State‐Dependent North Atlantic Response to Volcanic Eruption Clusters

Abstract Paleoclimate reconstructions suggest that clusters of volcanic eruptions may trigger sustained cooling events, but the underlying mechanisms and their potential dependence on the mean climate state remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the climate response to an idealized eruption...

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Main Authors: Deepashree Dutta, Peter O. Hopcroft, Laurits S. Andreasen, Thomas J. Aubry, Claudia Timmreck, Davide Zanchettin, Xu Zhang, Francesco Muschitiello
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-08-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL117582
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author Deepashree Dutta
Peter O. Hopcroft
Laurits S. Andreasen
Thomas J. Aubry
Claudia Timmreck
Davide Zanchettin
Xu Zhang
Francesco Muschitiello
author_facet Deepashree Dutta
Peter O. Hopcroft
Laurits S. Andreasen
Thomas J. Aubry
Claudia Timmreck
Davide Zanchettin
Xu Zhang
Francesco Muschitiello
author_sort Deepashree Dutta
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Paleoclimate reconstructions suggest that clusters of volcanic eruptions may trigger sustained cooling events, but the underlying mechanisms and their potential dependence on the mean climate state remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the climate response to an idealized eruption cluster using two coupled climate models under fully glacial, deglacial, and pre‐industrial conditions. While the global mean temperature responses are largely climate‐state independent, North Atlantic cooling is stronger under glacial conditions, especially in the Hadley Centre Model HadCM3. This response is primarily driven by a sustained weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation due to increased surface buoyancy and sea‐ice extent. However, the magnitude and duration of this response vary with climate state and model, due to differences in upper‐ocean stability, convection zones, and sea‐ice cover. Our results suggest that while volcanic clusters can induce intense cooling, they alone cannot sustain Younger Dryas‐like climate shifts.
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publishDate 2025-08-01
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-e4ca4ef572b04ffb80834fa288ce260d2025-08-20T03:41:54ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-08-015215n/an/a10.1029/2025GL117582State‐Dependent North Atlantic Response to Volcanic Eruption ClustersDeepashree Dutta0Peter O. Hopcroft1Laurits S. Andreasen2Thomas J. Aubry3Claudia Timmreck4Davide Zanchettin5Xu Zhang6Francesco Muschitiello7Department of Geography University of Cambridge Cambridge UKSchool of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Birmingham Birmingham UKSchool of Culture and Society ‐ Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies Aarhus University Aarhus DenmarkDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Penryn UKMax‐Planck‐Institute for Meteorology Hamburg GermanyDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics University Ca' Foscari of Venice Mestre ItalyBritish Antarctic Survey Cambridge UKDepartment of Geography University of Cambridge Cambridge UKAbstract Paleoclimate reconstructions suggest that clusters of volcanic eruptions may trigger sustained cooling events, but the underlying mechanisms and their potential dependence on the mean climate state remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the climate response to an idealized eruption cluster using two coupled climate models under fully glacial, deglacial, and pre‐industrial conditions. While the global mean temperature responses are largely climate‐state independent, North Atlantic cooling is stronger under glacial conditions, especially in the Hadley Centre Model HadCM3. This response is primarily driven by a sustained weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation due to increased surface buoyancy and sea‐ice extent. However, the magnitude and duration of this response vary with climate state and model, due to differences in upper‐ocean stability, convection zones, and sea‐ice cover. Our results suggest that while volcanic clusters can induce intense cooling, they alone cannot sustain Younger Dryas‐like climate shifts.https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL117582volcanic eruption clusterNorth Atlantic coolingAtlantic meridional overturning circulationocean heat transportocean convectionsea ice concentration
spellingShingle Deepashree Dutta
Peter O. Hopcroft
Laurits S. Andreasen
Thomas J. Aubry
Claudia Timmreck
Davide Zanchettin
Xu Zhang
Francesco Muschitiello
State‐Dependent North Atlantic Response to Volcanic Eruption Clusters
Geophysical Research Letters
volcanic eruption cluster
North Atlantic cooling
Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
ocean heat transport
ocean convection
sea ice concentration
title State‐Dependent North Atlantic Response to Volcanic Eruption Clusters
title_full State‐Dependent North Atlantic Response to Volcanic Eruption Clusters
title_fullStr State‐Dependent North Atlantic Response to Volcanic Eruption Clusters
title_full_unstemmed State‐Dependent North Atlantic Response to Volcanic Eruption Clusters
title_short State‐Dependent North Atlantic Response to Volcanic Eruption Clusters
title_sort state dependent north atlantic response to volcanic eruption clusters
topic volcanic eruption cluster
North Atlantic cooling
Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
ocean heat transport
ocean convection
sea ice concentration
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL117582
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