Stratospheric aerosol, volcanic eruptions and climate

平流层气溶胶、火山喷发和气候

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-05420
• 负责人: Toohey, Matthew
• 金额: $ 2.55万
• 依托单位: University of Saskatchewan
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=763202
• 关键词: Stratospheric; aerosol; volcanic; eruptions; climate

Stratospheric aerosol has a significant--and occasionally drastic--impact on Earth's climate. Sitting roughly 15-30 km above the Earth's surface, stratospheric aerosol consists of tiny liquid and solid particles, which scatter and absorb radiation as it passes through the atmosphere. Sudden increases in the amount of stratospheric aerosol--for example due to the injection of sulfur to the stratosphere by large volcanic eruptions--lead to decreases in the intensity of solar radiation reaching the surface and global cooling. In fact, in the pre-industrial era, stratospheric aerosol perturbations produced by large volcanic eruptions were the most important cause of year-to-year global climate variability. Accurate reconstructions of the history of stratospheric aerosol are therefore essential to interpret records of past climate variability and test climate models, which underpin estimates of climate sensitivity and future climate change. My research program aims to advance understanding of stratospheric aerosol and its impacts on Earth's climate. The research program will improve understanding of processes that control the lifecycle of stratospheric aerosol. It will also produce new, improved reconstructions of stratospheric aerosol radiative forcing, building upon new fundamental understanding of the links between the atmosphere and the physical and radiative properties of aerosols. Finally, the research program will improve understanding of the role of stratospheric aerosol in past climate variations, and its potential impacts on future climate. These research objectives will be realized through the development and use of numerical models of aerosols, the atmosphere and climate ranging from simple idealized models to comprehensive coupled models. Model development will be guided by available aerosol observations, including retrievals from satellite- and ground-based instruments, as well as proxy records from polar ice cores and tree rings. The project will have a broad scientific impact, with findings relevant to fundamental understanding of atmospheric and aerosol processes and the causes of past climate variability, with implications for climate prediction and climate change policy. Results from the project will be relevant to a number of ongoing international activities, and to future Assessment Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The project will support advancement of Canadian climate modeling capabilities, contributing to the testing and development of modeling tools used in Canada to predict future climate and the effects of severe aerosol events including wildfires and volcanic eruptions.

平流层气溶胶在地球气候上具有重要的和偶尔的剧烈影响。平流层气溶胶坐在地球表面上方大约15-30公里处，由微小的液体和固体颗粒组成，它们通过大气而散射并吸收辐射。由于大型火山喷发向平流层注入硫，因此平流层气溶胶的量突然增加，而较大的太阳辐射强度降低了达到表面和全局冷却的强度。实际上，在工业前时代，大型火山喷发产生的平流层气溶胶扰动是全球气候变化的最重要原因。因此，对平流层气溶胶历史的准确重建对于解释过去气候变异性和测试气候模型的记录至关重要，这是气候灵敏度和未来气候变化的估计。我的研究计划旨在提高人们对平流层气溶胶及其对地球气候的影响。该研究计划将提高对控制平流层气溶胶生命周期的过程的理解。它还将产生新的，改进的平流层气溶胶辐射强迫的重建，这是基于对气溶胶的大气与物理和辐射特性之间联系的新基本理解的基础。最后，研究计划将提高人们对平流层气溶胶在过去气候变化中的作用及其对未来气候的潜在影响。这些研究目标将通过开发和使用气溶胶的数值模型，从简单的理想化模型到全面的耦合模型的气氛和气候。模型开发将以可用的气溶胶观测来指导，包括从卫星和地面仪器中检索，以及来自极地冰芯和树环的代理记录。该项目将产生广泛的科学影响，其发现与对大气和气溶胶过程的基本了解以及过去气候变化的原因有关，这对气候预测和气候变化政策产生了影响。该项目的结果将与许多持续的国际活动有关，以及政府间气候变化小组的未来评估报告。该项目将支持加拿大气候建模能力的进步，这有助于加拿大使用的建模工具的测试和开发，以预测未来的气候以及包括野火和火山喷发在内的严重气雾事件的影响。