Disentangling Volcanic and ENSO-Related Hydroclimate Impacts

Co-Author: Samantha Stevenson

Periods of abnormally wet and dry conditions are known to recur during the last millennium from paleoclimate archives, and have been shown to relate to both volcanic eruptions and to the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). But ENSO also is affected by volcanic activity, making it difficult to attribute hydroclimate impacts to one or the other.

We are using the Last Millennium Ensemble to investigate the contributions of volcanic eruptions and ENSO to drought and pluvial conditions in a variety of drought-sensitive regions, and to determine when influences are significant against the background of internal variability.