In 1831, a massive volcanic eruption cooled the Earth’s atmosphere by 1 degree Celsius, causing reports of a green, purple, and blue-looking Sun due to excess sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere. For years, scientists searched for the culprit volcano, but a new study has finally identified it as the Zavaritskii volcano in the Kuril islands.
The breakthrough came thanks to advancements in technology that allowed researchers to analyze microscopic ash shards from polar ice cores and compare them with samples from the remote volcano on Simushir island. The results, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), confirm that Zavaritskii is the exact match.
This event, which caused global cooling and crop failures, was not a historical outlier. Other notable eruptions include Mount Tambora’s 1815 eruption, which led to the Year Without Summer, and Mount Pinatubo’s 1991 eruption, which cooled the atmosphere by 1 degree Celsius.
However, experts warn that understanding these events can help prepare the world for the next massive eruption. “There are so many volcanoes like this,” says Dr. William Hutchison, lead author of the study. “As scientists and as a society, we need to consider how to coordinate an international response when the next large eruption happens.”
Source: https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a63362260/zavaritskii-volcano-1831