Scots researchers solve mystery of giant volcanic eruption that has baffled scientists for 200 years
Scots scientists have solved the mystery of a colossal volcanic eruption that has baffled boffins for nearly 200 years. The seismic eruption in 1831 released vast amounts of sulphurous gases into the atmosphere, causing global temperatures to drop by around 1C, leading to widespread crop failures and famines.
Despite its impact, the volcano responsible for what is known as Earth's most recent "mystery eruption" had eluded identification - until now. Researchers from the University of St Andrews have finally pinpointed the location of the huge blast.
Dr Will Hutchison and his team analysed ice core records from the eruption as part of the study. They managed to identify a "perfect fingerprint match" of the ash deposits, finally solving the long-standing enigma.
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"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," Dr Hutchison gushed. "I couldn’t believe the numbers were identical.
"Only in recent years have we developed the ability to extract microscopic ash shards from polar ice cores and conduct detailed chemical analyses on them. These shards are incredibly minute, roughly one-tenth the diameter of a human hair."
The team led by Dr Hutchison was able to accurately date and match the ice core deposits to Zavaritskii volcano on the remote, uninhabited island of Simushir, part of the Kuril Islands, a disputed territory between Russia and Japan. Currently controlled by Russia, they operate as a strategic military outpost.
Delighted by the match, Dr Hutchison delved deeper into research: "After this, I spent a lot of time delving into the age and size of the eruption in Kuril records to truly convince myself that the match was real.
"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, confirm that it was highly explosive, and then extract the tiny shards of ash.
"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."
This work has put a spotlight on the Kuril Islands as an understudied but significantly active volcanic area. With the 1831 eruption believed to have originated from a very remote volcano, its worldwide climatic effects and severe repercussions on human societies have been flagged.
Dr Hutchison said identifying these eruptions is crucial if we want to comprehensively monitor zones that have the potential to produce climate-altering volcanic incidents.
"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," Dr Hutchison said.
The expert stressed the need for the world to prepare for future events, adding: "We need to consider how to coordinate an international response when the next large eruption, like the one in 1831, happens."
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