The volcanic winter of 536 was among the most severe and protracted episodes of climatic cooling in the Northern Hemisphere in the last 2,000 years.
The
volcanic winter
A volcanic winter is a reduction in global temperatures caused by droplets of sulfuric acid obscuring the Sun and raising Earth's albedo (increasing the reflection of solar radiation) after a large, sulfur-rich, particularly explosive volcanic eru ...
was caused by at least three simultaneous eruptions of uncertain origin, with several possible locations proposed in various continents. Modern scholarship has determined that in early AD 536 (or possibly late 535), an eruption ejected massive amounts of
sulfate aerosols
Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. An ''aerosol'' is a mixture of particulates and air, as opposed to the particulate matter alone, though it is sometimes defined ...
into the atmosphere, which reduced the
solar radiation
Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically p ...
reaching the Earth's surface and cooled the atmosphere for several years. In March 536,
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
began experiencing darkened skies and lower temperatures.
Summer temperatures in 536 fell by as much as below normal in Europe. The lingering effect of the volcanic winter of 536 was augmented in 539–540, when another volcanic eruption caused summer temperatures to decline as much as below normal in Europe.
There is evidence of still another volcanic eruption in 547 which would have extended the cool period. The volcanic eruptions caused crop failures, and were accompanied by the
Plague of Justinian
The plague of Justinian or Justinianic plague (AD 541–549) was an epidemic of Plague (disease), plague that afflicted the entire Mediterranean basin, Mediterranean Basin, Europe, and the Near East, especially the Sasanian Empire and the Byza ...
,
famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...
, and millions of deaths and initiated the
Late Antique Little Ice Age
The Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA) was a long-lasting Northern Hemispheric cooling period in the 6th and 7th centuries AD, during the period known as Late Antiquity. The period coincides with three large volcanic eruptions in 535/536, 539/ ...
, which lasted from 536 to 660.
Historian Michael McCormick has called the year 536 "the beginning of one of the worst periods to be alive, if not the worst year."
Documentary evidence
The Roman historian
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...
recorded in AD 536 in his report on the
wars with the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...
, "during this year a most dread
portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness... and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in
eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...
, for the beams it shed were not clear".
In 538, the Roman statesman
Cassiodorus
Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Christian Roman statesman, a renowned scholar and writer who served in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senato ...
described the following to one of his subordinates in letter 25:
* The sun's rays were weak, and they appeared a "bluish" colour.
* At noon, no shadows from people were visible on the ground.
* The heat from the sun was feeble.
* The moon, even when full, was "empty of splendour"
* "A winter without storms, a spring without mildness, and a summer without heat"
* Prolonged frost and unseasonable drought
* The seasons "seem to be all jumbled up together"
* The sky is described as "blended with alien elements" just like cloudy weather, except prolonged. It was "stretched like a hide across the sky" and prevented the "true colours" of the sun and moon from being seen, along with the sun's warmth.
* Frosts during harvest, which made apples harden and grapes sour.
* The need to use stored food to last through the situation.
* Subsequent letters (no. 26 and 27) discuss plans to relieve a widespread famine.
In the entry corresponding to the year 535–536, the early 7th century
Mandaean ''Book of Kings'' relates, "were you to request a tenth of a
peck
A peck is an imperial and United States customary unit of dry volume, equivalent to 8 dry quarts or 16 dry pints. An imperial peck is equivalent to 9.09218 liters and a US customary peck is equivalent to 8.80976754172 liters. Four pecks ma ...
of grain in the land
Gawkāy for five
staters, we would look but it would not be found," an exchange of 873 grams of grain for 43 grams of gold, reflecting the scarcity of grain during this time.
Michael the Syrian
Michael the Syrian (),(), died AD 1199, also known as Michael the Great () or Michael Syrus or Michael the Elder, to distinguish him from his nephew, was a patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1166 to 1199. He is best known today as th ...
(1126–1199), a patriarch of the
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...
, reported that during 536–537 the sun shone feebly for a year and a half.
The
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ti ...
recorded the following:
* "A failure of bread in AD 536" – the ''
Annals of Ulster
The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luin� ...
''
* "A failure of bread from AD 536–539" – the ''
Annals of Inisfallen
The ''Annals of Inisfallen'' () are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland.
Overview
There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between 433 and 1450. The manuscript is thought to have been compiled in 1092, as the chronic ...
