Strong link between large tropical volcanic eruptions and severe droughts prior to monsoon in the central Himalayas revealed by tree-ring records

Eryuan Liang; Binod Dawadi; Neil Pederson; Shilong Piao; Haifeng Zhu; Shalik Ram Sigdel; Deliang Chen

doi:10.1016/j.scib.2019.05.002

Strong link between large tropical volcanic eruptions and severe droughts prior to monsoon in the central Himalayas revealed by tree-ring records

Sci Bull (Beijing). 2019 Jul 30;64(14):1018-1023. doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2019.05.002. Epub 2019 May 10.

Authors

Eryuan Liang¹, Binod Dawadi², Neil Pederson³, Shilong Piao⁴, Haifeng Zhu⁵, Shalik Ram Sigdel⁶, Deliang Chen⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: liangey@itpcas.ac.cn.
² Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
³ Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Petersham, MA 01366, USA.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
⁷ Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Regional Climate Group, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg 40530, Sweden.

PMID: 36659801
DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2019.05.002

Abstract

Large tropical volcanic eruptions can cause short-term global cooling. However, little is known whether large tropical volcanic eruptions, like the one in Tambora/Indonesia in 1815, cause regional hydroclimatic anomalies. Using a tree-ring network of precisely dated Himalayan birch in the central Himalayas, we reconstructed variations in the regional pre-monsoon precipitation back to 1650 CE. A superposed epoch analysis indicates that the pre-monsoon regional droughts are associated with large tropical volcanic eruptions, appearing to have a strong influence on hydroclimatic conditions in the central Himalayas. In fact, the most severe drought since 1650 CE occurred after the Tambora eruption. These results suggest that dry conditions prior to monsoon in the central Himalayas were associated with explosive tropical volcanism. Prolonged La Niña events also correspond with persistent pre-monsoon droughts in the central Himalayas. Our results provide evidence that large tropical volcanic eruptions most likely induced severe droughts prior to monsoon in the central Himalayas.

Keywords: Central Himalayas; Drought; Tree ring; Tropical volcanic eruptions.