“Volcanic Air Pollution and Mortality in France 1783-1784.“ Comptes Rendus Geoscience 337, no. The Laki (Skaftár Fires) fissure eruption in southern Iceland lasted for eight months during 1783 to 1784, and produced one of the largest basaltic lava flows in historic times (14.7±1.0 km3). American Meteorological Society: Lancaster Press, 1968. A very important local chronicler, who kept records on the events unfolding in Kirkjubæjarklaustur and what he could observe from a distance about what was happening in the highlands, is Jón Steingrímsson. The winter had been extraordinarily cold, not only in Europe, but also in North America. The name Laki comes from Mount Laki, a mountain of volcanic origin that did not actually erupt in 1783, located roughly in the middle of the fissure (Figure 4). Accounts of the aftermath of the eruption of Laki, a volcano in Iceland, horrified and fascinated readers. [Source: Psiĥedelisto (add fault lines), Chris.urs-o (iceland outline) [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]On June 8, 1783, it began. In 1783, the Laki volcano in Iceland erupted. The dry fog hit hardest those suffering from pre-existing respiratory or heart issues. In 1783, a mysterious dry fog enveloped the continent of Europe, blood-red sunsets were reported throughout the summer, and many reported a sulfuric smell, breathing difficulties and sore eyes. (Used by permission).]. They realized for the first time that volcanic eruptions can have impacts on the sky and weather phenomena far, far away from the actual volcano. The consequences were devastating. Living in the Time of a Subsurface Revolution: The 1783 Calabrian Earthquake Sequence. Storms, cyclones, floods,…, François NICOT, Research Director, Université Grenoble-Alpes, IRSTEA, Air pollution is multiple and old. Kristiania: Trykt I Centraltrykkeriet, 1886. What makes this eruption so extraordinary is that its impacts reached far beyond the borders of Iceland. [18] In North America, the winter was unusually long, was rich in snow, and even froze the Mississippi river at New Orleans and created ice floes in the Gulf of Mexico. Thus, in the 1880s, the dots between the Laki Fissure eruption and the strange haze of the summer of 1783 could finally be connected. This system on average produces one volcanic eruption every 2-7 years. Most suggested that there might be a connection between the unusual weather phenomena of the summer and either the Nyey eruption or the eruption in the Skaftárfellsysla region when they learnt about them in the news in early to mid-September of 1783. Today, Iceland monitors its volcanoes carefully and gives locals and travelers a warning to evacuate once the threat of a volcanic eruption is imminent. In Europe, there was heavy snow, which resulted in major floods along several central and western European rivers in February and March of 1784. „The Great Meteor of 18th August 1783.” Journal of the British Astronomical Association 99, no. 1 (1996): 79-89. History of a Marginal Society. London: Viking, 2003. He was a local reverend. The Laki Fissure is difficult to reach. In: Ilyinskaya, Evgenia, Gudrún Larsen, and Magnús T. Gudmundsson (eds. The eruption and outpouring of lava—now referred to as Laki or Lakagígar—began on 8 June 1873 and continued until February 1784 from Mount Laki, a relatively benign location compared to the more active Hekla. While the “ballomania” [8] took hold, these “flying globes” were not the only unusual phenomenon to occupy the skies and people’s imaginations that year. In 2010, when Eyjafjallajökull erupted, the world was reminded of Icelandic volcanism and its almost global consequences: The plume of ash and gas was carried from Iceland towards Europe via the jet stream, grounding international air traffic for several days. It formed over the past 24 million years, due mainly to two geological phenomena: Firstly, the fact that it is located at a diverging plate boundary, also known as a constructive plate boundary, as new crust is created here by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The Environmental Encyclopedia of the Environment by the Association des Encyclopédies de l'Environnement et de l'Énergie (www.a3e.fr), contractually linked to the University of Grenoble Alpes and Grenoble INP, and sponsored by the French Academy of Sciences. London: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 2000. [17] Benjamin Franklin, the American ambassador to the United States, naturalist, and inventor, who was in Paris at the time, speculated whether “the tails of these great burning balls” might have caused the dry fog. Iceland’s