Saturday, April 17, 2010

Icelandic Volanco & Scottish Famine

From BBC News:
Outpourings of volcanic ash from Iceland in the 17th Century contributed to a period of famine and hardship in Scotland, according to experts.

A major eruption in 1695 saw large parts of the country affected by a "sulphurous fog".

Prof Alastair Dawson, writing in the latest Scottish Environment Protection Agency magazine, said it came at a time of climatic change.

Dust in the atmosphere dimmed sunlight causing crops to fail.

Prof Dawson, of the University of Aberdeen, writes in Sepa View: "We cannot be sure what the precise effect of this eruption was on Scotland's climate but we do know that the years between AD 1693-1700 were characterised by widespread famine.

"They later became known as the 'King William's Dear Years'.

"A contemporary account of this time describes how it was common for people to bring in the crops in the frosts and snow between November and February."

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