scholarly journals Volcanic climate impacts can act as ultimate and proximate causes of Chinese dynastic collapse

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaochao Gao ◽  
Francis Ludlow ◽  
John A. Matthews ◽  
Alexander R. Stine ◽  
Alan Robock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Explosive Volcanism ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Population Loss ◽  
Ultimate Cause ◽  
External Driver ◽  
Rapid Restoration ◽  
Proximate Causes

AbstractState or societal collapses are often described as featuring rapid reductions in socioeconomic complexity, population loss or displacement, and/or political discontinuity, with climate thought to contribute mainly by disrupting a society’s agroecological base. Here we use a state-of-the-art multi-ice-core reconstruction of explosive volcanism, representing the dominant global external driver of severe short-term climatic change, to reveal a systematic association between eruptions and dynastic collapse across two millennia of Chinese history. We next employ a 1,062-year reconstruction of Chinese warfare as a proxy for political and socioeconomic stress to reveal the dynamic role of volcanic climatic shocks in collapse. We find that smaller shocks may act as the ultimate cause of collapse at times of high pre-existing stress, whereas larger shocks may act with greater independence as proximate causes without substantial observed pre-existing stress. We further show that post-collapse warfare tends to diminish rapidly, such that collapse itself may act as an evolved adaptation tied to the influential “mandate of heaven” concept in which successive dynasties could claim legitimacy as divinely sanctioned mandate holders, facilitating a more rapid restoration of social order.

Tephra in the Greenland Ice cores: Insights into Icelandic volcano-climate impacts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imogen Gabriel ◽  
Gill Plunkett ◽  
Peter Abbott ◽  
Bergrún Óladóttir ◽  
Joseph McConnell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Geochemical Analysis ◽  
Volcanic Events ◽  
Societal Impacts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ice Core Records

<p>Volcanic eruptions are considered as one of the primary natural drivers for changes in the global climate system and understanding the impact of past eruptions on the climate is integral to adopt appropriate responses towards future volcanic eruptions.</p><p>The Greenland ice core records are dominated by Icelandic eruptions, with several volcanic systems (Katla, Hekla, Bárðarbunga-Veiðivötn and Grimsvötn) being highly active throughout the Holocene. A notable period of increased Icelandic volcanic activity occurred between 500-1250 AD and coincided with climatic changes in the North Atlantic region which may have facilitated the Viking settlement of Greenland and Iceland. However, a number of these volcanic events are poorly constrained (duration and magnitude). Consequently, the Greenland ice cores offer the opportunity to reliably reconstruct past Icelandic volcanism (duration, magnitude and frequency) due to their high-resolution, the proximity of Iceland to Greenland and subsequent increased likelihood of volcanic fallout deposits (tephra particles and sulphur aerosols) being preserved. However, both the high frequency of eruptions between 500-1250 AD and the geochemical similarity of Iceland’s volcanic centres present challenges in making the required robust geochemical correlations between the source volcano and the ice core records and ultimately reliably assessing the climatic-societal impacts of these eruptions.</p><p>To address this, we use two Greenland ice core records (TUNU2013 and B19) and undertake geochemical analysis on tephra from the volcanic events in the selected time window which have been detected and sampled using novel techniques (insoluble particle peaks and sulphur acidity peaks). Further geochemical analysis of proximal material enables robust correlations to be made between the events in the ice core records and their volcanic centres. The high-resolution of these polar archives provides a precise age for the event and when utilised alongside other proxies (i.e. sulphur aerosols), both the duration and magnitude of these eruptions can be constrained, and the climatic-societal impacts of these eruptions reliably assessed.</p>

Chapter 6.2 Englacial tephras of East Antarctica

2021 ◽  
pp. M55-2018-86
Author(s):  
Biancamaria Narcisi ◽  
Jean Robert Petit
Keyword(s):  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Explosive Volcanism ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Antarctic Continent ◽  
South Sandwich Islands ◽  
Eastern Periphery ◽  
Age Range

