Data on the impact of volcanism on Scandinavian climate and human societies during the Holocene: Insights into the Fimbulwinter eruptions (536/540 AD)

Recent paleoclimatic research has revealed that volcanic events around 536–540 AD caused severe, short-term global cooling. For this same period, archeological research from various regions evidences significant cultural transformation.

This study focused on the effects of the 536/540 AD volcanic event in four Scandinavian regions by exploring the shift in demographic and land use intensity before, during, and after this abrupt climate cooling. To achieve this, we performed climate simulations with and without volcanic eruptions using a dynamically downscaled climate model (iLOVECLIM) at a high resolution (0.25° or ~25 km). We integrated the findings with a comprehensive collection of radiocarbon dates from excavated archeological sites across various Scandinavian regions. Our Earth System Model simulates pronounced cooling (maximum ensemble mean −1.1°C), an abrupt reduction in precipitation, and a particularly acute drop in growing degree days (GDD0) after the volcanic event, which can be used to infer likely impacts on agricultural productivity. When compared to the archeological record, we see considerable regional diversity in the societal response to this sudden environmental event. As a result, this study provides a more comprehensive insight into the demographic chronology of Scandinavia and a deeper understanding of the land-use practices its societies depended on during the 536/540 AD event.

Datafiles contain R codes in a zip-file, and csv.

The dataset was originally published in DiVA and moved to SND in 2024.

近期古气候研究表明，公元536至540年前后的火山活动引发了严重且短期的全球降温。同期，全球多地的考古研究均证实出现了显著的文化转型。

本研究聚焦公元536/540年火山事件对北欧四个地区的影响，通过剖析此次突发性气候降温前后及期间的人口结构与土地利用强度变化展开分析。为此，本研究借助分辨率达0.25°（约25公里）的动力降尺度气候模式（iLOVECLIM），开展了包含与排除火山喷发情景的气候模拟实验。本研究将模拟结果与北欧各地区考古遗址出土的大量放射性碳定年数据进行整合分析。本研究所用的地球系统模式模拟显示，火山事件发生后，全球出现显著降温（集合平均最高降温达-1.1℃），降水骤减，且生长度日（GDD0）出现大幅下降，上述结果可用于推断其对农业生产力的潜在影响。对比考古记录可见，不同地区的社会对此次突发性环境事件的响应存在显著差异。因此，本研究更为全面地阐明了北欧地区的人口年代学特征，并深化了对公元536/540年事件期间当地社会所依赖的土地利用模式的认知。

数据集文件包含压缩包内的R代码与CSV格式文件。

本数据集最初发布于DiVA平台，并于2024年迁移至SND平台。