Mechanism of stratospheric decadal abrupt cooling in the Early 1990s as influenced by the Pinatubo eruption

Abstract

Studies have suggested that one volcanic eruption can influence seasonal to inter-annual climate variations. This study indicates that the Pinatubo eruption in 1991 may have actually induced the stratospheric decadal cooling recorded in the early 1990s. Using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis and TOMS/SBUV satellite data, a decadal abrupt cooling of stratospheric tropical air temperature was found to have occurred in the early 1990s during a long-term descending trend. We generated the spatio-temporal structures of the decadal abrupt changes (DACs) for the stratosphere, and explored the relationship between the Pinatubo volcano eruption in 1991 and stratospheric DACs in the early 1990s. Our results suggest that the eruption of Pinatubo prompted a decadal decrease of ozone by the activation of nitrate and sulfate volcanic aerosols on ClO free radicals. The stratospheric heat absorbed by ozone decreased over a decadal time scale. As a result, decadal abrupt cooling of stratospheric tropical air temperatures occurred in the early 1990s, and may be attributed to the Pinatubo eruption. The results therefore indicate that one strong volcanic eruption can induce stratospheric decadal climate variation. © 2011 The Author(s).