Abstract
Large volcanic eruptions strongly influence the internal variability of
the climate system. Reliable estimates of the volcanic eruption response
as simulated by climate models are needed to reconstruct past climate
variability. Yet, the ability of models to represent the response to
both single-eruption events and a combination of eruptions remain
uncertain. We use the Community Earth System Model version 2 along with
the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model version 6, known as
CESM2(WACCM6), to study the global-mean surface temperature (GMST)
response to idealised single volcano eruptions at the equator, ranging
in size from Mt.\ Pinatubo-type events to supereruptions.
Additionally, we simulate the GMST response due to double-eruption
events with eruption separations of a few years. For large idealised
volcanic eruptions, we demonstrate that double-eruption events separated
by four years combine linearly in terms of GMST response. In addition,
the temporal development is similar across all single volcanic eruptions
injecting at least
\(\SI{400}{\tera\gram(SO_{2})}\)
into the atmosphere. Since only a few eruptions in the past millennium
occurred within four years of a previous eruption, we assume that the
historical record can be represented as a superposition of
single-eruption events. Hence, we employ a deconvolution algorithm to
estimate a historical GMST response pulse function for volcanic
eruptions, based on climate simulation data from 850 to 1850 taken from
a previous study. By applying the estimated GMST response pulse
function, we can reconstruct most of the underlying historical GMST
signal. Furthermore, the GMST response is significantly perturbed for at
least seven years following eruptions.