What is a supervolcano?
A supervolcano is usually defined as a volcano that erupts at least 1000 m³ of magma
Supervolcanoes do not form mountain peaks, butform massive craters called calderas. When the magma chamber below the surface throws huge amounts of gas, ash and molten rock upward through the seams in the earth's crust, the earth sinks downward, filling the empty cavity below.
3D illustration of a supervolcano. A huge column of magma under the volcano. shutterstock
How is a supervolcano different from an ordinary one?
A supervolcano differs from a volcano in that itsthe eruption will lead to global climate change. The latter is associated with huge emissions of matter from the lithosphere and mantle, more than a trillion tons, into the surrounding space. These substances, entering the atmosphere, change its chemical composition and block the access of sunlight, and create so-called magmatic traps on the planet's surface (a typical example is the Putorana plateau in Siberia).
One of the largest such events occurred252 million years ago in the area of modern Norilsk, which triggered the Great Permian Extinction. This is the greatest mass extinction of all time and one of the five mass extinctions. It is this that delineates the boundary between the Permian and Triassic geological periods. It also separates the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras.
Where are the supervolcanoes?
When we hear “supervolcano”, the imagination drawsa huge fiery rock that rises for many kilometers. Supervolcanoes differ from ordinary stratovolcanoes in the absence of clearly defined cones.
Thus, the largest known and most“ripe” for an eruption, the Yellowstone supervolcano, whose caldera measures 55x75 km, can be geographically described as a gently rolling area surrounded by mountains. Although the craters of these giants may exceed the area of the entire Moscow, in appearance they do not pose any threat and do not resemble volcanoes at all. Therefore, when scientists talk about the most dangerous supervolcanoes, they mean the territories in which they are located.
This map shows major volcanic eruptions known in the past. Those marked in red have at least 8 on the Volcanic Explosive Index. Photo
On the planet, according to scientific research, forOver the past 2.5 billion years, there have been 15 supervolcanic eruptions, which led to the formation of the same number of large trap provinces. There are 15 of them marked on the map. At the same time, several of them are still active. According to the US Geological Survey, these volcanoes are among the most dangerous supervolcanoes in the world:
- The first is located in Japan, on the island of Kyushu. This is a volcanoIra, which exploded 22 thousand years ago. Now in its place is the city of Kagoshima with a population of half a million people. And the young active volcano Sakurajima.
photo
- Second supervolcanoTaupo... Now it is a lake in the caldera of the eponymous volcano on the North Island of New Zealand. In 200 A.D. he released a record amount of lava into the atmosphere.
Image courtesy of Dougal Townsend / GNS Science / EOS.
- VolcanoTobaon the island of Sumatra.74,000 years ago it exploded, leaving behind a huge caldera. Its depth reaches 500 m and its dimensions are 90x25 km. This is the largest volcanic lake in the world. There is still a source of magma underneath. The eruption of the Toba supervolcano was the largest in the last 20 million years.
Henrik Hansson Globaljuggler CC BY-SA 3.0
- There is a supervolcano in the US state of New Mexico.Valles, the length of the caldera of which is 22km. This supervolcano was formed more than one and a half million years ago; today the area around it has been declared a nature reserve. Last erupted during the Pleistocene.
Photo nps.gov
- North America's largest supervolcanolocated within Yellowstone National Park. The volcano has not erupted for more than 600 thousand years and, according to volcanologists, recently began to show signs of activity. If this giant does awaken from hibernation, at best, its power will be enough to cause another Ice Age on the planet. At worst - an eruptionYellowstone supervolcanowill awaken all the other active volcanoes on Earth and cause a real apocalypse.
Consequences of supervolcanic eruptions
In the spring of 2021, scientists studied the consequencesthe explosive eruption of the Los Chocojos supervolcano in the Guatemalan highlands, which occurred 75 thousand years ago. Today, in its place is the giant Atitlan caldera, which has turned into a lake, the height of which is 1563 m above sea level. There are three cone-shaped volcanoes around the caldera: Atitlan, Toliman and San Pedro.
After analyzing sediment samples in geologicallayers, scientists found that when the eruption occurred, huge amounts of sulfur, chlorine and bromine entered the Earth's atmosphere. Volcanic ash after the Los Chocoyos eruption was found in several places in the highlands of Guatemala and in marine sediments from deep-sea cores in the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and even in the Atlantic Ocean.
The research team hypothesized thatthat such large emissions from the outbreak would cause long-term impacts on the atmosphere and global climate. The disruption to the wind system was the result of warming air from aerosols and a cooling effect caused by ozone depletion after the eruption.
One of the most dire consequences of such an eventcan be called a mass famine, since the volcanic winter (the ash will cover the sun for a long time) will not provide humanity with the necessary amount of food. During an eruption on the territory of modern Wyoming 600,000 years ago, the supervolcano located on the site of what is now Yellowstone Park, emitted more than 1000 m³ of lava and ash into the atmosphere.
According to estimates made by the UN in 2012, there will be enough food for people for 74 days.
And as some NASA scientists argue, the threat is even more dire than a collision with a giant asteroid or comet.
Moreover, 66 million years ago, an asteroid with a diameter of 10km in diameter fell into the territory of modern Mexico. The power of the explosion was 100 million megatons. After that, shear and longitudinal seismic waves went around the entire planet and formed in the opposite, eastern hemisphere. Even before the asteroid, volcanoes began to erupt far in the East, creating the Deccan traps. Immediately after the impact, the influx of magma from the mantle into this area increased sharply. The impact of the Chicxulub asteroid intensified volcanism around the world - including Hindustan. More than 70 percent of the Deccan ladders poured out immediately following the asteroid impact.
Should you worry?
There is no evidence that anythe supervolcano will explode within your lifetime or your children and their children and so on for centuries. But if they were, the authorities would have to evacuate entire countries. An ash cloud from an explosion in Yellowstone, for example, would darken the sky and cover the entire continental United States in toxic dust. This will cause catastrophic climate change which will disable ecological systems for centuries. As if there weren't enough of them on the planet already.
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