BBC
Timewatch focused on an environmental disaster of 1783 which killed thousands of Britons. Victims of a huge volcanic eruption in Iceland, they choked on the poisonous gases that enveloped Europe.
The ensuing winter was one of the worst on record, and took countless more lives.
The tragedy wrought by the Laki eruption is well documented in Iceland but its impact on Britain has remained a mystery for the past 200 years. Timewatch went in search of the evidence of Britain's forgotten disaster.
Here, viewers share their thoughts on the programme.
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Has Laki Eruption happened before?
Doing some research into Medieval history I found this report from 1224.
From the Chronicles of Meaux Abbey came the report saying 'A London fog occurred while the Bishop of London was officiating in St. Paul's there came on suddenly such a thickness of the clouds and darkness of the sun, accompanied by thunder and lightening and a most foul stench, that the people departed, leaving only the bishop there with one attendant.'
Sounds very similar to the descriptions of the gas cloud that covered Europe after the Laki Eruption of 1738.
Killer Cloud in Scotland
Due to different schedules, I don't think this episode was shown in Scotland. Will it be repeated on BBC2 or 4 at some point?
[Edited by: admin on 26-Jan-2007 13:14]
You can find the schedule for all Open University programmes across BBC TV and Radio here on open2.net:
http://www.open2.net/home/go?jsp=tvschedule
Re: Has Laki Eruption happened before?
Presumably there must be ways of discovering if this was the case - would there be other abbey records in the course the cloud would have taken?
Killer Cloud and sulphuric acid
Several misleading comments were made in the Killer Cloud programme concerning the generation of sulphuric acid (H2SO4) by the reaction between sulphur dioxide (SO2) and water (H2O). In fact, it is sulphurous acid (H2SO3)that is formed, which is a much weaker acid due its dissociation into bisulphite (HSO3-) and Hydrogen (H+) ions. Sulphuric acid is produced by a reaction between sulphur trioxide (SO3) and water, something that probably never happens in nature.
Re: Killer Cloud and sulphuric acid
dear Minty
Thanks for your comment, but this stands in opposition to the advice of many of the environmental chemists we have consulted. Volcanologists and climatologists all over the world are convinced that H2SO4 is formed from volcanic sulphur.
In 1783 the symptoms of damage to plants and humans which were described in graphic detail and are consistent with damage by an acid aerosol.
If you contact me directly I can send you relevant pdfs.
Regards
john