Effects of a Supervolcanic Eruption

[ScienceRocks]

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory wishes to point out that there's nothing unusual or threatening about the current situation at Yellowstone.

USGS: Volcano Hazards Program - Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Featured Articles Archive

Right now sure. But ask yourself this, if a super eruption was imminent, why tell anyone? Can't do anything about it, evacuating doesn't do any good as people'd panic, and it's basically an extinction level event. You really expect them to tell us? I don't. And hope they wouldn't. Would have mass suicides, not the worst idea but still.

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Supervolcano's take millions of years to regenerate (if in fact they ever do). Yellowstone and Mammoth are relatively safe. It's the ones that haven't erupted yet that are the worry.

You're very right westwall...

but the odds are slightly higher with there being 6 on this planet; Yellowstone Caldera, the Long Valley Caldera, Valles Caldera, Lake Toba, Taupo Caldera, and Aira Caldera. Still a super small chance) of anyone of these going off.

 

[Foxfyre]

I figure if Yellowstone or any other super volcano does erupt, it will be a civilization changing event--a civilization ending event for many. Unless scientists are working on a way to diffuse such a massive event and lessen its effect--chances are somebody somewhere is working on that--there is really no way to prepare. So we can take comfort, as Westwall says, in the high improbability that any of these events will occur in our lifetime or that of our children or grandchildren.

I am much more concerned that scientists are monitoring and prepared to warn us of the imminent eruption of more likely culprits like Mt. Taylor or Jemez in New Mexico, both dormant major volcanoes that could wreck havoc over a tremendous area if they should blow. The USA has more than a few of such volcanoes that could start waking up at any time.

There is a major fault running under south Albuquerque that is capable of generating an 8+ category earthquake. It last broke loose before this area was ever populated, but it could do so at any time and the effect would be horrendous. Am I going to lose sleep over it? Nope. But it sure bears watching.

And there are few places on earth that are monitored as diligently as the Yellowstone Caldera. So we should have some warning if it is gearing up for a major event--enough time to give our souls to God anyway.

I am strictly an amateur, but all this stuff involving the major climate and geological events of planet Earth and the universe fascinate me.

 

[westwall]

I figure if Yellowstone or any other super volcano does erupt, it will be a civilization changing event--a civilization ending event for many. Unless scientists are working on a way to diffuse such a massive event and lessen its effect--chances are somebody somewhere is working on that--there is really no way to prepare. So we can take comfort, as Westwall says, in the high improbability that any of these events will occur in our lifetime or that of our children or grandchildren.

I am much more concerned that scientists are monitoring and prepared to warn us of the imminent eruption of more likely culprits like Mt. Taylor or Jemez in New Mexico, both dormant major volcanoes that could wreck havoc over a tremendous area if they should blow. The USA has more than a few of such volcanoes that could start waking up at any time.

There is a major fault running under south Albuquerque that is capable of generating an 8+ category earthquake. It last broke loose before this area was ever populated, but it could do so at any time and the effect would be horrendous. Am I going to lose sleep over it? Nope. But it sure bears watching.

And there are few places on earth that are monitored as diligently as the Yellowstone Caldera. So we should have some warning if it is gearing up for a major event--enough time to give our souls to God anyway.

I am strictly an amateur, but all this stuff involving the major climate and geological events of planet Earth and the universe fascinate me.

Yep. I too live in a very active earthquake zone and don't lose a bit of sleep over it. We have prepared for a quake big enough to destroy our home....which would be tough but it IS mother Earth after all....she's pretty strong!

So we have a good tent, and all the supplies necessary to take us through a couple of harsh winters if need be.

 

[Foxfyre]

I figure if Yellowstone or any other super volcano does erupt, it will be a civilization changing event--a civilization ending event for many. Unless scientists are working on a way to diffuse such a massive event and lessen its effect--chances are somebody somewhere is working on that--there is really no way to prepare. So we can take comfort, as Westwall says, in the high improbability that any of these events will occur in our lifetime or that of our children or grandchildren.

I am much more concerned that scientists are monitoring and prepared to warn us of the imminent eruption of more likely culprits like Mt. Taylor or Jemez in New Mexico, both dormant major volcanoes that could wreck havoc over a tremendous area if they should blow. The USA has more than a few of such volcanoes that could start waking up at any time.

There is a major fault running under south Albuquerque that is capable of generating an 8+ category earthquake. It last broke loose before this area was ever populated, but it could do so at any time and the effect would be horrendous. Am I going to lose sleep over it? Nope. But it sure bears watching.