location on two tectonic plates. It will linger for months, creating a hot summer, a very cold winter … The eight-month eruption of the Laki volcano, beginning in June 1783, was the largest high-latitude eruption in the last 1,000 years. Figure 10. It was part of a larger volcanic system focused on the highly active central volcano of Grímsvötn, which would itself remain highly active until the spring of 1785. Laki is a rather small mountain similar to many other mountains in Iceland but unlike other mountains, as it has an extraordinary reputation. Large flood lava events such as the Laki Fissure eruption have a recurrence time of 300-1000 years. Several extraordinary weather phenomena occurred throughout 1783—the annus mirabilis, the year of awe. The increase in tourism to Iceland also leads to an increasing number of visitors to the fissure. This of course has some environmental consequences. … Iceland's Laki volcano began erupting on June 8, 1783, and continued doing so for months, causing a major environmental disaster. The Inuit in North America tell stories about the year that summer never arrived. Belgian botanist and baron Eugène de Poederlé published a text about his observations made in Brussels in early 1784. Could these phenomena possibly all be connected? The Laki eruption lasted eight months during which time about 14 cubic km of basaltic lava and some tephra were erupted. The climatic effects of the Laki eruption are impressive. This lava threatened many Icelanders, their animals, and property. Laki Mountain is approximately 820 meters high and stands 300 meters over its surrounding area deep in the highland of Iceland. The Europeans were unaware that this was the result of a devastating event unfolding in Iceland. The delta of the Skaftá river in southern Iceland. Karlsson, Gunnar. In Iceland, the haze lead to the loss of most of the island's livestock (by eating fluorine contaminated grass), crop failure (by acid rain), and the death of one-quarter of the human residents (by famine). To cite this article: KLEEMAN Katrin (2021), The Laki Fissure eruption, 1783-1784, Encyclopedia of the Environment, [online ISSN 2555-0950] url : https://www.encyclopedie-environnement.org/en/society/laki-fissure-eruption-1783-1784/. Eruptions that Shook the World. The total amount of lava produced covers an area of 599 square kilometers. [24] Symons, George, et al., The Eruption of Krakatoa, and Subsequent Phenomena. [6] Vasey, Daniel E. “Population, Agriculture, and Famine: Iceland, 1784-1785.” Human Ecology 19, no. Steingrímsson, it seemed to his parishioners, had prevented the lava from engulfing and consuming the church. Thoroddsen, Th. Laki (Icelandic pronunciation: ) or Lakagígar ([ˈlaːkaciːɣar̥], Craters of Laki) is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur.The fissure is properly referred to as Lakagígar, while Laki is a mountain that the fissure bisects. Vue de la terrasse de Mr. Franklin a Passi by an anonymous engraver, Paris : Le Vachez : 1783. It remains unclear if it was indeed this fog that caused this, or an unrelated outbreak of another kind. In the last few decades, Iceland has become a popular tourist destination and Iceland is welcoming record numbers of tourists each year. “The Great Dry Fog of 1783.” Climatic Change 32, no. “Living in the Time of a Subsurface Revolution: The 1783 Calabrian Earthquake Sequence.” Arcadia: Explorations in Environmental History, Summer Volume 2019, forthcoming. This eruption lasted 8 months. The eruption is estimated to have killed 35,000 people. The craters that they formed are large and impressive. [16] The reports were later retracted after people had visited these areas only to realize the extinct volcanoes hadn’t inexplicably sprung back to life. Laki’s Devastating Effect on Iceland From June 8th, 1783 until February 7th, 1784, the Laki fissure and Grímsvötn volcano poured out toxins. Icelanders were able to evacuate before the lava arrived. Figure 7. The most worrisome feature of the summer of 1783 was perhaps the “blood red” coloring of the sun during sunset and sunrise. ): Jacoby, G.C., Workman, K.W., D’Arrigo, R.D. Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein, a German naturalist and professor for physics at the University of Copenhagen also connected Icelandic volcanism, with which he was familiar, with the dry fog. "Timing and Climate Forcing of Volcanic Eruptions for the Past 2,500 Years.