Contribution
The Research Unit VolImpact: Revisiting the volcanic impact on atmosphere and climate – preparations for the next big volcanic eruption
von Savigny, Christian; Timmreck, Claudia; Buehler, Stefan A.; Burrows, John P.; Giorgetta, Marco; Hegerl, Gabriele; Horvath, Akos; Hoshyaripour, Gholam Ali; Hoose, Corinna; Quaas, Johannes; Malinina, Elizaveta; Rozanov, Alexei; Schmidt, Hauke; Thomason, Larry; Toohey, Matthew; Vogel, Bernhard
Meteorologische Zeitschrift Vol. 29 No. 1 (2020), p. 3 - 18
97 références bibliographiques
publié: Apr 7, 2020
publication en ligne: Feb 6, 2020
manuscrit accepté: Nov 11, 2019
revision du manuscrit reçu: Nov 10, 2019
révision du manuscrit demandée: Oct 22, 2019
manuscrit reçu: Sep 12, 2019
Open Access (article peut être télechargé gratuitement)
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the scientific background and the research objectives of the Research Unit “VolImpact” (Revisiting the volcanic impact on atmosphere and climate – preparations for the next big volcanic eruption, FOR 2820). VolImpact was recently funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and started in spring 2019. The main goal of the research unit is to improve our understanding of how the climate system responds to volcanic eruptions. Such an ambitious program is well beyond the capabilities of a single research group, as it requires expertise from complementary disciplines including aerosol microphysical modelling, cloud physics, climate modelling, global observations of trace gas species, clouds and stratospheric aerosols. The research goals will be achieved by building on important recent advances in modelling and measurement capabilities. Examples of the advances in the observations include the now daily near-global observations of multi-spectral aerosol extinction from the limb-scatter instruments OSIRIS, SCIAMACHY and OMPS-LP. In addition, the recently launched SAGE III/ISS and upcoming satellite missions EarthCARE and ALTIUS will provide high resolution observations of aerosols and clouds. Recent improvements in modeling capabilities within the framework of the ICON model family now enable simulations at spatial resolutions fine enough to investigate details of the evolution and dynamics of the volcanic eruptive plume using the large-eddy resolving version, up to volcanic impacts on larger-scale circulation systems in the general circulation model version. When combined with state-of-the-art aerosol and cloud microphysical models, these approaches offer the opportunity to link eruptions directly to their climate forcing. These advances will be exploited in VolImpact to study the effects of volcanic eruptions consistently over the full range of spatial and temporal scales involved, addressing the initial development of explosive eruption plumes (project VolPlume), the variation of stratospheric aerosol particle size and radiative forcing caused by volcanic eruptions (VolARC), the response of clouds (VolCloud), the effects of volcanic eruptions on atmospheric dynamics (VolDyn), as well as their climate impact (VolClim).
Mots-clefs
Volcanic effects on the atmosphere • Radiative forcing • Aerosol/cloud interactions • Dynamical effects of volcanic eruptions