And there are few places on earth that are monitored as diligently as the Yellowstone Caldera. So we should have some warning if it is gearing up for a major event--enough time to give our souls to God anyway.

I am strictly an amateur, but all this stuff involving the major climate and geological events of planet Earth and the universe fascinate me.

Yep. I too live in a very active earthquake zone and don't lose a bit of sleep over it. We have prepared for a quake big enough to destroy our home....which would be tough but it IS mother Earth after all....she's pretty strong!

So we have a good tent, and all the supplies necessary to take us through a couple of harsh winters if need be.

And you are exactly an amateur at all of this either.

And even as Mother Earth is pretty strong and likely to do whatever she decides to do regardless of what we do, she is puny compared to forces in the universe that we can't always predict or even know. A massive asteroid could hit us at any time and wipe out all life on Earth. Bacteria wouldn't even survive. Do we lose sleep over that? Nope. But I do hope we are considering the possibility and what we might do to destroy or deflect such an incoming hazard when it might happen.

Life on Earth has endured for billions of years, ever evolving, ever changing as the eons pass, and to think we are invincible or impervious to extinction is rather foolish given the history of living things on Earth. And while we are wise to be be prepared to survive what we can, to lose sleep over what we cannot survive is rather unproductive and not worth worrying about.

 

[orogenicman]

Yep, Taupo is a fun one. One of its eruptions yielded a 1000 kilometer long ignimbrite flow. Most of which I have sampled.

Most of it? Where did you put it all?

 

[orogenicman]

A lot of talk leans towards these so-called supervolcanoes, but what most people don't realize is they are not the true show stoppers, at least, from a geologic time scale perspective. The true show stoppers, the extinction level events, are the large igneous provinces. Here is a list (current and ancient):

Iceland

Many volcanologists consider that Iceland may be a LIP that is currently being formed. The last major outpouring occurred in 1783–84 from the fissure which is approximately 40 km (25 mi) long. An estimated 14 km3 (3.4 cu mi) of basaltic lava was poured out during the eruption. Iceland is forming over a hotspot that is responsible for the formation of the larger North Atlantic Igneous Province, which includes all of the North Atlantic, Greenland, Iceland, the UK, Denmark, Norway, and many of the islands in the Northeast Atlantic.

Siberian Traps

The largest flood basalt event (the Siberian Traps) occurred around 250 Ma and was coincident with the largest mass extinction in history, the Permian-Triassic extinction event, although it is also unknown whether it was completely responsible for the extinction event. 90% of the world's flora and fauna became extinct in this event.

Deccan Traps

The Réunion hotspot produced the Deccan Traps about 65 million years ago, coincident with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The scientific consensus is that an astrobleme impact was the cause of the extinction event, but the volcanic activity may have caused environmental stresses on extant species up to the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary.

Ontong Java Plateau

The Ontong Java Plateau, the largest LIP now has an area of about 2,000,000 km2 (770,000 sq mi), or roughly the size of Alaska, and reaches a thickness of up to 30 km (19 mi). The plateau is of volcanic origin, composed mostly of flood basalts. The province was at least 50% larger before the Manihiki and Hikurangi Plateaus broke away.

The Ontong Java Plateau was formed 125–120 million years ago during the lower Cretaceous period, possibly by the initial plume-head phase of a mantle plume center called the Louisville hotspot, with some secondary volcanism occurring 20–40 million years later, in the Upper Cretaceous Epoch.

Shatsky Ridge (The largest Volcanic province on the planet)

Shatsky Rise is a large igneous Pacific plateau (area ~4.8 x 105 km2) with a clear tectonic setting (It is about the size of California). It erupted at a triple junction during the late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous and stretches over ~1700 km withthree principal volcanic massifs: Tamu, Ori, and Shirsho. Tamu Massif erupted at ~145 Ma.


So, can another of these LIPs erupt again with devastating effect? It is possible, and frankly, I think we have yet to see the worst that Iceland has to offer.

 

[westwall]

Flood basalts on a Deccan or Siberian scale would certainly be a problem.....GVC eruptions however put so much crap into the atmosphere so quickly that plant growth is catastrophically curtailed for years...if not decades. That would effect us a great deal more than a normalish LIP eruption.

My concern though is still an asteroid hit. We can't do bupkus about volcanism, WE CAN do something about an asteroid strike......and we should.

