Scottish researchers have identified the Zavaritsky volcano on Simushir Island in the Kuril Islands as the source of a mysterious 1831 eruption that led to global cooling and widespread famines. According to The Independent, Dr. Will Hutchison from the University of St Andrews led the research team, with contributions from Professor Jill Plankett from Queen's University Belfast.
For decades, scientists suspected that a volcanic eruption caused the 1831 weather anomaly, but the exact source remained elusive. Recent advancements in technology allowed researchers to analyze ice cores from Greenland containing traces of sulfur and volcanic ash from around 1831. The investigation confirmed that the ash cloud from the eruption reached the stratosphere, consistent with increased sulfur compounds found in polar ice cores, as reported by ORF Science.
By examining the chemical composition of the ash particles, the researchers found a perfect match with samples from the Zavaritsky volcano. "The moment in the lab when we analyzed the two ashes together, one from the volcano and one from the ice core, was a genuine eureka moment," said Dr. Hutchison, according to LadBible. Extracting the ash shards was a meticulous process, as they are "roughly one-tenth the diameter of human hair," he told The Independent.
The eruption in 1831 led to a global cooling of approximately 1°C, coinciding with widespread crop failures and famines, particularly affecting India and Japan. Focus Online reports that reduced rainfall resulted in a drastic decline in crop yields, contributing to severe famines in the affected regions. The Tenpō famine devastated northeastern Japan from 1832 to 1838, with the number of deaths estimated to be double that of the Madras famine in India.
Although the eruption had global impacts, its location had remained unknown until now. Identifying the Zavaritsky volcano sheds light on one of the major climate events of the 19th century, as noted by Interesting Engineering.
The Zavaritskii eruption is comparable to the well-known eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991. According to Gazeta.ru, the Zavaritskii volcano's eruption strength was rated at 5 to 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index and released a greater amount of sulfur compounds into the atmosphere. Temperature measurements showed a sharp drop of 2 degrees Celsius over two years following the eruption, as reported by in.gr.
The Kuril Islands, part of the "Ring of Fire," are a chain of 56 islands and islets that connect the tip of Russia and Japan. Der Standard - Archäologie reports that they remain a disputed territory between the two countries. Simushir Island is currently controlled by Russia and operates as a strategic military outpost. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union used Simushir as a secret nuclear submarine base, docking vessels in a flooded volcanic crater inside the caldera of the Zavaritsky volcano, according to in.gr.
Dr. Hutchison emphasized the importance of monitoring understudied volcanic chains. "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," he said, according to LadBible. He added, "As scientists and as a society, we need to consider how to coordinate an international response when the next large eruption, like the one in 1831, happens."
The researchers collaborated with colleagues in Russia and Japan to obtain samples from the volcano and ice cores. This extensive international cooperation was crucial in solving the nearly two-century-old mystery, as detailed by Blick.
"Finding the match took a long time and required extensive collaboration with colleagues from Japan and Russia, who sent us samples collected from these remote volcanoes decades ago," Dr. Hutchison explained, according to The Independent. This discovery serves as a reminder of the profound effects that volcanic activity can have on the global climate and the importance of international cooperation in scientific research.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq