Environmental and social responses in Europe to the 1783 eruption of the Laki fissure volcano in Iceland: a consideration of contemporary documentary evidence

Abstract

A detailed examination of contemporary documentary evidence, including letters, diaries, historical accounts and newspaper reports, reveals the dramatic effect on the weather across the whole of western Europe of the eruption of the Laki volcanic fissure in Iceland in 1783. Extreme heat, dry sulphurous fogs, chemical pollution, and tremendous storms of thunder, lightning and hail were reported from northern Scotland to Sicily. Vegetation was defoliated, crops were destroyed, livestock were killed and property was damaged. There were also direct and indirect human casualties. The unusual conditions engendered considerable fear as well as an appeal to science for a rational explanation. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in southern Italy and Iceland were blamed as the cause.

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of coastal aeolian sand accumulation in Sanday, Orkney Islands, Scotland

“…This is supported by environmental evidence from Britain and W Europe after the Laki fissure eruption in AD 1783-1784 (Grattan and Charman, 1994;Brayshay and Grattan, 1999). Various accounts suggest that a hot, sulphurous hazy fog hid the sun and reduced visibility throughout the summer of AD 1783 resulting in the withering and dying of cereal crops and pasture (Brayshay and Grattan, 1999).…”

“…A more cautionary interpretation of the impact of volcanic eruptions argues that the effect of volcanically induced acid loading of sensitive ecosystems is more likely to lead to marginalization than climatic effects per se (Grattan and Gilbertson, 1994). This is supported by environmental evidence from Britain and W Europe after the Laki fissure eruption in AD 1783-1784 (Grattan and Charman, 1994;Brayshay and Grattan, 1999). Various accounts suggest that a hot, sulphurous hazy fog hid the sun and reduced visibility throughout the summer of AD 1783 resulting in the withering and dying of cereal crops and pasture (Brayshay and Grattan, 1999).…”

Volcanic hazards in Auckland, New Zealand: a preliminary assessment of the threat posed by central North Island silicic volcanism based on the Quaternary tephrostratigraphical record

“…For example, fluorine-rich gas and ash associated with the Laki fissure eruption of AD 1773 destroyed crops and livestock throughout Iceland and killed 24% of the human population by starvation (Simkin, 1994); social, ecological and meteorological impacts of volcanogenic gases and aerosols associated with this eruption elsewhere in northern Europe have been reported (Grattan et al 1998;Brayshay & Grattan 1999). It has been suggested that the concentration of acid volatiles adsorbed on the surface of tephra particles in an eruption cloud may increase with time spent in transport and distance travelled (Oskarsson 1980;J.…”

Regional warming of the lower atmosphere in the wake of volcanic eruptions: the role of the Laki fissure eruption in the hot summer of 1783

“…Extensive material reviewing the wider European picture is presented in Brayshay & Grattan (1999) and in Stothers (1996).…”