1. Decadal Disruption of the QBO by Tropical Volcanic Supereruptions
- Author
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Ulrike Niemeier, Hans Brenna, Claudia Timmreck, Steffen Kutterolf, Michael J. Mills, and Kirstin Krüger
- Subjects
Quasi-biennial oscillation ,geography ,Vulcanian eruption ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Stratospheric chemistry ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,01 natural sciences ,Geophysics ,Volcano ,13. Climate action ,Climatology ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,Climate model ,Geology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
The Los Chocoyos (14.6°N, 91.2°W) supereruption happened ?75,000 years ago in Guatemala and was one of the largest eruptions of the past 100,000 years. It emitted enormous amounts of sulfur, chlorine, and bromine, with multi-decadal consequences for the global climate and environment. Here, we simulate the impact of a Los Chocoyos-like eruption on the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), an oscillation of zonal winds in the tropical stratosphere, with a comprehensive aerosol chemistry Earth System Model. We find a ?10-year disruption of the QBO starting 4 months post eruption, with anomalous easterly winds lasting ?5 years, followed by westerlies, before returning to QBO conditions with a slightly prolonged periodicity. Volcanic aerosol heating and ozone depletion cooling leads to the QBO disruption and anomalous wind regimes through radiative changes and wave-mean flow interactions. Different model ensembles, volcanic forcing scenarios and results of a second model back up the robustness of our results.
- Published
- 2021