Open Access Published by De Gruyter 2023

A Mist Connection

An Environmental History of the Laki Eruption of 1783 and Its Legacy

Katrin Kleemann

In the series Historical Catastrophe Studies / Historische Katastrophenforschung

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110731927

About this book

Now in paperback

In the summer of 1783, an unusual dry fog descended upon large parts of the northern hemisphere. The fog brought with it bloodred sunsets, a foul sulfuric odor, and a host of other peculiar weather events. Inspired by the Enlightenment, many naturalists attempted to find reasonable explanations for these occurrences.

Between 8 June 1783 and 7 February 1784, a 27-kilometer-long fissure volcano erupted in the Icelandic highlands. It produced the largest volume of lava released by any volcanic eruption on planet Earth in the last millennium. In Iceland, the eruption led to the death of one-fifth of the population. The jetstream carried its volcanic gases further afield to Europe and beyond, where they settled as a fog, the origin of which puzzled naturalists and laypersons.

"A Mist Connection" is an environmental history that documents the Laki eruption and its consequences for Iceland and the wider world. The book combines methods of historical disaster research, climate history, global history, history of science, and geology in an interdisciplinary approach.

Icelandic flood lava eruptions of this scale have a statistical recurrence period of 200 to 500 years; it is crucial to understand their nature so that we can prepare for the next one. An eruption of this magnitude would surely be disastrous for our modern, globalized, and interconnected world.

Author / Editor information

Katrin Kleemann, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
1 Introduction: 1783 – A Year of Wonders Open Access Download PDF	1
2 A Volcano Comes to Life Open Access Download PDF	35
3 Shaking the World Open Access Download PDF	88
4 The Mystery Remains Open Access Download PDF	238
5 Conclusions: A Modern Perspective on the Laki Eruption Open Access Download PDF	283
Illustrations Open Access Download PDF	309
Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	321
Index Open Access Download PDF	373

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Historians, Experts in History of Science, Researchers in the Field of Geoscience, Climatologists
Pages
- Front matter: 13
- Main content: 387
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 37
- Coloured Illustrations: 34
Keywords: Volcano; Geology; Weather; Iceland

eBook

Published: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9783110731927

Hardcover

Published: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9783110737172

Paperback

Planned Publication: October 21, 2024
ISBN: 9783111620435