A new study from the University of Copenhagen suggests that volcanic eruptions during the Ice Age may have caused abrupt climate changes by disrupting the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), often called Northern Europe’s radiator. The research indicates that large eruptions near the equator could weaken or collapse this ocean current, leading to drastic temperature swings for thousands of years.
Using ice core data combined with hundreds of climate models, the international research team, including scientists from Norway, Switzerland, and Taiwan, demonstrated how volcanic sulphur and dust emissions set off a chain reaction—enhancing sea ice, altering ocean salinity, and disrupting the AMOC’s heat transport.
Lead author Guido Vettoretti and last author Professor Markus Jochum from the Niels Bohr Institute note that these findings help explain past sudden climate events, such as the Dansgaard-Oeschger events during the last Ice Age, and provide insights into how the AMOC might respond under future climate stressors, including global warming.
The study has been published in Science.
Source: University of Copenhagen
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