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Updated: Dec 9, 2025
07:58
Data Processing Methods for 3D Seismic Imaging of Subsurface Volcanoes: Applications to the Tarim Flood Basalt
Published on: August 7, 2017
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Comment on "No consistent ENSO response to volcanic forcing over the last millennium"
1Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|September 11, 2020
Summary
Large volcanic eruptions do not negate El Niño events. Instead, volcanic cooling masks the warming effects characteristic of El Niño, making the response undetectable.
Area of Science:
- Climate Science
- Volcanology
- Oceanography
Background:
- The relationship between volcanic eruptions and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is debated.
- Previous studies suggested large volcanic eruptions do not produce a detectable El Niño response.
Purpose of the Study:
- To re-evaluate the impact of large volcanic eruptions on El Niño detection.
- To address the masking effect of volcanic cooling on El Niño-induced warming.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of climate data considering volcanic forcing.
- Comparison of surface temperature anomalies during volcanic events and El Niño periods.
Main Results:
- Large volcanic eruptions cause significant global surface cooling.
- This cooling effect masks the relative warming associated with El Niño events.
- El Niño responses to volcanic eruptions are therefore underestimated or undetected.
Conclusions:
- The conclusion that large volcanic eruptions do not produce a detectable El Niño response is flawed.
- Volcanic cooling fundamentally alters the observable signature of El Niño.
- A revised understanding of volcanic-ENSO interactions is necessary.
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