouw: Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques et Continentaux (EPOC), UMR CNRS 5805 EPOC—OASU—Université de Bordeaux, Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Pablo Ortega: LOCEAN/IPSL Sorbonne Universités (UPMC, Univ Paris 06)-CNRS-IRD-MNHN
Juliette Mignot: LOCEAN/IPSL Sorbonne Universités (UPMC, Univ Paris 06)-CNRS-IRD-MNHN
Eric Guilyardi: LOCEAN/IPSL Sorbonne Universités (UPMC, Univ Paris 06)-CNRS-IRD-MNHN
Valérie Masson-Delmotte: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR8212)
Paul G. Butler: School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK
Myriam Khodri: LOCEAN/IPSL Sorbonne Universités (UPMC, Univ Paris 06)-CNRS-IRD-MNHN
Roland Séférian: Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques–Groupe d’Etude de l’Atmosphère Météorologique/Groupe de Météorologie de Grande Echelle et Climat

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract While bidecadal climate variability has been evidenced in several North Atlantic paleoclimate records, its drivers remain poorly understood. Here we show that the subset of CMIP5 historical climate simulations that produce such bidecadal variability exhibits a robust synchronization, with a maximum in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) 15 years after the 1963 Agung eruption. The mechanisms at play involve salinity advection from the Arctic and explain the timing of Great Salinity Anomalies observed in the 1970s and the 1990s. Simulations, as well as Greenland and Iceland paleoclimate records, indicate that coherent bidecadal cycles were excited following five Agung-like volcanic eruptions of the last millennium. Climate simulations and a conceptual model reveal that destructive interference caused by the Pinatubo 1991 eruption may have damped the observed decreasing trend of the AMOC in the 2000s. Our results imply a long-lasting climatic impact and predictability following the next Agung-like eruption.

Date: 2015
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms7545 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms7545

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7545

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().