Strong constraints on aerosol-cloud interactions from volcanic eruptions

Florent F. Malavelle; Jim M. Haywood; Andy Jones; Andrew Gettelman; Lieven Clarisse; Sophie Bauduin; Richard P. Allan; Inger Helene H. Karset; Jón Egill Kristjánsson; Lazaros Oreopoulos; Nayeong Cho; Dongmin Lee; Nicolas Bellouin; Olivier Boucher; Daniel P. Grosvenor; Ken S. Carslaw; Sandip Dhomse; Graham W. Mann; Anja Schmidt; Hugh Coe; Margaret E. Hartley; Mohit Dalvi; Adrian A. Hill; Ben T. Johnson; Colin E. Johnson; Jeff R. Knight; Fiona M. O'Connor; Philip Stier; Gunnar Myhre; Steven Platnick; Graeme L. Stephens; Hanii Takahashi; Thorvaldur Thordarson

doi:10.1038/nature22974

Strong constraints on aerosol-cloud interactions from volcanic eruptions

Florent F. Malavelle
, Jim M. Haywood
, Andy Jones
, Andrew Gettelman
, Lieven Clarisse
, Sophie Bauduin
, Richard P. Allan
, Inger Helene H. Karset
, Jón Egill Kristjánsson
, Lazaros Oreopoulos
, Nayeong Cho
, Dongmin Lee
, Nicolas Bellouin
, Olivier Boucher
, Daniel P. Grosvenor
, Ken S. Carslaw
, Sandip Dhomse
, Graham W. Mann
, Anja Schmidt
, Hugh Coe

Margaret E. Hartley, Mohit Dalvi, Adrian A. Hill, Ben T. Johnson, Colin E. Johnson, Jeff R. Knight, Fiona M. O'Connor, Philip Stier, Gunnar Myhre, Steven Platnick, Graeme L. Stephens, Hanii Takahashi, Thorvaldur Thordarson

University of Iceland

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Aerosols have a potentially large effect on climate, particularly through their interactions with clouds, but the magnitude of this effect is highly uncertain. Large volcanic eruptions produce sulfur dioxide, which in turn produces aerosols; these eruptions thus represent a natural experiment through which to quantify aerosol-cloud interactions. Here we show that the massive 2014-2015 fissure eruption in Holuhraun, Iceland, reduced the size of liquid cloud droplets - consistent with expectations - but had no discernible effect on other cloud properties. The reduction in droplet size led to cloud brightening and global-mean radiative forcing of around -0.2 watts per square metre for September to October 2014. Changes in cloud amount or cloud liquid water path, however, were undetectable, indicating that these indirect effects, and cloud systems in general, are well buffered against aerosol changes. This result will reduce uncertainties in future climate projections, because we are now able to reject results from climate models with an excessive liquid-water-path response.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	485-491
Number of pages	7
Journal	Nature
Volume	546
Issue number	7659
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22974
Publication status	Published - 22 Jun 2017

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Malavelle, F. F., Haywood, J. M., Jones, A., Gettelman, A., Clarisse, L., Bauduin, S., Allan, R. P., Karset, I. H. H., Kristjánsson, J. E., Oreopoulos, L., Cho, N., Lee, D., Bellouin, N., Boucher, O., Grosvenor, D. P., Carslaw, K. S., Dhomse, S., Mann, G. W., Schmidt, A., ... Thordarson, T. (2017). Strong constraints on aerosol-cloud interactions from volcanic eruptions. Nature, 546(7659), 485-491. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22974

@article{4df5c9b316cd420988584c0f6433c9c7,

title = "Strong constraints on aerosol-cloud interactions from volcanic eruptions",

abstract = "Aerosols have a potentially large effect on climate, particularly through their interactions with clouds, but the magnitude of this effect is highly uncertain. Large volcanic eruptions produce sulfur dioxide, which in turn produces aerosols; these eruptions thus represent a natural experiment through which to quantify aerosol-cloud interactions. Here we show that the massive 2014-2015 fissure eruption in Holuhraun, Iceland, reduced the size of liquid cloud droplets - consistent with expectations - but had no discernible effect on other cloud properties. The reduction in droplet size led to cloud brightening and global-mean radiative forcing of around -0.2 watts per square metre for September to October 2014. Changes in cloud amount or cloud liquid water path, however, were undetectable, indicating that these indirect effects, and cloud systems in general, are well buffered against aerosol changes. This result will reduce uncertainties in future climate projections, because we are now able to reject results from climate models with an excessive liquid-water-path response.",

