Volcanic imprint in the North Atlantic climate variability as recorded by stable water isotopes of Greenland ice cores

Abstract. Volcanic eruptions are important drivers of climate variability on both seasonal and multi-decadal time scales as a result of atmosphere-ocean coupling. While the direct response after equatorial eruptions emerges as the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation in the first two years after an eruption, less is known about high latitude northern hemisphere eruptions. In this study we assess the difference between equatorial and high latitude volcanic eruptions through the reconstructed atmospheric circulation and stable water isotope records of Greenland ice cores for the last millennia (1241–1979 CE), where the coupling mechanism behind the long-term response is addressed. The atmospheric circulation is studied through the four main modes of climate variability in the North Atlantic, the Atlanti Ridge (AtR), Scandinavian Blocking (ScB) and the positive and negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO+/NAO−). We report a difference in the atmospheric circulation response after equatorial eruptions compared to the response after high latitude eruptions, where NAO+ and AtR seem to be more associated with equatorial eruptions while NAO- and ScB seems to follow high latitude eruptions. This response is present during the first five years and then again in years 8–12 after both equatorial and high latitude eruptions. Such a prolonged response is evidence of an ocean-atmosphere coupling that is initiated through different mechanisms, where we suspect sea ice to play a key role.