Articles | Volume 14, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-969-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-969-2018
Research article
 | 
04 Jul 2018
Research article |  | 04 Jul 2018

Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly

James U. L. Baldini, Richard J. Brown, and Natasha Mawdsley

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Cited articles

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Arce, J. L., Macias, J. L., and Vazquez-Selem, L.: The 10.5 ka Plinian eruption of Nevado de Toluca volcano, Mexico: Stratigraphy and hazard implications, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 115, 230–248, 2003. 
Asmerom, Y., Polyak, V. J., and Burns, S. J.: Variable winter moisture in the southwestern United States linked to rapid glacial climate shifts, Nat. Geosci., 3, 114–117, https://doi.org/10.1038/Ngeo754, 2010. 
Baales, M., Joris, O., Street, M., Bittmann, F., Weninger, B., and Wiethold, J.: Impact of the late glacial eruption of the Laacher See volcano, Central Rhineland, Germany, Quaternary Res., 58, 273–288, https://doi.org/10.1006/qres.2002.2379, 2002. 
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Short summary
The Younger Dryas occurred ~13 ka BP and is an iconic millennial-scale climate anomaly. However, the cause of the event is still ambiguous. Here, we propose that the event was triggered by a large, sulfur-rich eruption of the Laacher See volcano (Germany). The eruption's direct (sulfate aerosol-induced) cooling effects lasted less than 5 years, and we suggest these were amplified and extended by a sea-ice–ocean circulation positive feedback, leading to the event's characteristic features.