“ Nature 523 (2015): 543-549. The NE part of the Laki Fissure, as seen from Mount Laki. 5 (2006): 878-898. Today, scientists know the cause behind the climate change was an enormous eight-month eruption of Iceland’s Laki volcano. In May 1784, Benjamin Franklin, who had suggested the dry fog might have been caused by the meteor, also suggested alternatively that Icelandic volcanoes—either Nyey or Hekla—might have been responsible. Population, Agriculture, and Famine: Iceland, 1784-1785. The estimate for the temperature decrease of the entire Northern Hemisphere is about 1 degree C. The top graph shows change in acidity in micro equivalents H+ per kg in the Greenland icecap. [4] Steingrímsson, Jón. A 27-kilometer-long fissure tore through the landscape, beginning an eruption, which would last until February 7, 1784. (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). An unusual anticyclonic weather pattern above Europe, a quasi-stationary high-pressure cell, funneled the Laki gases down to the surface level, where it materialized as a sulfuric-smelling dry fog. ... Iceland volcano eruption in 1783 … [Source: Bjoertvedt [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]]This volcanic eruption produced 14.7 cubic kilometers of lava. In June of 1783, the Laki volcano in Iceland started an 8-month-long eruption sequence, including 10 explosive eruptions and continuous emission into the lower atmosphere. He became famous for his autobiography and his “fire treatise,” that described the events, and is well known as the “fire priest.” On July 20, 1783, lava crept to within a few meters of his church, in Kirkjubæjarklaustur, as he began mass. It was believed that volcanoes around the world were connected by subterraneous canals (Figure 7). The Laki Fissure eruption, 1783-1784 PDF 01-14-2020 In 1783, a mysterious dry fog enveloped the continent of Europe, blood-red sunsets were reported throughout the summer, and many reported a sulfuric smell, breathing difficulties and sore eyes. A fissure on the mountain’s southwestern flanks grew ever wider as it spewed out fountains of liquid basalt. The eruption had produced large amounts of gases and ash too. 27th August 1883. [14] Many contemporaries believed they were living in a time of “subterraneous revolution” and there were reports of a “newly emerged burning island” that was discovered by fishermen in May 1783 off the coast of Iceland. The term “Laki” was suggested by Norwegian geologist Amund Helland almost one hundred years after the eruption, it was also chosen for its brevity and easiness to pronounce. Figure 1. [24]. Iceland. “The Laki (Skaftar Fires) and Grimsvotn eruptions in 1783-1785.” Bulletin of Volcanology 55 (1993), 233–263. [7] Gillespie, Richard. [9] It varied in density, winds from the northwest seemed to strengthen it, whereas winds from the south seemed to disperse it. The Laki fissure eruption is located in a system called Grímsvötn. Iceland, perched upon both the Eurasian plate and the North American plate (Figure 1), grows by about two centimeters a year, one centimeter to the east and one to the west. [15]. Local and Global Impacts of the 1783-84 Laki Eruption in Iceland Saturday marks the 230th anniversary of the famed Laki eruption in Iceland. Grímsvötn. London: Harrison and Sons, 1888. In the eastern United States, the winter average temperature was 4.8 degrees C below the 225 year average. “European Floods During the Winter 1783/1784: Scenarios of an Extreme Event During the ‘Little Ice Age’.” Theoretical and Applied Climatology 100, no. Grattan, John, M. Durand, and S. Taylor. [Source: Chmee2/Valtameri [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]Today, Iceland is an independent country with a population roughly seven times the size it was in 1783. In June 1783, Laki spewed more sulfur into the atmosphere than any other Northern Hemisphere eruption in the last 1,000 years. Haze from the eruption was reported from Iceland to Syria. From Kirkjubæjarklaustur it is an eight hour round trip on a four-wheel bus. [3] Thordarson, Thorvaldur, and Self, Stephen. [Source: Public Domain]All of these reports of earthquakes gave credence to the idea of a “subterraneous revolution” connecting the “upheavel” in Iceland, Calabria, and the Lebanon with one another. It took until the 1810s for the population in Iceland to get back to its pre-1783 levels.[6]. “New Evidence for Massive Pollution and Mortality in Europe in 1783-1784 may have bearing on global change and mass extinctions.” Comptes Rendus Geoscience 337 (2005): 635-637. Additionally, the journey requires the fording of several rivers. 