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DETECTING VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS IN TEMPERATURE RECONSTRUCTIONS BY DESIGNED BREAK‐INDICATOR SATURATION
Author(s) -
Pretis Felix,
Schneider Lea,
Smerdon Jason E.,
Hendry David F.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of economic surveys
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.657
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1467-6419
pISSN - 0950-0804
DOI - 10.1111/joes.12148
Subject(s) - volcano , proxy (statistics) , econometrics , northern hemisphere , monte carlo method , magnitude (astronomy) , regression , saturation (graph theory) , climate change , climatology , global temperature , geology , environmental science , statistics , mathematics , global warming , seismology , physics , oceanography , astronomy , combinatorics
We present a methodology for detecting breaks at any point in time‐series regression models using an indicator saturation approach, applied here to modelling climate change. Building on recent developments in econometric model selection for more variables than observations, we saturate a regression model with a full set of designed break functions. By selecting over these break functions using an extended general‐to‐specific algorithm, we obtain unbiased estimates of the break date and magnitude. Monte Carlo simulations confirm the approximate properties of the approach. We assess the methodology by detecting volcanic eruptions in a time series of Northern Hemisphere mean temperature spanning roughly 1200 years, derived from a fully coupled global climate model simulation. Our technique demonstrates that historic volcanic eruptions can be statistically detected without prior knowledge of their occurrence or magnitude‐ and hence may prove useful for estimating the past impact of volcanic events using proxy reconstructions of hemispheric or global mean temperature, leading to an improved understanding of the effect of stratospheric aerosols on temperatures. The break detection procedure can be applied to evaluate policy impacts as well as act as a robust forecasting device.