Scientists have discovered a mysterious volcano that "turned summer into winter" and caused a devastating famine almost 200 years ago

Scientists have finally found the mysterious volcano that caused a global climate cataclysm almost 200 years ago. A large-scale eruption filled the atmosphere with "sulfur gases" that "turned summer into winter" and triggered a devastating famine.

Scientists from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland predicted that the culprit behind those terrible events in 1831 was one of 160 Quaternary terrestrial volcanoes or 89 submarine volcanoes on the Kuril archipelago. As a result of additional research, experts are inclined to believe that the global upheaval was caused by the Zavaritski volcano, located on the remote uninhabited island of Simushir, which is part of the Kuril Islands, a disputed territory between Russia and Japan, the Independent reports.

Experts at the University of St. Andrews say they have tracked the eruption and analyzed ice core records from the event using groundbreaking technology. According to the scientists, they found a "perfect fingerprint match" with the ash deposits, TheSun reports.

"In recent years, we have developed the ability to extract microscopic ash fragments from polar ice cores and conduct detailed chemical analysis. These fragments are incredibly small, about one-tenth the diameter of a human hair," said Dr. Will Hutchison of the University of St. Andrews.

The ice core deposits have been dated and compared to the Zavaritski volcano on the remote island of Simushir.

Scientists say that during the Cold War, the Soviet Union used Simushir as a secret nuclear submarine base and the vessels were moored in the flooded volcanic crater.

Years later, scientists were able to learn much more about the volcano and its eruptions. "We analyzed the chemical composition of the ice with a very high temporal resolution. This allowed us to pinpoint the exact time of the eruption to the spring and summer of 1831, and also confirm that it was very explosive. And then we recovered tiny fragments of ash," Hutchison explained.

Finding the match took time and required collaboration with scientists from Japan and Russia, who sent samples collected from these remote volcanoes decades ago, the researchers noted.

"The moment we analyzed two ash samples in the lab, one from a volcano and the other from an ice core, was a eureka moment. I couldn't believe that the numbers were compatible. After that, I spent a lot of time delving into the age and size of the eruption in the Kuril records to really make sure that the match was true," Will Hutchison emphasized.

Despite the fact that the 1831 eruption took place on a very remote island, it still had a "significant global impact," scientists say. Therefore, researchers from the University of St. Andrews say that it is necessary to identify the sources of more mysterious eruptions so that they can be mapped and monitored.

"There are so many volcanoes like this that it emphasizes how difficult it will be to predict when or where the next eruption of significant power might occur," Hutchison said.

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