AbstractDriven by successful achievements in recovering high-resolution ice records of climate and atmospheric composition through the Late Quaternary, new ice–tephra sequences from various sites of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) have been studied in the last two decades spanning an age range of a few centuries to 800 kyr. The tephrostratigraphic framework for the inner EAIS, based on ash occurrence in three multi-kilometre-deep ice cores, shows that the South Sandwich Islands represent a major source for tephra, highlighting the major role in the ash dispersal played by clockwise circum-Antarctic atmospheric circulation penetrating the Antarctic continent. Tephra records from the eastern periphery of the EAIS, however, are obviously influenced by explosive activity sourced in nearby Antarctic rift provinces. These tephra inventories have provided a fundamental complement to the near-vent volcanic record, in terms of both frequency/chronology of explosive volcanism and of magma chemical evolution through time. Despite recent progress, current data are still sparse. There is a need for further tephra studies to collect data from unexplored EAIS sectors, along with extending the tephra inventory back in time. Ongoing international palaeoclimatic initiatives of ice-core drilling could represent a significant motivation for the tephra community and for Quaternary Antarctic volcanologists.

scholarly journals WAIS Divide ice core suggests sustained changes in the atmospheric formation pathways of sulfate and nitrate since the 19th century in the extratropical Southern Hemisphere

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 5749-5769 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. D. Sofen ◽  
B. Alexander ◽  
E. J. Steig ◽  
M. H. Thiemens ◽  
S. A. Kunasek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Mole Fraction ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Marine Boundary Layer ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Early 19Th Century ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Sulfate Formation

Abstract. The 17O excess (Δ17O = δ17O−0.52 × δ18O) of sulfate and nitrate reflects the relative importance of their different production pathways in the atmosphere. A new record of sulfate and nitrate Δ17O spanning the last 2400 years from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide ice core project shows significant changes in both sulfate and nitrate Δ17O in the most recent 200 years, indicating changes in their formation pathways. The sulfate Δ17O record exhibits a 1.1 ‰ increase in the early 19th century from (2.4 ± 0.2) ‰ to (3.5 ± 0.2) ‰, which suggests that an additional 12–18% of sulfate formation occurs via aqueous-phase production by O3, relative to that in the gas phase. Nitrate Δ17O gradually decreases over the whole record, with a more rapid decrease between the mid-19th century and the present day of 5.6 ‰, indicating an increasing importance of RO2 in NOx cycling between the mid-19th century and the present day in the mid- to high-latitude Southern Hemisphere. The former has implications for the climate impacts of sulfate aerosol, while the latter has implications for the tropospheric O3 production rate in remote low-NOx environments. Using other ice core observations, we rule out drivers for these changes other than variability in extratropical oxidant (OH, O3, RO2, H2O2, and reactive halogens) concentrations. However, assuming OH, H2O2, and O3 are the main oxidants contributing to sulfate formation, Monte Carlo box model simulations require a large (≥ 260%) increase in the O3 / OH mole fraction ratio over the Southern Ocean in the early 19th century to match the sulfate Δ17O record. This unlikely scenario points to a~deficiency in our understanding of sulfur chemistry and suggests other oxidants may play an important role in sulfate formation in the mid- to high-latitude marine boundary layer. The observed decrease in nitrate Δ17O since the mid-19th century is most likely due to an increased importance of RO2 over O3 in NOx cycling and can be explained by a 60–90% decrease in the O3 / RO2 mole fraction ratio in the extratropical Southern Hemisphere NOx-source regions.

scholarly journals Observations of a stratospheric aerosol veil from a tropical volcanic eruption in December 1808: is this the "Unknown" ~1809 eruption?

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1901-1932
Author(s):  
A. Guevara-Murua ◽  
C. A. Williams ◽  
E. J. Hendy ◽  
A. C. Rust ◽  
K. V. Cashman
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Volcanic Eruption ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Stratospheric Aerosol ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Atmospheric Effects ◽  
Optical Effects ◽  
Volcanic Aerosols ◽  
Meteorological Observations ◽  
The City

