Ice core and palaeoclimatic evidence for the timing and nature of the great mid-13th century volcanic eruption

Ice cores from both the Arctic and Antarctic record a massive volcanic eruption in around AD 1258. The inter-hemispheric transport of ash and sulphate aerosol suggests a low-latitude explosive eruption, but the volcano responsible is not known. This is remarkable given estimates of the magnitude of the event, which range up to 5 × 10¹⁴–2 × 10¹⁵ kg (∼200–800 km³ of dense magma), which would make this the largest eruption of the historic period, and one of the very largest of the Holocene. The associated collapse caldera could have had a diameter up to 10–30 km. Palaeoclimate reconstructions indicate very cold austral and boreal summers in AD 1257–59, consistent with known patterns of continental summer cooling following tropical, sulphur-rich explosive eruptions. This suggests an eruption in AD 1257, producing a stronger climate forcing than hitherto recognized. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society