Sahel droughts induced by large volcanic eruptions over the last millennium in IPSL-CM6A-LR model

The Sahel region is extremely sensible to alterations in its characteristic precipitation regime, associated with the West African Monsoon (WAM). In fact, the WAM presents strong variability at several timescales which has focused the attention of many works that mainly attribute such changes to variations in the sea surface temperature, the emerging increase of greenhouse gases concentration and to alterations in land use. However, the impact of large volcanic eruptions has been just tentatively addressed. This work aims at shedding more light on the influence of large volcanic eruptions on Sahel rainfall relying on past1000 simulations, covering the last millennium, of the IPSL-CM6A-LR model. The results show the mechanisms involved and the differences between tropical and high-latitude eruptions.