''
''
The mid-10th-century ''
Annales Cambriae
The (Latin for ''Annals of Wales'') is the title given to a complex of Latin chronicles compiled or derived from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales. The earliest is a 12th-century presumed copy of a mid-10th-century original; later ...
'' record for the year 537:
* "The
Battle of Camlann
The Battle of Camlann ( or ''Brwydr Camlan'') is the legendary final battle of King Arthur, in which Arthur either died or was mortally wounded while fighting either alongside or against Mordred, who also perished. The original legend of Caml ...
, in which Arthur and Medraut fell, and there was great mortality in Britain and Ireland."
In Chinese sources include:
* The Annals of the Tang Dynasty, which mentions the “great cold” and “famine” that occurred in 536.
* The
Book of the Later Han
The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...
, which describes the “year of great cold” and the “famine that occurred in the summer”.
* The
Zizhi Tongjian
The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...
, a historical text that mentions the “great cold” and the “famine that occurred in the summer”.
* The
Nan Shi 南史 "History of the South" describes "a yellow ash-like substance from the sky".
Further phenomena were reported by independent contemporary sources:
* Low temperatures, even snow during the summer (snow reportedly fell in August in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, which caused the harvest there to be delayed).
* Widespread crop failures.
* "A dense, dry fog" in the Middle East, China and Europe.
* Drought in
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, which affected the
Moche culture
The Moche civilization (; alternatively, the Moche culture or the Early, Pre- or Proto-Chimú culture, Chimú) flourished in northern Peru with its capital near present-day Moche, Trujillo, Peru from about 100 to 800 AD during the Cultural peri ...
.
There are other sources of evidence regarding this period.
Scientific evidence
Tree ring analysis by the
dendrochronologist Mike Baillie, of
Queen's University Belfast
The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
, Ireland, shows abnormally little growth in Irish
oak
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
in 536 and another sharp drop in 542, after a partial recovery.
Ice core
An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet or a high mountain glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier ...
s from
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
and Antarctica show evidence of substantial
sulfate
The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ...
deposits in around 534 ± 2, which is evidence of an extensive acidic dust veil.
Possible explanations
It was originally theorized that the climatic changes of AD 536 were caused by either volcanic eruptions (a phenomenon known as "
volcanic winter
A volcanic winter is a reduction in global temperatures caused by droplets of sulfuric acid obscuring the Sun and raising Earth's albedo (increasing the reflection of solar radiation) after a large, sulfur-rich, particularly explosive volcanic eru ...
") or
impact events
An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or meteoroids and have minimal ef ...
(
meteorite
A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...
or
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
).
In 2015, revision of polar ice core chronologies dated sulfate deposits and a
cryptotephra layer to the year 536 (previously dated to 529 before revision).
This is strong evidence that a large explosive volcanic eruption caused the observed dimming and cooling.
But
Dallas Abbott and her colleagues found spherules containing
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
and
copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
in an
ice core
An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet or a high mountain glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier ...
, giving support to an impact event around this time.
The source of volcanic eruption remains to be found but several proposed volcanoes have been rejected:
* R. B. Stothers postulated the volcano
Rabaul
Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...
in
New Britain
New Britain () is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi Island, Umboi the Dampie ...
, in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
. The eruption is now thought to have occurred in the interval AD 667–699 based on
wiggle-match radiocarbon dating.
*
David Keys suggested the volcano
Krakatoa
Krakatoa (), also transcribed (), is a caldera in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The caldera is part of a volcanic island group (Krakatoa archipelago) comprising four islands. Tw ...
by shifting a cataclysm in AD 416 recorded in the Javanese ''
Book of Kings'' to 535.
Drilling projects in the
Sunda Strait
The Sunda Strait () is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java island, Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean.
Etymology
The strait takes its name from the Sunda Kingdom, which ruled the western portion of Ja ...
ruled out any possibility that an eruption took place there during this time period.
* Robert Dull and colleagues proposed the large VEI-7,
Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) eruption of the
Ilopango caldera. Identification of TBJ
tephra
Tephra is fragmental material produced by a Volcano, volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism.
Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, ...
in ice cores narrowed the eruption date to 429–433.
* Christopher Loveluck and his colleagues proposed Icelandic volcanos based on the shards from a Swiss glacier.
However, the cryptotephras dated exactly to AD 536 are geochemically distinct from Icelandic tephra, and the shards in the Swiss glacier have large age uncertainty.
Geochemical
Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the ...
analysis of AD 536 cryptotephras distinguishes at least three synchronous eruptive events in North America.
