Introduction
The impact of volcanism on weather and climate is unequivocally documented by temporal correlations in both historical and prehistorical records. Although volcanic events have been traced far back in time, only Quaternary and Holocene records provide the detail and resolution necessary to address many otherwise ambiguous connections. Both observations and modeling suggest inherent relationships among the geosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and atmosphere, setting the stage for various climate responses commonly incorporating complex feedback loop systems and their elusive dependence on proximity to thresholds. Furthermore, both volcanism and climate may trigger secondary phenomena of sometimes catastrophic nature. The cause-and-effect sequence is particularly intriguing, i.e., whether volcanism forces climate or changing climate forces volcanism or if, in fact, either or both can occur in nature. This overview is based on a number of studies that comprehensively address...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Abbott, P. M., and Davies, S. M., 2012. Volcanism and the Greenland ice-cores: the tephra record. Earth-Science Reviews, 115, 173–191.
Cas, R. A. F., and Wright, J. V., 1987. Volcanic Successions – Modern and Ancient. London: Allen & Unwin.
Cashman, K. V., and Sparks, R. S. J., 2013. How volcanoes work: a 25 year perspective. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 125, 664–690.
Coffin, M. F., and Eldholm, O., 1994. Large igneous provinces: crustal structure, dimensions, and external consequences. Reviews of Geophysics, 32, 1–36.
Coffin, M. F., Duncan, R. A., Eldholm, O., Fitton, J. G., Frey, F. A., Larsen, H. C., Mahoney, J. J., Saunders, A. D., Schlich, R., and Wallace, P. J., 2006. Large igneous provinces and scientific ocean drilling: status quo and a look ahead. Oceanography, 19, 150–160.
Eldholm, O., and Thomas, E., 1993. Environmental impact of volcanic margin formation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 117, 319–329.
Gudmundsson, M. T., Pedersen, R., Vogfjörd, K., Thorbjarnardóttir, B., Jakobsdóttir, S., and Roberts, M. J., 2010. Eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, Iceland. Eos, 91, 190–191.
Huybers, P. J., and Langmuir, C., 2009. Feedback between deglaciation, volcanism, and atmospheric CO2. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 286, 479–491.
Kutterolf, S., Jegen, M., Mitrovica, J. X., Kwasnitschka, T., Freundt, A., and Huybers, P. J., 2013. A detection of Milankovitch frequencies in global volcanic activity. Geology, 41, 227–230.
Maclennan, J., Jull, M., McKenzie, D., Slater, L., and Grönvold, K., 2002. The link between volcanism and deglaciation in Iceland. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 3, 1062, doi:10.1029/2001GC000282.
McCormick, M. P., Thomason, L. W., and Trepte, C. R., 1995. Atmospheric effects of the Mt Pinatubo eruption. Nature, 373, 399–404.
McGuire, B., 2012. Waking the Giant. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Oppenheimer, C., 2011. Eruptions that Shook the World. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Rampino, M. R., and Self, S., 1992. Volcanic winter and accelerated glaciation following the Toba super-eruption. Nature, 359, 50–52.
Robock, A., 2000. Volcanic eruptions and climate. Reviews of Geophysics, 38, 191–219.
Robock, A., 2013. The latest on volcanic eruptions and climate. Eos, 94, 305–306.
Schmidt, P., Lund, B., Hieronymus, C., Maclennan, J., Arnadóttir, T., and Pagli, C., 2013. Effects of present-day deglaciation in Iceland on mantle melt production rates. Journal of Geophysical Research, 118, 1–14, doi:10.1002/jgrb50273.
Schmincke, H.-U., 2004. Volcanism. Berlin: Springer.
Self, S., and Rampino, M. R., 1988. The relationship between volcanic eruptions and climate change: still a conundrum? Eos, 69, 74–86.
Self, S., Thordarson, T., and Widdowson, M., 2005. Gas fluxes from flood basalt eruptions. Elements, 1, 283–287.
Sigmundsson, F., Pinel, V., Lund, B., Albino, F., Pagli, C., Geirsson, H., and Sturkell, E., 2010. Climate effects on volcanism: influence on magmatic systems of loading and unloading from ice mass variations, with examples from Iceland. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Series A, 368, 2519–2534.
Sigurdsson, H., 1999. Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions. New York: Oxford University Press.
Storey, M., Duncan, R. A., and Swisher, C. C., 2007. Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum and the opening of the North Atlantic. Science, 316, 587–589.
Stothers, R. B., Wolff, J. A., Self, S., and Rampino, M. R., 1986. Basaltic fissure eruptions, plume heights, and atmospheric aerosols. Geophysical Research Letters, 13, 725–728.
Svensen, H., Planke, S., Malthe-Sørenssen, A., Jamtveit, B., Myklebust, R., Rasmussen Eidem, T., and Rey, S. S., 2004. Release of methane from a volcanic basin as a mechanism for initial Eocene global warming. Nature, 429, 542–545.
Vasey, D. E., 1991. Population, agriculture, and famine: Iceland, 1784–1785. Human Ecology, 19, 323–350.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Eldholm, O., Coffin, M.F. (2016). Volcanism and Climate. In: Harff, J., Meschede, M., Petersen, S., Thiede, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6238-1_97
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6238-1_97
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-6237-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6238-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences