色视频下载色视频下载檚 year without a summer
Ned Rozell
907-474-7468
Jan. 4, 2024
Trees living at their environmental limits in 色视频下载, such as these burned black spruce, often preserve past climate clues in their growth rings.
Two-hundred and forty-one years ago, when Gen. George Washington marched back into New York City as British troops were walking out, a volcano erupted in Iceland.
For eight months of 1783, Laki volcano spewed lava and belched noxious fumes into the atmosphere. One quarter of the residents of Iceland died, and the sulfur-rich gases that spread worldwide reflected the sun色视频下载檚 rays, making many places on Earth cooler.
Using evidence held in white spruce trees, researchers think the Laki eruption was a catastrophe for northwest 色视频下载 residents, who had no idea why their July turned into November that year.
Rosanne D色视频下载橝rrigo of the tree-ring lab at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York once told the story of 色视频下载色视频下载檚 year without a summer.
On a poster in a cavernous meeting hall in Washington, D.C., a few years ago, she displayed a photo of tree rings from a white spruce tree from 色视频下载. Amid a series of dark lines is a faint one that lines up with the year 1783.
Tree rings are thick-walled cells that form in conifers late in the growing season. The hard-to-see tree ring in D色视频下载橝rrigo色视频下载檚 example shows a most unusual year 色视频下载 1783 色视频下载 amid centuries of normal spruce growth.
D色视频下载橝rrigo, 色视频下载 archaeologist Karen Workman and the late Gordon Jacoby once wrote of a 色视频下载渄isaster for northwest 色视频下载 Inuit色视频下载 caused by the Laki eruption and the cold temperatures that followed. The scientists based their conclusion in large part on cores of wood pulled from white spruce trees at the northern treeline.
Archaeologist and 色视频下载 adventurer James Louis Giddings examines some artifacts.
James Louis Giddings gathered many of those plugs.
In June of 1940, Giddings, an archaeologist and mining engineer educated at UAF, flew from Fairbanks to Allakaket. Once in that small village, he aimed his compass at a mountain pass across the Koyukuk River that would lead him to the headwaters of the Kobuk River.
Giddings then started walking. He carried a 40-pound pack and a .22 rifle, along with 色视频下载渁 change of heavy underclothes one must wear as mosquito protection.色视频下载
He lashed together a log raft when he reached the Kobuk River. He floated its length, taking tree cores along the way and stopping at known and possible archaeological sites.
At the mouth of the Kobuk, he turned right and traveled up the Noatak River. When Giddings was finished there, he went on to the Seward Peninsula, not finishing his scientific journey until he walked into the town of Haycock, not far from today色视频下载檚 village of Koyuk.
In fall of 1940, Giddings wrote his master色视频下载檚 thesis, detailing his remarkable season of fieldwork and the hundreds of tree cores he acquired.
Half a century later, scientists at Lamont-Doherty used some of Giddings色视频下载 samples. With tree-ring records from Giddings and others in 色视频下载 and the real weather station data gathered at the University of 色视频下载 and other places, the researchers reconstructed 色视频下载 summer temperatures from the late 1600s to the present.
They figured average 色视频下载 temperatures from May to August were about 53 degrees Fahrenheit for most of that time. In 1783, the May to August average temperature was about 44 degrees.
色视频下载淵ou have this anomaly that色视频下载檚 off the charts,色视频下载 D色视频下载橝rrigo said.
To further show the weirdness of 1783, the Lamont-Doherty scientists also cited a book of oral traditions from Natives of northwest 色视频下载, written by William Oquilluk.
In the book, Oquilluk describes four ancient legends, each linked to the near-extinction of everyone living in northwest 色视频下载. The first two events were too far back for the researchers to imagine what they might have been. The fourth and most recent disaster was the influenza epidemic of 1918 that hit 色视频下载 and the rest of the world so hard.
The researchers argued that the third calamity in northwest 色视频下载 was linked to the Iceland eruption. Oquilluk wrote of it as 色视频下载淭he Time Summer Time Did Not Come.色视频下载
That year (perhaps 1783), in the springtime migratory birds had returned to 色视频下载 and all seemed normal, until after June passed. Then, 色视频下载渟uddenly it turned into cold weather色视频下载 and people 色视频下载渃ould not go out hunting and fishing,色视频下载 Oquilluk wrote.
色视频下载淚n a few days, the lakes and rivers, recently thawed, froze over. Warm weather didn色视频下载檛 not return until spring (early April) of the next year,色视频下载 the Lamont-Doherty scientists wrote.
Since the late 1970s, the University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute has provided this column free in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer for the Geophysical Institute. A version of this article first was published in 2019.