Did an environmental disaster inadvertently deliver the Black Death to Europe by forcing trade partners to rely on the very route that carried the plague? Pape

Did an environmental disaster inadvertently deliver the Black Death to Europe by forcing trade partners to rely on the very route that carried the plague? Paper widely syndicated: CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/science/black-death-volcanic-eruption-tree-rings https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/science/black-death-volcanic-... EurekAlert!: Volcanic eruptions set off a chain of events that brought the Black Death to Europe (https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1107493 https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1107493?) Science News: A volcanic eruption might have helped bring the Black Plague to Europe (https://www.sciencenews.org/article/volcanic-eruption-black-plague-europe https://www.sciencenews.org/article/volcanic-eruption-black-...) SciTechDaily: A Forgotten Eruption Could Rewrite the Black Death Origin Story (https://scitechdaily.com/a-forgotten-eruption-could-rewrite-the-black-death-origin-story/ https://scitechdaily.com/a-forgotten-eruption-could-rewrite-...) Discover Magazine: Volcanic Eruptions May Have Been Responsible for the Spread of Black Death in Medieval Europe (https://www.discovermagazine.com/volcanic-eruptions-may-have-been-responsible-for-the-spread-of-black-death-in-medieval-europe-48347 https://www.discovermagazine.com/volcanic-eruptions-may-have...) University of Cambridge: Volcanic eruptions set off a chain of events that brought the Black Death to Europe (https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/volcanoes-black-death https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/volcanoes-black-death) Scientific American: How an Overlooked Eruption May Have Sparked the Black Death (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-black-death-may-be-linked-to-a-mysterious-volcanic-eruption/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-black-death-m...)