 

[orogenicman]

Flood basalts on a Deccan or Siberian scale would certainly be a problem.....GVC eruptions however put so much crap into the atmosphere so quickly that plant growth is catastrophically curtailed for years...if not decades. That would effect us a great deal more than a normalish LIP eruption.

My concern though is still an asteroid hit. We can't do bupkus about volcanism, WE CAN do something about an asteroid strike......and we should.

Not with the budget NASA has had for the past 20 years.

 

[westwall]

Flood basalts on a Deccan or Siberian scale would certainly be a problem.....GVC eruptions however put so much crap into the atmosphere so quickly that plant growth is catastrophically curtailed for years...if not decades. That would effect us a great deal more than a normalish LIP eruption.

My concern though is still an asteroid hit. We can't do bupkus about volcanism, WE CAN do something about an asteroid strike......and we should.

Not with the budget NASA has had for the past 20 years.

No argument from me. NASA's budget has been a joke for years, and the current admin's reduction of even that, is criminal.

 

[orogenicman]

Flood basalts on a Deccan or Siberian scale would certainly be a problem.....GVC eruptions however put so much crap into the atmosphere so quickly that plant growth is catastrophically curtailed for years...if not decades. That would effect us a great deal more than a normalish LIP eruption.

My concern though is still an asteroid hit. We can't do bupkus about volcanism, WE CAN do something about an asteroid strike......and we should.

Not with the budget NASA has had for the past 20 years.

No argument from me. NASA's budget has been a joke for years, and the current admin's reduction of even that, is criminal.

Actually, you can't blame the current administration. As a percentage of the national budget, NASA's take has steadily dropped since 2002, though last year's and this year's budget has since a slight increase. A lot of people wonder why we can't do the things we did in the 1960s, but you have to realize that in 1960s dollars, NASA had a budget that was magnitudes larger than the current budget. In 2014 dollars, that previous budget was about 10 times the current budget (4.41% compared to 0.5%). The current budget is about 17 billion dollars. To spend the same percentage that we spent in 1966, the budget would have to be 170 billion dollars. And I don't know of anyone who would agree to that. Personally, I think that in order to do most of the things we'd like to do, the budget should be at least 20 billion. That would prevent, at a minimum the already planned missions from either getting the axe or at least keep them on schedule. 25 billion would be even better, but in the current economic situation, I don't know how it can be justified.

 

[westwall]

Not with the budget NASA has had for the past 20 years.

No argument from me. NASA's budget has been a joke for years, and the current admin's reduction of even that, is criminal.

Actually, you can't blame the current administration. As a percentage of the national budget, NASA's take has steadily dropped since 2002, though last year's and this year's budget has since a slight increase. A lot of people wonder why we can't do the things we did in the 1960s, but you have to realize that in 1960s dollars, NASA had a budget that was magnitudes larger than the current budget. In 2014 dollars, that previous budget was about 10 times the current budget (4.41% compared to 0.5%). The current budget is about 17 billion dollars. To spend the same percentage that we spent in 1966, the budget would have to be 170 billion dollars. And I don't know of anyone who would agree to that. Personally, I think that in order to do most of the things we'd like to do, the budget should be at least 20 billion. That would prevent, at a minimum the already planned missions from either getting the axe or at least keep them on schedule. 25 billion would be even better, but in the current economic situation, I don't know how it can be justified.

Take the money being squandered on AGW research and funnel it directly to NASA. I would also take a chunk from defense, and from some of the other useless and or duplicate programs the politicians love to fund for their cronies. NASA's budget needs to be around 50 billion per annum.

 

[Foxfyre]

Flood basalts on a Deccan or Siberian scale would certainly be a problem.....GVC eruptions however put so much crap into the atmosphere so quickly that plant growth is catastrophically curtailed for years...if not decades. That would effect us a great deal more than a normalish LIP eruption.

My concern though is still an asteroid hit. We can't do bupkus about volcanism, WE CAN do something about an asteroid strike......and we should.

Yep. Great minds think . . . .and all that.

Noted in my previous post a typo suggesting you are an amateur in all this. I definitely meant to say you are no amateur in all this given your education and history. And even with all that, you acknowledge there is only so much we humans can do to change what is, and we are wisest when we learn how to adapt or cope with changing conditions on Earth whether it be volcanic activity or earthquakes or floods or wildfires or destructive storms or climate change.

It all is fascinating to me and I have been studying it all, as an amateur, for most of my adult life. As you say, we are powerless to alter most of what natural forces will throw at us, but that asteroid is the most likely scenario to wipe us all out. And it is intriguing what we might do to change that natural force when the danger appears.