Ridley, DA, Solomon, S, Barnes, JE et al. (14 more authors) (2014) Total volcanic stratospheric aerosol optical depths and implications for global climate change. Geophysical Research Letters, 41 (22). pp. 7763-7769. ISSN 0094-8276
Abstract
Understanding the cooling effect of recent volcanoes is of particular interest in the context of the post-2000 slowing of the rate of global warming. Satellite observations of aerosol optical depth above 15 km have demonstrated that small-magnitude volcanic eruptions substantially perturb incoming solar radiation. Here we use lidar, Aerosol Robotic Network, and balloon-borne observations to provide evidence that currently available satellite databases neglect substantial amounts of volcanic aerosol between the tropopause and 15 km at middle to high latitudes and therefore underestimate total radiative forcing resulting from the recent eruptions. Incorporating these estimates into a simple climate model, we determine the global volcanic aerosol forcing since 2000 to be −0.19 ± 0.09 Wm−2. This translates into an estimated global cooling of 0.05 to 0.12°C. We conclude that recent volcanic events are responsible for more post-2000 cooling than is implied by satellite databases that neglect volcanic aerosol effects below 15 km.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2014, American Geophysical Union. An edited version of this paper was published by American Geophysical Union. DOI10.1002/2014GL061541 |
Keywords: | volcanic aerosol; forcing uncertainty; warming hiatus; AERONET retrieval; lower stratospheric AOD; stratospheric aerosol |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Inst for Climate & Atmos Science (ICAS) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > National Centre for Atmos Science (NCAS) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Jan 2015 16:35 |
Last Modified: | 22 Mar 2019 12:01 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014GL061541 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Geophysical Union |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/2014GL061541 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:82628 |