New study identifies volcano behind 1831's chilling mystery
Over 200 years ago, the world experienced two years of extremely cold weather, and the Sun took on unusual colours. The suspected cause of these phenomena was a massive volcanic eruption. However, it has not yet been conclusively determined which volcano was responsible. New research may finally solve this mystery, reports IFL Science.
In the years 1831-1833, the average global temperature dropped by about 1°C, leading to unusual weather phenomena. German composer Felix Mendelssohn, while traveling through the Alps in the summer of 1831, noted: "Gloomy weather, it rained again all night and all morning, it's as cold as winter, deep snow is already on the nearby hills," reports IFL Science.
The Sun changed its colour
In August of the same year, around the world—in China, Europe, the United States, and the Caribbean—unusual colours of the Sun were observed, appearing "blue, purple, and green." This was likely the result of sunlight scattering due to volcanic dust and gases in the atmosphere.
Previously, it was thought that the eruption might have occurred near the Babuyan Claro volcano in the Philippines or during the Ferdinandea eruption near Sicily. However, new research by scientists from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," points to another location—the Zavaritsky Caldera on Simushir Island, part of Russia’s Kuril Islands.
Scientists determined this based on geochemical analysis of ice samples. They found a "perfect chemical match" between ashes from the caldera and sediments in the glacier. "We analysed the chemistry of the ice at a very high temporal resolution. This allowed us to pinpoint the precise timing of the eruption to spring-summer 1831," explained Dr. Will Hutchison, the lead author of the study, cited by IFL Science.
"The moment in the lab when we analysed the two ashes together, one from the volcano and one from the ice core, was a genuine eureka moment. I couldn’t believe the numbers were identical," added Dr. Hutchison.
The research shows the significant impact volcanic eruptions can have on life on Earth. Volcanoes, by releasing gases and particles into the atmosphere, can cause both short-term cooling and long-term climate warming. An example is the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, which lowered global temperatures by approximately 0.5°C for a period of one to three years.
Dr. Hutchison pointed out the difficulty in predicting future major eruptions: "There are so many volcanoes like this, which highlights how difficult it will be to predict when or where the next large-magnitude eruption might occur." Scientists emphasize that international coordination will be crucial in the face of future major eruptions.
