How do Volcanoes Influence our Climate?

Forschung
Acatenango volcano in Guatemala, © Laura Claus
Acatenango volcano in Guatemala, © Laura Claus

The research project VolImpact on the influences of volcanic activities on the atmosphere and the climate is entering a new phase. In March 2022, the German Research Foundation's (DFG) Joint Committee granted a second funding phase for the research group FOR 2820 ‘Revisiting the volcanic impact on atmosphere and climate – preparations for the next big volcanic eruption’ (VolImpact). Researchers from the Universities of Bremen, Greifswald, Hamburg and Leipzig as well as the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel are working together on the joint project. A total of 3.2 million euros has been granted for the second phase.

Volcanic eruptions are one of the most significant causes of natural climate variations on time scales of a few years and up to a decade. Although research has been looking at volcanic influences on the atmosphere for decades, many fundamental processes are either not or only poorly understood. The research group’s five scientific sub-projects look into topics including the formation of initial volcanic clouds during the first hours and days, the influence of volcanic eruptions on the radiation balance of the atmosphere, the interaction between volcanic aerosols and tropospheric clouds, or the influence on the winds in the middle and upper atmosphere, about which not much is known.

One central aspect of the research group is the synergy between global satellite measurements of relevant atmospheric parameters and the global modelling of volcanic effects with the help of atmospheric and climate models. The use of satellite measurements is largely based on numeric analysis methods that are developed as part of the projects, for example for determining the size of stratospheric volcanic aerosols or the vertical extent of a volcanic cloud. Research activities are mainly limited to volcanic eruptions in the last four decades for which satellite measurements are available. It is not only the more powerful volcanic eruptions, such as that of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, that are of interest. The small and moderate outbreaks of the past 20 years also provide important examples for case studies and make it possible to verify the quality of model simulations.

The DFG research group VolImpact contributes to a better understanding of fundamental physical and chemical processes of volcanic eruptions on the atmosphere and climate and helps to optimise various kinds of modelling and observation for future volcanic eruptions.

Further information
VolImpact

Contact at the University of Greifswald
Prof. Dr. Christian von Savigny
Institute of Physics | Environmental Physics
Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 6, 17489 Greifswald
Tel.: +49 3834 420 4720
csavignyphysik.uni-greifswaldde

Back