Volcanic eruption signatures in the Isotope-Enabled Last Millennium Ensemble

Monsoon Asia and Australia also exhibit strong precipitation and soil δ18O anomalies; in these cases, δ18O may reflect changes to El Niño-Southern Oscillation phase following eruptions. Salinity and seawater δ18O patterns demonstrate the importance of both local hydrologic shifts and the phasing of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation response, both along the equator and in the subtropics. In all cases, the responses are highly sensitive to eruption latitude, which points to the utility of isotopic records in constraining aerosol distribution patterns associated with past eruptions.

This is most effective using precipitation δ18O; all Southern eruptions and the majority (66%) of Northern eruptions can be correctly identified. This work thus serves as a starting point for new, quantitative uses of isotopic records for understanding volcanic impacts on climate.