Survillance and observations ( chapter 4 of the book of volcanoes

Name: The eruption of laki volcano, iceland, 1783

Fact: It is often said of iceland that in the eighteenth century the country was still living in the middle ages. If this was true where it's economic development is concerned, the same cannot be said of its culture. Since the discovery and colonization of the country in 874, the Vikings---who become the icelanders---have carried on written traditions that tell their entire history, from detailed chronicles to mythical stories.

Fact 2: In 1783, Laki volcano began to erupt and the entire neighboring region was affected. At the monastery of Prestbakki, the Reverend jon Steingrimsson quickly grasped the scope and inerest of the phenomenon and decided to keep a chronicle. With no prior scientific education, he proved to be an attenive, precise observer. He not only recorded observations, but at the some time related the consequences of the eruption, keeping careful inventory of deaths, trying each time to identify the real cause of death of his parishioners.