Laki eruption: first study of a volcanic winter
Erupción del Laki: primer estudio de un invierno volcánico
- Date
- junio de 1783 - febrero de 1784 · confidence high
- Place
- Lakagígar, Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Iceland
- Credited to
- Jón Steingrímsson (eyewitness) and Benjamin Franklin (interpretation)
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
The 1783-1784 fissure eruption ejected about 14 km³ of lava and vast amounts of sulphur dioxide and fluorine, which killed most of Iceland's livestock and a fifth of its population. A dry fog covered Europe, and in 1784 Franklin linked that harsh winter to the volcano.
The pastor Jón Steingrímsson left an eyewitness account (Eldrit, 1788). The link of the 1783-1784 winter with Laki and its role in the French Revolution are hypotheses, not proven facts.
What it led to
- the 1783-1785 famine in Iceland ('Móðuharðindin')
- crop failures in Europe that contributed to unrest before 1789
- a model of an effusive eruption with climate impact (Laki studies to this day)