Swiss researchers help to pinpoint 200-year-old volcanic eruption

Mystery of mysterious volcanic eruption 300 years ago solved Keystone-SDA

A research team with Swiss participation has located which volcano was behind a mysterious 1831 eruption that impacted climate and crops across the world.

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In a study published on Monday in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers identified the Zavaritskii volcano on the Kuril Islands, between Japan and Russia, as the probable source of the eruption.

During the 1831 eruption, so much sulphur was spewed into the atmosphere that the Earth’s climate cooled by up to 1°C. The eruption also led to less rainfall in Africa and India, which resulted in severe famines, the researchers explained.

Yet despite this substantial impact, the location of the eruption remained unknown until now.

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Ash particles in ice cores

To solve the mystery, the research team analysed various ice cores from Greenland containing traces of sulphur and volcanic ash from the period. The analysis of the sulphur isotopes showed that the cloud of lava and ash reached as far as the earth’s stratosphere.

By analysing the particles’ chemical composition and comparing them with known volcanoes, scientists could determine that the chemical composition of the ash best matched a volcano on the island of Simushir in the Kuril Islands. On-site investigations confirmed that this volcano erupted in the last 300 years.

Two researchers from the University of Bern, Peter Abbott and Michael Sigl, were involved in the study, which was led by William Hutchison from the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

Translated from German by DeepL/dos

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