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-...

EurekAlert!: Volcanic eruptions set off a chain of events that brought the Black Death to Europe (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-...)

SciTechDaily: 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...)

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)

Scientific American: How an Overlooked Eruption May Have Sparked the Black Death (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-black-death-m...)