A recent Discovery report outlined findings that the Little Ice Age, which began sometime between the 13th and 16th centuries, was caused by volcanic activity. The study found a series of four very large tropical volcanic eruptions that started sometime between 1275 and 1300 and occurred into the mid-1300s might be the reason behind the cooling of the climate during the Little Ice Age.
* The Little Ice Age is widely accepted as being from 1500 to 1900, according to a section in "The Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change."
* During the Little Ice Age, colder temperatures in northern Europe are believed to have contributed to famine, disease and an increase in child mortality.
* The 17th century is considered to have been one of the coldest centuries in Europe, but in North America, it was not colder than the current norms of the time. By the 19th century, Europe's temperatures had warmed slightly but that century was the coldest of the time period in North America.
* Large volcanic eruptions are believed to be able to affect climate due to aerosols that are thrown into the atmosphere. According to the Discovery article, it is these particles that block the energy from the sun, which in turn results in cooler temperatures.
* The U.S. Geological Survey lists five great volcanic eruptions from 1500 to 1900 that are among the deadliest. Of these eruptions, two stand out as volcanic events that had noticeable effects upon weather and climate and resulted in thousands of deaths.
* The Laki volcano of Iceland erupted in 1783 and continued in 1784. The eruption created enough havoc to have far-reaching effects. A Discover Magazine article reported that in Iceland, the eruptions caused a deadly combination of poisonous gases and lava that ruined farmland, killed livestock and caused famine that killed 25 percent of the population. That eruption threw up enough dust and sulfur to create a haze over northern Europe. Laki contributed to extreme weather patterns of harsh winters and blazing hot summers that were seen in northern Europe and caused famine and intense poverty. These conditions contributed to the French Revolution of 1789.
* Perhaps the most devastating volcanic eruption that affected weather during the Little Ice Age occurred with the April 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia. According to Wired.com, this eruption had a precursor that was heard as loud thunder over 800 miles away. Five days later, the "big one" came. That eruption spewed three columns of fire into the air as well as 12 cubic miles of magma. A total of 36 cubic miles of rock particles was thrown into the atmosphere. The ash fallout on neighboring islands around Tambora killed crops almost immediately by suffocation and directly resulted in the starvation death of 92,000 people. The fine ash made the rounds around the Earth, resulting in worldwide temperatures that were as much as five degrees cooler worldwide. These effects caused crazy weather that included frosts and snows during summer and resulted in massive crop failures, famine, flooding, monsoons and disease. In parts of Europe, a typhus outbreak and starvation led to more than 200,000 deaths. These events caused the year 1816 to be known as "the year without a summer."
Tammy Lee Morris is certified as a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member and is a trained Skywarn Storm Spotter through the National Weather Service. She has received interpretive training regarding the New Madrid Seismic Zone through EarthScope -- a program of the National Science Foundation. She researches and writes about earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, weather and other natural phenomena.
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