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Supervolcano
A supervolcano is a
volcano that produces the largest and most voluminous kinds of eruption on
Earth.The term "supervolcano" implies an eruption of magnitude 8 on
the Volcano Explosivity Index, meaning that more than 1,000 cubic kilometers
(240 cubic miles) of magma (partially molten rock) are erupted. The most recent
such event on Earth occurred 74,000 years ago at the Toba Caldera in Sumatra,
Indonesia.
The power of
such eruptions varies, but the volume of ejected material is enough to radically
alter the landscape and severely affect global climate for years, with
cataclysmic consequences for life. The term was originally coined by the
producers of the BBC popular science program, Horizon, in 2000 to refer to these
types of eruption.
A supervolcano
eruption packs the devastating force of a small asteroid colliding with the
earth and occurs 10 times more often--making such an explosion one of the most
dramatic natural catastrophes humanity should expect to undergo.
Supervolcanoes
Around The World
Around the world
there are several other volcanic areas that can be considered "supervolcanoes"-
Long Valley in eastern California, Toba in Indonesia, and Taupo in New Zealand.
Other "supervolcanoes" would likely include the large caldera
volcanoes of Japan, Indonesia.
Source:
United States Geological Survey, University of Utah, The BBC
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