Abstract. The "Unknown" eruption of 1808/1809 was the second most explosive SO2-rich volcanic eruption in the last two centuries, only eclipsed by the cataclysmic VEI 7 Tambora eruption in April 1815. However, no eyewitness accounts of the event, and therefore its location, or the atmospheric optical effects associated with its aerosols have been documented from historical records. Here we report on two meteorological observations dating from the end of 1808 that describe phenomena we attribute to volcanic-induced atmospheric effects caused by the Unknown eruption. The observations were made by two highly respected Latin American scientists. The first, Francisco José de Caldas, describes a stratospheric aerosol haze, a "transparent cloud that obstructs the sun's brilliance", that was visible over the city of Bogotá, Colombia, from 11 December 1808 to at least mid-February 1809. The second, made by physician José Hipólito Unanue in Lima, Peru, describes sunset after-glows (akin to well-documented examples known to be caused by stratospheric volcanic aerosols) from mid-December 1808 to February 1809. These two accounts provide direct evidence of a persistent stratospheric aerosol veil that spanned at least 2600 km into both Northern and Southern Hemispheres and establish that the source was a tropical volcano. Moreover, these observations confirm that the Unknown eruption, previously identified and tentatively assigned to February 1809 (±4 months) from analysis of ice core sulphate records, occurred in late November or early December 1808 (4 December 1808 ± 7 days). This date has important implications for the associated hemispheric climate impacts and temporal pattern of aerosol dispersal.

scholarly journals A 4100-year record of explosive volcanism from an East Antarctica ice core

2000 ◽  
Vol 105 (D19) ◽  
pp. 24431-24441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jihong Cole-Dai ◽  
Ellen Mosley-Thompson ◽  
Shawn P. Wight ◽  
Lonnie G. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Explosive Volcanism ◽  
East Antarctica

A 110,000-Yr Record of Explosive Volcanism from the GISP2 (Greenland) Ice Core

1996 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Zielinski ◽  
Paul A. Mayewski ◽  
L. David Meeker ◽  
S. Whitlow ◽  
Mark S. Twickler
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Explosive Volcanism ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
Last Deglaciation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Circulation Patterns ◽  
Second Period ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractThe time series of volcanically produced sulfate from the GISP2 ice core is used to develop a continuous record of explosive volcanism over the past 110,000 yr. We identified ∼850 volcanic signals (700 of these from 110,000 to 9000 yr ago) with sulfate concentrations greater than that associated with historical eruptions from either equatorial or mid-latitude regions that are known to have perturbed global or Northern Hemisphere climate, respectively. This number is a minimum because decreasing sampling resolution with depth, source volcano location, variable circulation patterns at the time of the eruption, and post-depositional modification of the signal can result in an incomplete record. The largest and most abundant volcanic signals over the past 110,000 yr, even after accounting for lower sampling resolution in the earlier part of the record, occur between 17,000 and 6000 yr ago, during and following the last deglaciation. A second period of enhanced volcanism occurs 35,000–22,000 yr ago, leading up to and during the last glacial maximum. These findings further support a possible climate-forcing component in volcanism. Increased volcanism often occurs during stadial/interstadial transitions within the last glaciation, but this is not consistent over the entire cycle. Ages for some of the largest known eruptions 100,000–9000 yr ago closely correspond to individual sulfate peaks or groups of peaks in our record.

Volcanic Impacts on Climate and Society in First Millennium BCE Babylonia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Ludlow ◽  
Conor Kostick ◽  
Rhonda McGovern ◽  
Laura Farrelly
Keyword(s):  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Explosive Volcanism ◽  
Cold Weather ◽  
Climate Modelling ◽  
Crop Failure ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
The Government

<p>This paper capitalizes upon the recent availability of much-improved ice-core chronologies of explosive volcanism for the first millennium BCE in combination with the remarkable record of meteorological data preserved in Babylonian astronomical diaries, written on cuneiform tablets spanning 652-61BC and now housed in the British Museum. These diaries comprise systematic economic data on agricultural prices, weather observations at an hourly resolution, river heights for the Euphrates and other phenomena. Our initial results reveal strong correspondences between multiple previously unrecognized accounts of solar dimming, extreme cold weather and major ice-core volcanic signals. We also observe anomalously high spring floods of the Euphrates at Babylon, following major tropical eruptions, which is consistent with climate modelling of anomalously elevated winter precipitation in the headwaters of the Euphrates and Tigris in northeastern Turkey. With the astronomical diaries also providing systematic meteorological information (unparalleled in resolution and scope until at least the Early Modern period) ranging from wind direction and intensity, to the level of cloud cover and references to atmospheric clarity (clear vs. dusty skies), to the general conditions (temperature and precipitation) for all seasons, these sources can in combination with natural archives such as ice-cores open an unprecedented window into the Middle Eastern climate of the first millennium BCE.</p><p>Nor are these or other written sources from the region silent on the societal consequences of extreme weather and other climatic shocks. We will thus finish our paper with a brief case study of responses to the climatic impacts of explosive volcanism during the reign of Esarhaddon, ruler of Assyria, who's reign from 672 BCE suddenly became a troubled one. Contemporary prophecies indicated a loss of cattle, the failure of dates and sesame and the arrival of locusts. Such prophecies were often descriptions of events already occurring and along with predictions dated to 671 of 'darkness in the land', crop failure and famine, there is definite evidence that Esarhaddon resorted to the ritual of placing a substitute (sacrificial) ruler on the throne for 100 days. This did not, however, resolve the dangers perceived by the Assyrian ruler and he repeated the ritual in 670, along with apotropaic rituals against malaria and plague. That year, nevertheless, saw revolt. Herdsmen refused to supply oxen and sheep to the government officials, who could not travel the land without armed escort. Regional governors appropriated revenues and construction workers halted brick production. Esarhaddon acted decisively in late 670, early 669, executing a large number of rebellious Assyrian nobles. 669 and 668 remained troubled, however, with prophecies of locusts and plague among cattle and humans, while in 667 Egypt revolted against Assyria in the context of possible shortages of barely and straw.</p><p>This paper is a contribution to the Irish Research Council-funded “Climates of Conflict in Ancient Babylonia” (CLICAB) project.</p>

