Articles | Volume 17, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1455-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1455-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
13 Jul 2021
Research article |
| 13 Jul 2021
| 13 Jul 2021
The unidentified eruption of 1809: a climatic cold case
Claudia Timmreck
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
The Atmosphere in the Earth System, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Bundesstr. 53, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
Matthew Toohey
Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Davide Zanchettin
Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, University Ca' Foscari of Venice, Mestre, Italy
Stefan Brönnimann
Institute of Geography Climatology and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Elin Lundstad
Institute of Geography Climatology and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Rob Wilson
School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, United Kingdom
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Cited
27 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Volcanic Eruptions: A Source of Irreducible Uncertainty for Future Climates D. Zanchettin 10.1029/2023GL105482
- The global historical climate database HCLIM E. Lundstad et al. 10.1038/s41597-022-01919-w
- High-frequency climate forcing causes prolonged cold periods in the Holocene E. van Dijk et al. 10.1038/s43247-024-01380-0
- A Spatiotemporal Assessment of Extreme Cold in Northwestern North America Following the Unidentified 1809 CE Volcanic Eruption C. Leland et al. 10.1029/2022PA004581
- A 561-yr (1461-2022 CE) summer temperature reconstruction for Mid-Atlantic-Northeast USA shows connections to volcanic forcing and atmospheric circulation G. Harley et al. 10.1007/s10584-024-03798-z
- Tree-ring blue-intensity reconstruction of the April–September maximum temperature in the Greater Caucasus region of Georgia since 1780 CE Z. Bakhtiyorov et al. 10.1007/s00484-025-02930-7
- Do Southern Hemisphere tree rings record past volcanic events? A case study from New Zealand P. Higgins et al. 10.5194/cp-18-1169-2022
- The 1831 CE mystery eruption identified as Zavaritskii caldera, Simushir Island (Kurils) W. Hutchison et al. 10.1073/pnas.2416699122
- The 852/3 CE Mount Churchill eruption: examining the potential climatic and societal impacts and the timing of the Medieval Climate Anomaly in the North Atlantic region H. Mackay et al. 10.5194/cp-18-1475-2022
- Extended North Atlantic Oscillation and Greenland Blocking Indices 1800–2020 from New Meteorological Reanalysis E. Hanna et al. 10.3390/atmos13030436
- Utilising a multi-proxy to model comparison to constrain the season and regionally heterogeneous impacts of the Mt Samalas 1257 eruption L. Wainman et al. 10.5194/cp-20-951-2024
- On the additivity of climate responses to the volcanic and solar forcing in the early 19th century S. Fang et al. 10.5194/esd-13-1535-2022
- The Contributions of Marine Sediment Cores to Volcanic Hazard Assessments: Present Examples and Future Perspectives C. Satow et al. 10.3390/geosciences13040124
- Climatic, weather, and socio-economic conditions corresponding to the mid-17th-century eruption cluster M. Stoffel et al. 10.5194/cp-18-1083-2022
- Datation dendrochronologique des maxima du Petit Âge Glaciaire des glaciers d’Arolla (Valais, Suisse) M. Le Roy et al. 10.4000/rga.12129
- Last-millennium volcanic forcing and climate response using SO2 emissions L. Marshall et al. 10.5194/cp-21-161-2025
- Tree-ring Dating of the Little Ice Age Maxima of Arolla Glaciers (Valais, Switzerland) M. Le Roy et al. 10.4000/rga.12170
- Effects of forcing differences and initial conditions on inter-model agreement in the VolMIP volc-pinatubo-full experiment D. Zanchettin et al. 10.5194/gmd-15-2265-2022
- The significance of volcanic ash in Greenland ice cores during the Common Era G. Plunkett et al. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107936
- Tree-Ring Analysis of Red Spruce Timbers from the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, White Mountains, New Hampshire W. Oswald et al. 10.3959/TRR2023-7
- The evolution of Arctic permafrost over the last 3 centuries from ensemble simulations with the CryoGridLite permafrost model M. Langer et al. 10.5194/tc-18-363-2024
- Was there a volcanic-induced long-lasting cooling over the Northern Hemisphere in the mid-6th–7th century? E. van Dijk et al. 10.5194/cp-18-1601-2022
- Challenges in detecting volcanic forcing in climate and societal proxies: insights from the 1170/1171 CE eruption S. Guillet et al. 10.1007/s10584-025-03867-x
- The Role of Small to Moderate Volcanic Eruptions in the Early 19th Century Climate S. Fang et al. 10.1029/2023GL105307
- June–September mean temperature variability in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau over the past 225 years based on high quality tree-ring records X. Li et al. 10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113253
- Impact of the Tambora volcanic eruption of 1815 on islands and relevance to future sunlight-blocking catastrophes N. Wilson et al. 10.1038/s41598-023-30729-2
