Modeling the 1783-1784 Laki eruption in Iceland: 2. Climate impacts

Using the Community Earth System Model from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, we investigate the "Laki haze" and its effect on Northern Hemisphere climate in the 12 months following the eruption onset. We find that the warm summer of 1783 was a result of atmospheric blocking over Northern Europe, which in our model cannot be attributed to the eruption. In addition, the extremely cold winter of 1783–1784 was aided by an increased likelihood of an El Niño after the eruption.

Understanding the causes of these anomalies is important not only for historical purposes but also for understanding and predicting possible climate responses to future high-latitude volcanic eruptions.