COLUMBIA, Mo., June 11 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have solved the mystery of what caused "New England's Dark Day" on May 19, 1780, by finding evidence of massive Canadian wildfires.
Accounts of that event say at noon that day it was dark as night, flowers folded their petals and night birds began singing. George Washington made note of the dark day in his diary while fighting the Revolutionary War in New Jersey.
But the mystery has been solved by University of Missouri researchers who say evidence from tree rings reveals massive wildfires burning in Canada were the likely cause.
Limited ability for long-distance communication prevented colonists from knowing the cause of the darkness, said researcher Erin McMurry of the university's Tree Ring Laboratory.
The researchers studied tree rings from the Algonquin Highlands of southern Ontario and other locations. They found a major fire had burned in 1780 affecting atmospheric conditions hundred of miles away.
"This study was a unique opportunity to take historical accounts and combine them with modern technology and the physical historical evidence from the tree rings and solve a mystery with science," McMurry said.
The study appears in the International Journal of Wildland Fire.