scholarly journals Synchronous volcanic eruptions and abrupt climate change ∼17.7 ka plausibly linked by stratospheric ozone depletion

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (38) ◽  
pp. 10035-10040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R. McConnell ◽  
Andrea Burke ◽  
Nelia W. Dunbar ◽  
Peter Köhler ◽  
Jennie L. Thomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
West Antarctic

Glacial-state greenhouse gas concentrations and Southern Hemisphere climate conditions persisted until ∼17.7 ka, when a nearly synchronous acceleration in deglaciation was recorded in paleoclimate proxies in large parts of the Southern Hemisphere, with many changes ascribed to a sudden poleward shift in the Southern Hemisphere westerlies and subsequent climate impacts. We used high-resolution chemical measurements in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide, Byrd, and other ice cores to document a unique, ∼192-y series of halogen-rich volcanic eruptions exactly at the start of accelerated deglaciation, with tephra identifying the nearby Mount Takahe volcano as the source. Extensive fallout from these massive eruptions has been found >2,800 km from Mount Takahe. Sulfur isotope anomalies and marked decreases in ice core bromine consistent with increased surface UV radiation indicate that the eruptions led to stratospheric ozone depletion. Rather than a highly improbable coincidence, circulation and climate changes extending from the Antarctic Peninsula to the subtropics—similar to those associated with modern stratospheric ozone depletion over Antarctica—plausibly link the Mount Takahe eruptions to the onset of accelerated Southern Hemisphere deglaciation ∼17.7 ka.

scholarly journals Advection and non-climate impacts on the South Pole Ice Core

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 819-832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler J. Fudge ◽  
David A. Lilien ◽  
Michelle Koutnik ◽  
Howard Conway ◽  
C. Max Stevens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Lapse Rate ◽  
South Pole ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
The South ◽  
The Core ◽  
Core Site ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The South Pole Ice Core (SPICEcore), which spans the past 54 300 years, was drilled far from an ice divide such that ice recovered at depth originated upstream of the core site. If the climate is different upstream, the climate history recovered from the core will be a combination of the upstream conditions advected to the core site and temporal changes. Here, we evaluate the impact of ice advection on two fundamental records from SPICEcore: accumulation rate and water isotopes. We determined past locations of ice deposition based on GPS measurements of the modern velocity field spanning 100 km upstream, where ice of ∼20 ka age would likely have originated. Beyond 100 km, there are no velocity measurements, but ice likely originates from Titan Dome, an additional 90 km distant. Shallow radar measurements extending 100 km upstream from the core site reveal large (∼20 %) variations in accumulation but no significant trend. Water isotope ratios, measured at 12.5 km intervals for the first 100 km of the flowline, show a decrease with elevation of −0.008 ‰ m−1 for δ18O. Advection adds approximately 1 ‰ for δ18O to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)-to-modern change. We also use an existing ensemble of continental ice-sheet model runs to assess the ice-sheet elevation change through time. The magnitude of elevation change is likely small and the sign uncertain. Assuming a lapse rate of 10 ∘C km−1 of elevation, the inference of LGM-to-modern temperature change is ∼1.4 ∘C smaller than if the flow from upstream is not considered.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document