- PalVol v1: a proxy-based semi-stochastic ensemble reconstruction of volcanic stratospheric sulfur injection for the last glacial cycle (140 000–50 BP) J. Schindlbeck-Belo et al. 10.5194/essd-16-1063-2024
27 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Volcanic Eruptions: A Source of Irreducible Uncertainty for Future Climates D. Zanchettin 10.1029/2023GL105482
- The global historical climate database HCLIM E. Lundstad et al. 10.1038/s41597-022-01919-w
- High-frequency climate forcing causes prolonged cold periods in the Holocene E. van Dijk et al. 10.1038/s43247-024-01380-0
- A Spatiotemporal Assessment of Extreme Cold in Northwestern North America Following the Unidentified 1809 CE Volcanic Eruption C. Leland et al. 10.1029/2022PA004581
- A 561-yr (1461-2022 CE) summer temperature reconstruction for Mid-Atlantic-Northeast USA shows connections to volcanic forcing and atmospheric circulation G. Harley et al. 10.1007/s10584-024-03798-z
- Tree-ring blue-intensity reconstruction of the April–September maximum temperature in the Greater Caucasus region of Georgia since 1780 CE Z. Bakhtiyorov et al. 10.1007/s00484-025-02930-7
- Do Southern Hemisphere tree rings record past volcanic events? A case study from New Zealand P. Higgins et al. 10.5194/cp-18-1169-2022
- The 1831 CE mystery eruption identified as Zavaritskii caldera, Simushir Island (Kurils) W. Hutchison et al. 10.1073/pnas.2416699122
- The 852/3 CE Mount Churchill eruption: examining the potential climatic and societal impacts and the timing of the Medieval Climate Anomaly in the North Atlantic region H. Mackay et al. 10.5194/cp-18-1475-2022
- Extended North Atlantic Oscillation and Greenland Blocking Indices 1800–2020 from New Meteorological Reanalysis E. Hanna et al. 10.3390/atmos13030436
- Utilising a multi-proxy to model comparison to constrain the season and regionally heterogeneous impacts of the Mt Samalas 1257 eruption L. Wainman et al. 10.5194/cp-20-951-2024
- On the additivity of climate responses to the volcanic and solar forcing in the early 19th century S. Fang et al. 10.5194/esd-13-1535-2022
- The Contributions of Marine Sediment Cores to Volcanic Hazard Assessments: Present Examples and Future Perspectives C. Satow et al. 10.3390/geosciences13040124
- Climatic, weather, and socio-economic conditions corresponding to the mid-17th-century eruption cluster M. Stoffel et al. 10.5194/cp-18-1083-2022
- Datation dendrochronologique des maxima du Petit Âge Glaciaire des glaciers d’Arolla (Valais, Suisse) M. Le Roy et al. 10.4000/rga.12129
- Last-millennium volcanic forcing and climate response using SO2 emissions L. Marshall et al. 10.5194/cp-21-161-2025
- Tree-ring Dating of the Little Ice Age Maxima of Arolla Glaciers (Valais, Switzerland) M. Le Roy et al. 10.4000/rga.12170
- Effects of forcing differences and initial conditions on inter-model agreement in the VolMIP volc-pinatubo-full experiment D. Zanchettin et al. 10.5194/gmd-15-2265-2022
- The significance of volcanic ash in Greenland ice cores during the Common Era G. Plunkett et al. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107936
- Tree-Ring Analysis of Red Spruce Timbers from the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, White Mountains, New Hampshire W. Oswald et al. 10.3959/TRR2023-7
- The evolution of Arctic permafrost over the last 3 centuries from ensemble simulations with the CryoGridLite permafrost model M. Langer et al. 10.5194/tc-18-363-2024
- Was there a volcanic-induced long-lasting cooling over the Northern Hemisphere in the mid-6th–7th century? E. van Dijk et al. 10.5194/cp-18-1601-2022
- Challenges in detecting volcanic forcing in climate and societal proxies: insights from the 1170/1171 CE eruption S. Guillet et al. 10.1007/s10584-025-03867-x
- The Role of Small to Moderate Volcanic Eruptions in the Early 19th Century Climate S. Fang et al. 10.1029/2023GL105307
- June–September mean temperature variability in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau over the past 225 years based on high quality tree-ring records X. Li et al. 10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113253
- Impact of the Tambora volcanic eruption of 1815 on islands and relevance to future sunlight-blocking catastrophes N. Wilson et al. 10.1038/s41598-023-30729-2
- PalVol v1: a proxy-based semi-stochastic ensemble reconstruction of volcanic stratospheric sulfur injection for the last glacial cycle (140 000–50 BP) J. Schindlbeck-Belo et al. 10.5194/essd-16-1063-2024
Latest update: 15 Oct 2025
Short summary
The 1809 eruption is one of the most recent unidentified volcanic eruptions with a global climate impact. We demonstrate that climate model simulations of the 1809 eruption show generally good agreement with many large-scale temperature reconstructions and early instrumental records for a range of radiative forcing estimates. In terms of explaining the spatially heterogeneous and temporally delayed Northern Hemisphere cooling suggested by tree-ring networks, the investigation remains open.
The 1809 eruption is one of the most recent unidentified volcanic eruptions with a global...
