Fiery volcanoes and the frigid polar regions seem poles apart. But concealed in the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets are mementos-ash and sulfate particles-from past super-powerful volcanic eruptions. During such eruptions, volcanoes spew material dozens of miles into the sky. The swirling of winds disperses these chemicals and ash over continents, all the way to the poles. When snow falls there, the material is also deposited. In ice cores-cylinders of ice drilled from ice sheets-sulfate from past volcanic plumes shows up as spikes. Measuring how intense each spike is helps scientists figure out how strong each eruption was.
In the 1970s, polar scientists stumbled upon a sulfate spike that occurred in roughly 1259. Unlike others, though, this one was ginormous. It dwarfed the spike from the ear-splitting 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatoa in Indonesia. "The eruption was one of the largest of the last millennium," says Céline Vidal. She's a volcanologist-a scientist who studies volcanoes. She also lectures about geography at the University of Cambridge in England. "The amount of material erupted would have buried New York City under about eight feet (2.5 m) of rocks and ash."
Medieval European accounts also provided indirect evidence for an enormous eruption at around the same time. Severe hailstorms and floods plagued eastern England and parts of Europe in the winter of 1260 to 1261. From Iceland to Italy, ice layers crusted over seas and rivers.
There was just one problem: Nobody seemed to have reported seeing a volcano erupting. So, where was the missing volcano?
HOT INSIDE, COLD OUTSIDE
Volcanic ash in the upper layers of the atmosphere can block sunlight and heat. This makes summers colder than usual. Trees show stunted growth. Harvests of crops may also be poorer.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2023-Ausgabe von Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2023-Ausgabe von Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.