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In 1831, a volcanic eruption flooded the skies with so much sulfur gas that it cooled the planet by nearly two degrees Fahrenheit, causing all manner of famine, devastation, and social upheaval.
But in the nearly two hundred years since, exactly which volcano blew its top to so shake up the natural order has remained a mystery — until now., scientists say they've determined the culprit to be the Zavaritskii volcano on the extremely remote and uninhabited island of Simushir, one of the Kuril Islands, in the Western Pacific.
"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," study lead author Will Hutchinson, a geoscientist at the University of St Andrews,The volcano's Kuril Islands are currently controlled by Russia, though Japan disputes its claim to the archipelago.
But the hard work was worth it. "The moment in the lab when we analyzed the two ashes together, one from the volcano and one from the ice core, was a genuine eureka moment," he added.In addition to making an impressive achievement in geological forensics, the work is a friendly reminder that many of the world's volcanoes remain unmonitored, including those on the Kuril islands — despite being an extremely productive volcanic region, according to the researchers.
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Future robots could one day tell how you're feeling by measuring your sweat, scientists sayOwen Hughes is a freelance writer and editor specializing in data and digital technologies. Previously a senior editor at ZDNET, Owen has been writing about tech for more than a decade, during which time he has covered everything from AI, cybersecurity and supercomputers to programming languages and public sector IT.
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