We have analysed a suite of 12 state-of-the-art climate models and show that ocean warming and sea-level rise in the twentieth century were substantially reduced by the colossal eruption in 1883 of the volcano Krakatoa in the Sunda strait, Indonesia. Volcanically induced cooling of the ocean surface penetrated into deeper layers, where it persisted for decades after the event. This remarkable effect on oceanic thermal structure is longer lasting than has previously been suspected¹ and is sufficient to offset a large fraction of ocean warming and sea-level rise caused by anthropogenic influences.

1. Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA
2. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80307-3000, USA
3. Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, PO Box 243, Reading RG6 6BB, UK
4. Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, Devon EX1 3PB, UK

Correspondence to: P. J. Gleckler¹ Email: pgleckler@llnl.gov

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