Mystery volcano from 1831 discovered: it caused global cooling

Mystery volcano from 1831 discovered: it caused global cooling

An unknown volcano broke out in 1831 so explosively that he cooled the earth's climate. After almost 200 years of research, scientists have now identified the "secret volcano".

the outbreak and its global effects

The outbreak was one of the strongest of the 19th century and released an enormous amount of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, which led to the average annual temperatures in the northern hemisphere decreased by about 1 degree Celsius. This event took place in the last phase of the small ice age, one of the coldest periods in earth history in the past 10,000 years.

research and discovery of the secret volcano

Although the year of the historical outbreak was known, the location of the volcano remained a mystery for a long time. Researchers were able to solve this puzzle by examining ice drilling nuclei in Greenland and analyzing the layers of the kernels to identify sulfurisotopes, ash grains and tiny volcanic glass splinters that were deposited between 1831 and 1834

By using geochemistry, radioactive dating and computer modeling, the scientists managed to map the particle pathways and to connect the outbreak of 1831 to an island volcano in northwestern Pacific ocean. They reported on it in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .

The Zavaritskii volcano on Simushir

According to the analysis, the mysterious volcano Zavaritskii (also called Zavaritsky) on the island of Simushir was part of the Kuril archipelago, an area that is controversial between Russia and Japan. Before the findings of the scientists, the last known outbreak of Zavaritskii to 800 BC. Chr. Dated.

The challenge of volcanic surveillance

"For many volcanoes on earth, especially in remote areas, we have a very weak understanding of their outbreak history," said the senior study author Dr. William Hutchison, a research scholarship on the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of St. Andrews in Great Britain.

"Zavaritskii lies on an extremely remote island between Japan and Russia. Nobody lives there, and historical records are limited to a few diaries of ships that went past these islands every few years," said Hutchison in an email to Cnn.

scientific analysis and knowledge

The examination of the GRÖNLANDER Ice Drill Kerne showed that the sulfur failure in 1831 in Greenland was about 6.5 times higher than in the Antarctic. This indicated that the source was a significant outbreak from a middle wide volcano in the northern hemisphere.

The study team also analyzed chemically ashes and particles volcanic glass, which were not larger than 0.02 millimeters. When comparing the results with geochemical data records from volcanic regions, the best matches in Japan and the curiles were shown. While outbreaks in Japan were well documented in the 19th century, there were no records of a large outbreak in 1831. But rehearsals from colleagues who had previously visited volcanoes in the curils led to geochemical agreement with the Zavaritskii-Caldera.

follow and outlooks

After the outbreak of 1831, cooler and drier conditions occurred on the northern hemisphere, which led to widespread hunger and need. Family exaggerated India, Japan and Europe and concerned millions of people.

"It seems plausible that volcanic climate cooling was harvested and famous," said Hutchison. "Current research focuses on the extent to which this famine were caused by volcanic climate cooling or by other socio -political factors."

teaching from history

The knowledge from the investigations shows that many volcanoes worldwide are in isolated areas and are poorly monitored, which makes it difficult to predict when and where the next big outbreak could take place. If we can learn something from the outbreak of 1831, then that volcanic activities can have devastating global consequences in remote locations that humanity may be unleared.

"We currently have no coordinated international community that could take action in the next big outbreak," said Hutchison. "Both scientists and society should work seriously."

Mindy Weisberger is a science journalist and media producer, and her work have been published in Live Science, Scientific American and How IT Works.