Scientists finally solve mystery of giant volcano that almost wiped out the world

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A team of researchers have helped solve the mystery over a volcanic eruption that caused famines and crop failures around the world, almost 200 years ago. The research, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, allowed Dr Hutchison and his team to accurately date and match the ice core deposits to the Zavaritskii volcano. open image in gallery Scientists from the University of St Andrews say they have discovered the exact volcano that erupted in 1831, leading to a global cooling of approximately 1C “Only in recent years have we developed the ability to extract microscopic ash shards from polar ice cores and conduct detailed chemical analyses on them. Dr Hutchison said: “There are so many volcanoes like this, which highlights how difficult it will be to predict when or where the next large-magnitude eruption might occur.