author = "Malavelle, \{Florent F.\} and Haywood, \{Jim M.\} and Andy Jones and Andrew Gettelman and Lieven Clarisse and Sophie Bauduin and Allan, \{Richard P.\} and Karset, \{Inger Helene H.\} and Kristj{\'a}nsson, \{J{\'o}n Egill\} and Lazaros Oreopoulos and Nayeong Cho and Dongmin Lee and Nicolas Bellouin and Olivier Boucher and Grosvenor, \{Daniel P.\} and Carslaw, \{Ken S.\} and Sandip Dhomse and Mann, \{Graham W.\} and Anja Schmidt and Hugh Coe and Hartley, \{Margaret E.\} and Mohit Dalvi and Hill, \{Adrian A.\} and Johnson, \{Ben T.\} and Johnson, \{Colin E.\} and Knight, \{Jeff R.\} and O'Connor, \{Fiona M.\} and Philip Stier and Gunnar Myhre and Steven Platnick and Stephens, \{Graeme L.\} and Hanii Takahashi and Thorvaldur Thordarson",

year = "2017",

month = jun,

day = "22",

doi = "10.1038/nature22974",

language = "English",

volume = "546",

pages = "485--491",

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Malavelle, FF, Haywood, JM, Jones, A, Gettelman, A, Clarisse, L, Bauduin, S, Allan, RP, Karset, IHH, Kristjánsson, JE, Oreopoulos, L, Cho, N, Lee, D, Bellouin, N, Boucher, O, Grosvenor, DP, Carslaw, KS, Dhomse, S, Mann, GW, Schmidt, A, Coe, H, Hartley, ME, Dalvi, M, Hill, AA, Johnson, BT, Johnson, CE, Knight, JR, O'Connor, FM, Stier, P, Myhre, G, Platnick, S, Stephens, GL, Takahashi, H & Thordarson, T 2017, 'Strong constraints on aerosol-cloud interactions from volcanic eruptions', Nature, vol. 546, no. 7659, pp. 485-491. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22974

TY - JOUR

T1 - Strong constraints on aerosol-cloud interactions from volcanic eruptions

AU - Malavelle, Florent F.

AU - Haywood, Jim M.

AU - Jones, Andy

AU - Gettelman, Andrew

AU - Clarisse, Lieven

AU - Bauduin, Sophie

AU - Allan, Richard P.

AU - Karset, Inger Helene H.

AU - Kristjánsson, Jón Egill

AU - Oreopoulos, Lazaros

AU - Cho, Nayeong

AU - Lee, Dongmin

AU - Bellouin, Nicolas

AU - Boucher, Olivier

AU - Grosvenor, Daniel P.

AU - Carslaw, Ken S.

AU - Dhomse, Sandip

AU - Mann, Graham W.

AU - Schmidt, Anja

AU - Coe, Hugh

AU - Hartley, Margaret E.

AU - Dalvi, Mohit

AU - Hill, Adrian A.

AU - Johnson, Ben T.

AU - Johnson, Colin E.

AU - Knight, Jeff R.

AU - O'Connor, Fiona M.

AU - Stier, Philip

AU - Myhre, Gunnar

AU - Platnick, Steven

AU - Stephens, Graeme L.

AU - Takahashi, Hanii

AU - Thordarson, Thorvaldur

PY - 2017/6/22

Y1 - 2017/6/22

N2 - Aerosols have a potentially large effect on climate, particularly through their interactions with clouds, but the magnitude of this effect is highly uncertain. Large volcanic eruptions produce sulfur dioxide, which in turn produces aerosols; these eruptions thus represent a natural experiment through which to quantify aerosol-cloud interactions. Here we show that the massive 2014-2015 fissure eruption in Holuhraun, Iceland, reduced the size of liquid cloud droplets - consistent with expectations - but had no discernible effect on other cloud properties. The reduction in droplet size led to cloud brightening and global-mean radiative forcing of around -0.2 watts per square metre for September to October 2014. Changes in cloud amount or cloud liquid water path, however, were undetectable, indicating that these indirect effects, and cloud systems in general, are well buffered against aerosol changes. This result will reduce uncertainties in future climate projections, because we are now able to reject results from climate models with an excessive liquid-water-path response.

AB - Aerosols have a potentially large effect on climate, particularly through their interactions with clouds, but the magnitude of this effect is highly uncertain. Large volcanic eruptions produce sulfur dioxide, which in turn produces aerosols; these eruptions thus represent a natural experiment through which to quantify aerosol-cloud interactions. Here we show that the massive 2014-2015 fissure eruption in Holuhraun, Iceland, reduced the size of liquid cloud droplets - consistent with expectations - but had no discernible effect on other cloud properties. The reduction in droplet size led to cloud brightening and global-mean radiative forcing of around -0.2 watts per square metre for September to October 2014. Changes in cloud amount or cloud liquid water path, however, were undetectable, indicating that these indirect effects, and cloud systems in general, are well buffered against aerosol changes. This result will reduce uncertainties in future climate projections, because we are now able to reject results from climate models with an excessive liquid-water-path response.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85021083991

U2 - 10.1038/nature22974

DO - 10.1038/nature22974

M3 - Article

C2 - 28640263

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 546

SP - 485

EP - 491

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 7659

ER -

Strong constraints on aerosol-cloud interactions from volcanic eruptions

Abstract

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