Decadal-to-centennial increases of volcanic aerosols from Iceland challenge the concept of a Medieval Quiet Period

Gabriel, Imogen; Plunkett, Gill; Abbott, Peter M.; Behrens, Melanie; Burke, Andrea; Chellman, Nathan; Cook, Eliza; Fleitmann, Dominik; Hörhold, Maria; Hutchison, William; McConnell, Joseph R.; Óladóttir, Bergrún A.; Preiser-Kapeller, Johannes; Sliwinski, Jakub T.; Sugden, Patrick; Twarloh, Birthe; Sigl, Michael

doi:10.1038/s43247-024-01350-6

Decadal-to-centennial increases of volcanic aerosols from Iceland challenge the concept of a Medieval Quiet Period

Existing global volcanic radiative aerosol forcing estimates portray the period 700 to 1000 as volcanically quiescent, void of major volcanic eruptions. However, this disagrees with proximal Icelandic geological records and regional Greenland ice-core records of sulfate. Here, we use cryptotephra…