Further analysis correlates one of the eruptions to a widespread
Mono Craters tephra identified in northeast California.
The other two eruptions most likely originated from the
eastern Aleutians and
Northern Cordilleran volcanic province.
Historic consequences
The 536 event and ensuing famine have been suggested as an explanation for the deposition of hoards of gold by Scandinavian elites at the end of the
Migration Period
The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...
. The gold was possibly a sacrifice to appease the gods and get the sunlight back. Mythological events such as the
Fimbulwinter and
Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, a ...
are theorised to be based on the
cultural memory
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these gro ...
of the event.
A book written by
David Keys speculates that the climate changes contributed to various developments, such as the emergence of the
Plague of Justinian
The plague of Justinian or Justinianic plague (AD 541–549) was an epidemic of Plague (disease), plague that afflicted the entire Mediterranean basin, Mediterranean Basin, Europe, and the Near East, especially the Sasanian Empire and the Byza ...
(541–549), the decline of the
Avars, the migration of
Mongol
Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...
tribes towards the west, the end of the
Sasanian Empire
The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...
, the collapse of the
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...
, the rise of Islam, the expansion of
Turkic tribes, and the fall of
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'', ; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City.
Teotihuacan is ...
.
In 2000, a
3BM Television production (for
WNET
WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as Thirteen (stylized as THIRTEEN), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the Educ ...
and
Channel Four) capitalised upon Keys' book. The documentary, under the name ''Catastrophe! How the World Changed'', was broadcast in the US as part of
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
's ''
Secrets of the Dead'' series.
However, Keys and Wohletz's ideas lack mainstream acceptance. Reviewing Keys' book, British archaeologist
Ken Dark commented that "much of the apparent evidence presented in the book is highly debatable, based on poor sources or simply incorrect... Nonetheless, both the global scope and the emphasis on the 6th century CE as a time of wide-ranging change are notable, and the book contains some obscure information that will be new to many. However, it fails to demonstrate its central thesis and does not offer a convincing explanation for the many changes discussed".
Philologist
Andrew Breeze argues that some
Arthurian
According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...
events, including the
Battle of Camlann
The Battle of Camlann ( or ''Brwydr Camlan'') is the legendary final battle of King Arthur, in which Arthur either died or was mortally wounded while fighting either alongside or against Mordred, who also perished. The original legend of Caml ...
, are historical, happening in 537 as a consequence of the famine associated with the climate change of the previous year.
Historian Robert Bruton argues that this catastrophe played a role in the
decline of the Roman Empire
The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...
.
See also
*
1257 Samalas eruption
*
1452/1453 mystery eruption
A mysterious volcanic eruption in 1452 or 1453 triggered the first large sulfate spike in the 1450s, succeeded by another spike in 1458 caused by another mysterious eruption. The eruption caused a severe volcanic winter, leading to one of the s ...
*
1815 eruption of Mount Tambora, largest ever recorded
*
946 eruption of Paektu Mountain
*
Fimbulwinter
*
Great Famine of 1315–1317
The Great Famine of 1315–1317 (occasionally dated 1315–1322) was the first of a series of large-scale crises that struck parts of Europe early in the 14th century. Most of Europe (extending east to Poland and south to the Alps) was affected ...
*
Justinian I
Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
, Roman emperor at the time
*
Laki
Laki () or Lakagígar (, ''Craters of Laki'') is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The fissure is proper ...
*
Minoan eruption
*
Tierra Blanca Joven eruption
*
Volcanism of Iceland
*
Year Without a Summer
The year 1816 is known as the Year Without a Summer because of severe climate abnormalities that caused average global temperatures to decrease by . Summer temperatures in Europe were the coldest of any on record between 1766 and 2000, resultin ...
, 1816
*
Extreme event attribution
Extreme event attribution, also known as attribution science, is the identification and quantification of the role that human-caused climate change plays in the frequency and intensity of Rare events, extreme weather events. Attribution science ai ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Levy, David (ed.), ''The Scientific American Book of the Cosmos'', , 2000
(Google Print, p. 186)*
*
*
*
External links
"536 and all that" from ''
RealClimate'', March 2008.
CCNet Debate: The AD 536–540 Mystery: Global Catastrophe, Regional Event or Modern Myth?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Extreme weather events of 0535-0536
535
536
6th century in Asia
6th century in Europe
6th century in North America
6th-century natural disasters
Anomalous weather
Medieval weather events
6th-century disasters
Volcanic winters
Mystery eruptions
Medieval famines