Laki Eruption

ANNOUNCER: Part 3. You will hear two geography students, Adam and Michelle, talking about a volcanic eruption which took place in Iceland in 1783. First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 26. Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 26.

ADAM: So, Michelle, shall we start our presentation? We haven't got much time left.

MICHELLE: True, Adam, but at least we've finished all the background reading. I found it really interesting. I'd never even heard about the Laki eruption before.

ADAM: Me neither. I suppose 1783 was quite a long time ago.

MICHELLE: Yes, but it was a massive eruption, and it caused extremely devastating consequences.

ADAM: I know. It was helpful that there were many primary sources. They really show how catastrophic the volcano was.

MICHELLE: Exactly. People were trying to understand the science behind it for the first time.

ADAM: Yes, but what interested me more was how the eruption influenced political events, as well as social and economic consequences.

MICHELLE: Right. That should probably be the main focus of our presentation.

ADAM: The observations made at the time were really interesting too.

MICHELLE: Yes, they all gave fairly consistent accounts of what happened, even though they used different terminology.

ADAM: I was surprised there were already so many weather stations then. You can see how the weather changed almost hour by hour.

MICHELLE: Yes. Writers described something called the Laki haze, which was a kind of volcanic fog spreading across Europe.

MICHELLE: They realized it was different from normal fog because of the sulfur smell, which people hadn't experienced before in pre-industrial times.

ADAM: That's true.

MICHELLE: Reports blamed the haze for increased headaches, respiratory problems, and asthma attacks. It also made the sun appear red.

ADAM: That must have been very strange.

MICHELLE: Interestingly, Benjamin Franklin wrote about the haze. He was the American ambassador in Paris at the time.

ADAM: At first, nobody realized the haze came from a volcanic eruption in Iceland.

MICHELLE: Benjamin Franklin was the first to suggest that.

ADAM: Although actually a French naturalist identified it earlier. Later, several naturalists reached the same conclusion independently.

MICHELLE: We should also discuss the immediate impact of the eruption, especially in Iceland, where many people died.

ADAM: Yes, and the volcanic ash spread very quickly. The effects lasted for a long time.

ADAM: Even two years later, unusual weather events were reported in North America and North Africa.

MICHELLE: Yes, and people couldn't do anything to stop the ash cloud, even if they knew it was coming.

ANNOUNCER: Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 27 to 30. Now listen and answer questions 27 to 30.

MICHELLE: Let's review the terrible consequences in different countries.

ADAM: Starting with Iceland, where the eruption had a devastating effect on farming.

MICHELLE: Yes. Livestock were poisoned because they ate plants contaminated with fluorine from the volcanic fallout.

ADAM: In Egypt, unusual weather patterns caused a severe drought. As a result, the Nile didn't flood and crops failed.

MICHELLE: That led to a terrible famine where more people died than in any other country.

ADAM: In the UK, the mortality rate increased significantly, possibly because of respiratory illnesses.

MICHELLE: Apparently the number of deaths was nearly double the usual amount, especially among people under 25.

ADAM: Even the USA experienced unusual weather. George Washington wrote in his diary that Virginia remained snowbound until March.

MICHELLE: And there was even ice floating down the Mississippi River, which had never happened before.

ADAM: That's really astonishing.

ANNOUNCER: That is the end of Part 3. You now have 30 seconds to check your answers.