50% of all the cattle, 79% of the sheep, and 76% of the horses perished between 1783 and 1785, in addition to fish in ponds and other animals [5]. ScienceDaily . The dry fog was peculiar, long-lasting, and may have had some negative impacts on vegetation and human health in mainland Europe. Figure 9. The reports were surprisingly accurate in describing the process of a volcanic eruption and it is debatable whether these were genuine explanation attempts to describe the origin of the dry fog locally or whether they were clever hoaxes to spread fear. Iceland is far from the marginal country it was 250 years ago. In English, the eruption is mainly known as the Laki Fissure eruption. 3 (1991): 323-350.1810: 49,000 inhabitants; 1815: 50,000 inhabitants. [2] Thordarson, Thorvaldur, and Self, Stephen. [Source: Benjamin West [Public domain]]Benjamin Franklin further speculated, in May 1784, that there also was a connection between the dry fog and the extremely cold winter of 1783/1784. This map is from Athanasius Kircher’s Mundus Subterraneus, 1668. Secondly, that it is located on top of a mantle plume, which is also known as a hot spot: A mass of relatively hot and therefore less dense mantle materials rise up from the Earth’s mantle towards the surface where it produces volcanism. [26] Kleemann, Katrin. The dry fog was mainly caused by sulfur dioxide (SO2) that had been released during the eruption, the gases are believed to have reached an altitude of 9-12 kilometers. Johann Rudolf von Salis-Marschlins, also a Swiss naturalist, published his findings on the topic in Der Sammler: Eine gemeinnützige Wochenschrift für Büntgen in mid-November 1783. [1], Figure 3. The Laki Eruption 1783-1784, translated by Keneva Kunz, 25-26. This earthquake did not produce much damage, but it occurred when the dry fog was still dense and wide-spread. “Further Documentary Evi-dence of Northern Hemispheric Coverage of the Great Dry Fog of 1783.” Climatic Change 39, no. Every week, there is…, René FAVIER, Emeritus Professor of Modern History, Université Grenoble Alpes. Grímsvötn is Iceland’s most productive volcanic system, fed by a central volcano of the same name that is located underneath the Vatnajökull ice shield. Kirkjubæjarklaustur, a settlement on the southeastern coast, is located at 35 to 40 meters above sea level. Meteors were believed to be either produced by vapors in the atmosphere or by electricity in the upper atmosphere, similar to the phenomenon of the northern lights. In the aftermath of the 1883 Krakatau eruption, colorful sunsets and vibrant colors of the sky were observed in Europe and North America. [13] Other earthquakes occurred throughout the summer: On July 6, an earthquake shook parts of France, and was felt in Franche-Comté, the Jura, Burgundy, and Geneva. This island was said to have been emitting smoke and surrounded by pumice, floating on the ocean surface, impeding sea travel. In several regions, people complained about sore eyes. Generally, if volcanic gases only reach the troposphere, they are washed out within weeks and there is no long-term impact on the climate. Distribution of the 1783-4 Laki haze across the northern hemisphere. 30. The articles in the Encyclopedia of the Environment are made available under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license, which authorizes reproduction subject to: citing the source, not making commercial use of them, sharing identical initial conditions, reproducing at each reuse or distribution the mention of this Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. At the same time, chemical reactions on metal were observed, structures rusted or turned green. In the coming years, as a result of what began that Sunday morning at 9am, 10,000 of those people would die. Actes des 2e RBel, Namur, 2016. What could have caused these phenomena? Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2015. Laki erupts . The bottom graph represents the winter temperature records in the eastern United States. [21] However, all this speculation remained just that for a long time. The earthquake of February 5, 1783. “Living in the Time of a Subsurface Revolution: The 1783 Calabrian Earthquake Sequence.” Environment & Society Portal, Arcadia (Summer 2019), no. Home / Iceland’s Laki Fissure Eruption of 1783 Environmental Impacts of the Laki Fissure Eruption Because the Laki eruption took place within an era and a geographic location in which written records were kept, researchers know a lot about the environmental impacts. [2] The event was composed of ten eruptive episodes, each one beginning with strong earthquakes, followed by explosive activity, resulting in a new fissure segment. Jacques and Étienne Montgolfier named this new invention in their honor, calling it a Montgolfière. [Source: Henry Robinson / The Trustees of the British Museum. ]On August 18, 1783, another phenomenon made people turn their heads skyward: A very bright and unusually long-lasting meteor, called “the Great Meteor of 1783” was visible from Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands (Figure 8). The Day the World Exploded. Impacts on the world outside of Iceland, 3.1. The Laki Iceland volcano 1783 eruptions were one of the world’s largest mixed eruptions in history. Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. This extreme event during the Little Ice Age shows how contemporaries dealt with sudden and extreme weather changes, these lessons may become very useful in our own present and future in a warming world. Laki, Iceland - 1783 The Laki eruption lasted eight months during which time about 14 cubic km of basaltic lava and some tephra were erupted. Chronique d’une année extraordinaire en Belgique et allieurs.” In Études et bibliographies d’histoire environnementale. Skaftá (Figure 3), was devoid of water, lava lay in its stead. From Sigurdsson (1982). Schmidt, Anja. 4 (1998): 727-730. Watch your Step! The volcano spewed out … An estimated 42 billion tons of basalt lava, as well as poisonous hydrofluoric acid and sulfur dioxide were released into … In June 1783, Laki spewed more sulfur into the atmosphere than any other Northern Hemisphere eruption in the last 1,000 years. Iceland is often referred to as a land of “ice and fire.” It’s home to many volcanoes and, due to its location in the North Atlantic and its proximity to the Arctic Circle several glaciers. [Source: Onioram [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]]own as F-roads, takes time. A map of the Earth’s fire canals (Subterraneus Pyrophylaciorum), which he believed to connect all the volcanoes in the world. Swiss naturalist H. Guerin also came to a similar conclusion, his findings were published in Neue Zürcher Zeitung on November 5, 1783. The lower level of the atmosphere is called the troposphere and the level above is called the stratosphere. “Real-Time Observations of the Laki Sulfuric Aerosol Cloud in Europe During 1783 as Documented by Professor S. P. van Swinden at Franeker, Holland.” Jökull 50 (2011): 65-72. Sometimes, it is also referred to as the Laki eruption. Iceland was under a Danish trade monopoly, which meant that only certain Danish merchants were allowed to trade with Iceland at specific trading posts around the country. Ben Franklin noted the atmospheric effects of the eruption (Wood, 1992). Above Iceland, the tropopause is at approximately 8-11 kilometers of altitude. It also spilled over and filled parts of the countryside on … The crater row is also known as Lakagígar, meaning the craters of Laki. This volcanic eruption is known by many names: Its Icelandic name, Skaftareldar, comes from the fact that the eruption took place in the Skaftarfellssysla, a region of Iceland, and that it replaced the Skaftá with lava. (accessed on 19 April 2019). Moss Conservation in Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland. The smoke and ash from this eruption was reported to travel all the way to Syria. Before June 8th, 1783 Laki was just an ordinary lonely and peaceful mountain. Demarée, Gaston R., Astrid E. J. Ogilvie, and De’er Zhang. : “Excess Mortality in Europe Follow-ing a Future Laki-Style Icelandic Eruption.“ PNAS 108, no. Henry Robinson, “An accurate representation of the meteor“ as seen at Winthorpe, Nottinghamshire, England, on 18 August 1783. 3 (1989): 130-134. It is further divided into thirty volcanic systems, with a wide range of different volcano types. 2015. This image is in the online collection of the British Museum. There are studies for England and France that analyze whether the heat, the dry fog, or several factors together may have caused a higher than usual mortality rate in the population. Natural hazards are an integral part of the history of our planet. The Laki eruption lasted eight months during which time about 14 cubic km of basaltic lava and some tephra were erupted. [Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie, FOL-IB-1. Scientists working on the Laki Fissure eruption are divided on whether most of the Laki gases were able to reach the stratosphere. Courtillot, Vincent. The Laki eruption is the worst catastrophe in the country's relatively short history. Iceland’s 1100 Years. The Europeans were unaware that this was the result of a devastating event unfolding in Iceland. “L’éruption du Lakagígar en Island ou ‘Annus mirabilis 1783’. “Watch your Step! [3], Figure 4. In addition, neighboring Grímsvötn central volcano was frequently active during the period from May 1783 to May 1785. 