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Scientists have uncovered the roots of a volcanic eruption that occurred 200 years ago and released such an immense amount of sulfur into the atmosphere that it altered the climate and changed the sun’s appearance to blue.
In 1831, the climate in the Northern Hemisphere experienced a reduction of approximately 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius), coinciding with reports of somber, dreary weather and the sun exhibiting various hues. While researchers were aware that a significant eruption triggered this unusual phenomenon, the volcano behind it had remained unidentified — until now.
By examining ash found in polar ice cores, researchers were able to trace the eruption back to Zavaritskii volcano on the exceedingly isolated island of Simushir, which belongs to the contested Kuril Islands lying between Russia and Japan. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union purportedly utilized a submerged volcanic crater on Simushir as a covert nuclear submarine facility, according to a statement issued by the University of St Andrews in the U.K.
The conclusions of the researchers, published on December 30, 2024, in the journal PNAS, underscore the limited understanding researchers have regarding volcanic eruptions in the Kuril Islands.
“Eighteen thirty-one is a relatively recent date, yet we had no indication that this volcano was accountable [for the significant eruption],” stated the lead author of the study, William Hutchison, a volcanologist at the University of St Andrews, when speaking to Live Science. “It was entirely off our radar.”
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The 1831 eruption was among several eruptions in the 19th century connected to the final stage of the Little Ice Age (1800 to 1850), as indicated by the study. The Little Ice Age was not a genuine ice age — the last true ice age ended 10,000 years prior — but it did signify the coldest epoch in the past 500 years.
Hutchison pointed out that there are no written documentation of firsthand accounts from the 1831 eruption, likely because the Kuril Islands were — and still are — remote and predominantly uninhabited, frequently enveloped in dense fog. Nevertheless, the volcano’s effects are well chronicled.
German composer Felix Mendelssohn mentioned “bleak weather” during the summer of 1831 that felt “as frigid as winter” while traveling through the Alps, as noted by the researchers in the statement. Various reports from the Northern Hemisphere also described the sun changing to blue, purple, and green due to light scattering and absorption by aerosol particles from the volcanic plume. A comparable occurrence was noted following the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, according to the study.
The repercussions of the eruption could have been catastrophic: decreased global temperatures preceded significant famines in India and Japan during the 1830s, according to the study.
“It is known that substantial volcanic eruptions like this lead to cooling, which in turn brings about alterations in rainfall and impacts crop production,” Hutchison noted. “And this leads to a situation where there is simply insufficient food for the population.”
To pinpoint the eruption’s source, Hutchison and his team analyzed the remnants of ash found in 19th-century polar ice cores from Greenland. The chemical signature of this ash was analogous to that from volcanoes in Japan and adjacent islands. Hutchison stated that the team eliminated Japan as a potential eruption site because of its high population density and extensive records of volcanic events, which directed the researchers to the Kuril Islands.
‘Eureka’ revelation
The researchers established that the ash deposits at Zavaritskii volcano corresponded precisely with the chemical composition of the ash extracted from the ice cores. Hutchison described this moment as a “Eureka-type moment”, akin to identifying a fingerprint match in forensic investigations.
“It truly was a remarkable day,” Hutchison expressed. “One of the most outstanding days I’ve ever experienced in the laboratory.”
While the researchers unraveled the enigma of the 1831 eruption, Hutchison remarked that there remains no instrumentation monitoring volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands — a situation that holds true for most volcanoes worldwide.
“Should a similar eruption occur today, I don’t believe we would be significantly more prepared than we were in 1831,” Hutchison commented. “This illustrates the ongoing difficulty in predicting when and where the next major climate-altering eruption will arise.”
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