The 1600 CE Huaynaputina eruption as a possible trigger for persistent cooling in the North Atlantic region
By White S, Moreno-Chamarro E, Zanchettin D, Huhtamaa H, Degroot D, Stoffel M and Corona C.
Major tropical volcanic eruptions can provide a significant short-term impact on the global climate system. One of the largest such eruptions of the last 1000 years was the 1600 CE eruption of Huaynaputina in Peru, which has been linked to a widely recorded environmental and climatic deterioration recorded in tree-rings and other annually resolved natural archives, as well as documentary accounts.
White et al investigate whether these records provide support for climate modelling studies that have suggested that the eruption provoked changes in the North Atlantic ocean, resulting in long-term cooling in this region that persisted long after the eruption ended.
This study is a product of the PAGES-VICS and PAGES-CRIAS working groups.
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