Influence of large volcanic eruptions on climate as revealed by tree-ring data on the Tibetan Plateau, China

Abstract

Large volcanic eruption is an important factor affecting global climate change. In the past few decades, many researchers reconstructed a number of climate series based on tree rings on the Tibetan Plateau, and examined the impacts of large volcanic eruptions on the climate. The results showed that these tree-ring sites used to examined the influences of large volcanic eruptions on climate change were primarily located in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. In addition, the series comparison and the superposed epoch analysis were main methods for studying the climate effects of large volcanic eruptions. Based on the results analyzed using two methods, we suggested that the large volcanic eruptions in low-mid latitudes had a significant impact on temperature and dry/wet variation. Cooling or drought occurred after large volcanic eruptions in the subsequent 1-2 years. How-ever, the large volcanic eruptions in high latitudes had minor impacts on climate change. Furthermore, consecutive multiple volcanic eruptions could result in cooling at the decades scale. The factors influencing the climate effects of large volcanic eruptions included the location of the volcanic eruptions, intensity of the volcanic eruptions, atmospheric circulation, etc. Finally, we proposed research projects that need to be carried out in the future.