7 (2005): 641-651. [21] Demarée, Gaston R, and Astrid E. J. Ogilvie. The United States delegation at the Treaty of Paris: John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin, as depicted by Benjamin West. In Iceland, the haze lead to the loss of most of the island's livestock (by eating fluorine contaminated grass), crop failure (by acid rain), and the death of one-q… Mount Laki was the only conspicuous topographic feature in the path of the developing fissure eruption that is now known as Lakagígar (English: “Laki Craters”). This eruption happened in 1783 in Laki, Iceland. [20]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Among them, a sulfuric-smelling dry fog that lasted for several weeks and that was observable from around June 16 in most parts of Europe and beyond. The practice of ringing church bells to reroute the storm clouds when thunderstorms were approaching undoubtedly helped those figures (clocher de tourmente in French). The gas was transported to Europe via the jet stream, where it became observable as a sulfuric-smelling dry fog. 38 (2011) :15710–15715. [19] The severe winter conditions made it difficult to assemble enough congress members in Annapolis in order to have a quorum to ratify the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War (Figure 9). Lakis kratere og lavastrømme. At the time, an extraterrestrial origin of meteors was not yet widely accepted: There was no clear distinction between meteors and comets. “Bons Baisers d’Islande: Climatic, Environmental, and Human Dimension. Belgique – Nord de la France – Afrique centrale, edited by Isabelle aprmentier. The idea to connect earthquakes and the dry fog was probably also aided by the fact that the various hundreds of aftershocks in Calabria and Sicily occurred while the dry fog was still visible in southern Italy. 1783: Ash from the Laki volcano in Iceland arrives in Britain and northern France. [22] Helland, Amund. Aerostation and Adventurism.” ISIS 75, no 2 (1984): 249-268. Another major earthquake hit Tripoli, Lebanon, on July 30. In 1879, Icelandic geologist Thorvaldur Thoroddsen stumbled upon the manuscript at the Royal Library in Copenhagen and subsequently published part of it in 1879. This is particularly unusual, as normally cooling is expected after a large volcanic eruption. If it is stepped on, it turns brown and dies. Cover image. Thoroddsen visited the fissure in 1894. An eyewitness to the events that began shortly before June 8, 1783, Jon Steingrimsson was the perfect person to record these traumatic developments. The view from Benjamin Franklin’s terrace in Passy on November 21, 1783. Photo of main fissure at Laki by Thor Thordarson. Indeed, the grape harvest of 1783 seemed to have been extraordinarily successful, most likely aided by the very warm summer. Speculation about the cause of the unusual weather, 3.3. The Laki Fissure eruption, 1783-1784. On 8 June, 1783, the young country of Iceland - inhabited for less than 1,000 years - had a population of 50,000. In 1783-1784, Europe experienced an unusually cold winter. [10], In addition, the summer of 1783 was hot in north, west, and central Europe. So naturally, the large volumes of lava travelled downhill towards the coastal plains. 1 (2011): 19-28. This was the first untethered and manned journey of a Montgolfière hot air balloon. The idea of volcanic eruptions, though, fit very well with the above-mentioned theory of a subterraneous revolution. It also had an effect on the temperature. [13] Kleemann, Katrin. [15] Kleemann, Katrin. “De vulkanske Udbrud paa Island I Aaret 1783.” Geografisk Tidskrift 1879. „Illness and Elevated Human Mortality in Eu-rope Coincident with the Laki Fissure Eruption.“ In Volcanic Degassing, edited by Clive Oppenheimer, D. M. Pyle, and J. Barclay, 401-414. According to the Bulletin of Volcanology, Laki first began erupting on June 8, 1783. Fires of the Earth. Many other phenomena were recorded throughout the year, including earthquakes and unusually frequent thunderstorms, leading to 1783 being dubbed an annus mirabilis, a year of awe. et al., 219-246. 5 (2009): 45–70. Corrigendum to ‘Atmospheric effects in Scotland of the AD 1783–84 Laki eruption in Iceland’ Abstract Four diarists in eastern and northern Scotland describe the near-simultaneous occurrence of discrete groups of days characterised by ‘foggy’, ‘gloomy’ and ‘hazy’ conditions during June and July 1783. For several years a red line to the Bulletin of Volcanology 55 ( 1993 ), volumes I and.... 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