Researchers create solution for Volcano Mystery ago - Spiegel Online

The devastating volcanic eruption in the Middle Ages gave Europe a severe cold snap and a year without summer, probably occurred in 1257 in what is now Indonesia. At that time, the mountain had Samalas which today is a complex volcano Rinjani on Lombok Island, ejected at least 40 cubic kilometers of rock, calculated by an international research team in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

occupied decades ago drill core analyzes from Greenland and the Antarctic, a massive volcanic eruption middle of the 13th Century, which surpassed the infamous eruption of Tambora in 1883 and Krakatoa in 1815 far. Medieval chronicles show that the summer 1258 in Europe was characterized by continuous rains and crop failure.

For decades, researchers try to identify the responsible for this volcano. Recently, there had been several suspects, who came as the cause of disaster in medieval question. Among them were the El Chichón in Mexico, Fentale in Ethiopia and the Quilotoa in Ecuador.

eruption destroyed the capital of the Kingdom of Lombok

scientists to Franck Lavigne from the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne evaluated among other historical reports from Indonesia. The written on palm leaves Chronicle “Babad Lombok” describes how the mountain erupted on Lombok Samalas and a horseshoe-shaped crater left behind. Thus, the eruption devastated the environment and ruined Pamatan, the capital of the Kingdom of Lombok.

In addition, the researchers compared deposits in the vicinity of the volcano with the core findings from Greenland and Antarctica. Therefore interpret both the sulfur and the composition of the deposits around the volcano indicate that Samalas was the cause of the unprecedented disaster. Researchers at the Museum of London Archeology even believe that in London alone, a third of the population may have fallen victim to the outbreak.

From the analysis the researchers to derive Lavigne now that the cloud of smoke probably climb 43 kilometers high. The onset date on it from May to October 1257th During this season, easterly winds prevail in the region, which is why ejecta preferred ablagerte in a westerly direction. A Pompeii of the Far East

“The tropical location, size of the caldera, the time of the eruption, its strength and the agreement between the geochemical composition of the ash of Samalas with volcanic glass of ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, the largest of the sulfate emissions related past 7000 years, all point to this as a source of great volcanic stratospheric dust veil middle of the 13th century go, “they write.

“At the local and regional level, the socio-economic and environmental consequences of this devastating event must have been dramatic. Much of Lombok, Bali and the western part of Sumatra were barren and uninhabitable for generations.” The ancient capital Pamatan probably lies somewhere buried under volcanic deposits, the researchers write. “Should it be discovered Pamatan could be a Pompeii of the Far East.”

Indicated Franck Lavigne had the result of last summer at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Iceland. He presented samples of volcanic ash from Indonesia, but did not completely solve the mystery. The name of the volcano he could only reveal if his study was published in a magazine.

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