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Gudrun

Gudrun club

Posted: 21 Aug 2022

Taken: 29 Jul 2022

36 favorites     49 comments    260 visits

1/640 • f/10.0 • 263.0 mm • ISO 160 •

Canon EOS 6D

EF70-200mm f/4L USM

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Geology Geology

Mountain Scenery Mountain Scenery

Keywords

Canon •
EOS 6D •
EF70-200mm f/4L USM •
Iceland •
Suðurland •
Highlands •
Volcanism •
Glacier •
Vatnajökull National Park •
UNESCO Global Geopark •
UNESCO World Heritage •
Laki •

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Lakagígar

Lakagígar
Part of the northern Laki crater row with Síðujökull (part of Vatnajökull) in the background.

The Laki fissure eruption of 1783/84 was one of the greatest natural disasters of the last 1000 years. A total of 14,7 km³ of lava flowed from 130 vents, eventually covering 600km². 122 million tonnes of SO² and 15 million tonnes of fluorine were emitted. In Iceland 80% of sheep and over 50% of other livestock died of fluorine poisoning, more than 20% of Icelanders died of starvation.
The poisonous cloud covered much of Europe as a dry fog, leading to high excess mortality, crop failures and famine. Temperatures dropped by an average of 1,3°C for 2-3 years, causing an extremely cold winter and enormous flooding after snow melt in spring.

www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2007/12/19/the-summer-of-acid-rain

whc.unesco.org/en/list/1604

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki-Krater

Erhard Bernstein, Percy Schramm, Leo W, Nouchetdu38 and 32 other people have particularly liked this photo

Comments
 slgwv
slgwv club
I've seen it suggested that the crop failures from the dry fog were one of the triggers for the French Revolution.
21 months ago.
 Andy Rodker
Andy Rodker club has replied
(see the discussion)
They say that certain historic eruptions were critical in the survival of our species as we were able to adapt better than other human species around at that time. Toba, 74,000 years ago in Sumatra was possibly a 'bottleneck' event in the eventual dominance of homo sapiens. A controversial theory though. www.sciencedaily.com/terms/toba_catastrophe_theory.htm
21 months ago. Edited 21 months ago.
 Gudrun
Gudrun club has replied
(see the discussion)
Indeed!
21 months ago.
 Gudrun
Gudrun club has replied
(see the discussion)
I read about that! I guess some humans might survive another one like Toba, but it won't be our Western civilizations. My money would be on indigenous people like the ones on the Andaman Islands who reacted to the tsunami in time because they could read the signs.
Maybe mankind needs a reset;-)
21 months ago.
 Gudrun
Gudrun club has replied
(see the discussion)
Herzlichen Dank, Volker! Ich wüsste auch nicht, dass Goethe oder Humboldt da etwas geschrieben hätten. Vesuv oder die südamerikanischen Vulkane sind ja auch ganz was anderes als diese gigantischen Spalteneruptionen- spektakulärer, aber meist längst nicht mit so weitreichenden Folgen.
Nur die ganz großen explosiven Eruptionen können sich deutlich auf das Klima auswirken, aber auch in der Regel nur die rund um den Äquator, das das verteilt sich dann rund um die Welt (z.B. Tambora 1815 oder in geringerem Maß Pinatubo).
Aber ganz kritisch waren immer die großen Flutbasalt-Ausbrüche: die sibirischen Trapps am Ende des Perm führten zum Massenaussterben fast aller Arten, die Deccan-Trapps sind für die Dinos verantwortlich, der Meteorit versetzte denen "nur noch" den Todesstoß...
21 months ago.

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