Geologists Warn of Sumatra Super-Volcano

[onedomino]

Shaky Faultline Raises the Threat of a Super-Volcano
Leigh Dayton, Science writer
April 01, 2005

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12717924%255E30417,00.html

As if earthquake-ravaged Indonesia doesn't have enough to worry about, now scientists warn that a Sumatran super-volcano might blow its top at any time.

If it does, the blast will toss hundreds of thousands of cubic kilometres of rock and ash into the atmosphere, dwarfing the eruptions of Krakatoa, Mount St Helens, Pinatubo and any conventional volcanic explosion of the past tens of thousands of years.

"These super-volcanoes are potentially the greatest hazard on Earth, the only greater threat being an asteroid impact from space," said Ray Cas, a vulcanologist with Monash University in Melbourne.

Professor Cas said a "major tectonic event" could be enough to trigger a deadly super-volcanic eruption.

The likelihood that the Toba – the largest super-volcano on Earth – will erupt has increased significantly due to geological stresses generated by the recent quakes.

Worse, Toba sits directly atop the faultline running down the spine of Sumatra. That is where seismologists say a third quake might strike.

Because of the increased risk, Professor Cas called for increased monitoring of Toba.

"With enough precursor information and signals like gas releases, we (could) warn of a significant eruption in days, weeks or months," he said.

Professor Cas's call follows a report early this month to the British Government's Natural Hazard Working Group by the Geological Society of London. The report called for increased awareness of the risks posed by super-volcanoes and development of mitigation strategies.

Vulcanologist Stephen Self of Britain's Open University said a super-volcanic eruption might cover an entire continent with ash that could take decades to erode.

"(Such an eruption) could result in the devastation of world agriculture, severe disruption of food supplies and mass starvation," he told the online journal LiveScience.

Professor Cas said super-volcanoes tended to erupt in 2000-year cycles. The Toba super-volcano last erupted 73,000 years ago.

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[NATO AIR]

how bad would it affect america?

 

[dilloduck]

how bad would it affect america?

theoretically it could be catastrophic----we've got our own caldera that scientists have been watching too!--Yellowstone.
http://armageddononline.tripod.com/volcano.htm

 

[onedomino]

It would be a worldwide castastrophy:

http://zyx.org/TOBA.html

Their is substantial evidence to show that within the time of the super volcano Toba's eruption in the Indonesian Pacific, the world's population of homo sapiens decreased from over one hundred thousand to less than two thousand, basically because global temperatures dropped five degrees for many years. This was within the current interglacial and at its start.

Toba, Indonesia, 75,000 years ago:
The eruption of 2,800 cubic km of magma at Toba caldera 75,000 years ago was the largest eruption in the last 2 million years. The eruption may have release as much as 1012 kg of sulfuric acid, an order of magnitude more than Laki in 1783 and Tambora in 1815, two of the greatest Holocene eruptions. The Toba eruption may have caused about 3 to 4 degree C cooling at the surface but this impact is hard to detect because of concurrent glacial conditions (Sigurdsson, 1990).

 

[Annie]

It would be a worldwide castastrophy:

So this may happen just when 'global warming' really kicks in? A draw. I'm just kidding. I know that Mt St Helen's eruption effected weather in US and Canada for awhile and that wasn't a catastrophic eruption.

So little is NOT in the hands of man.

 

[dilloduck]

So this may happen just when 'global warming' really kicks in? A draw. I'm just kidding. I know that Mt St Helen's eruption effected weather in US and Canada for awhile and that wasn't a catastrophic eruption.

So little is NOT in the hands of man.

I wonder if there's a way to safely tap into all that energy ? You could possibly produce energy and prevent disaster if the poisonous gases could be neutralized.

 

[KarlMarx]

theoretically it could be catastrophic----we've got our own caldera that scientists have been watching too!--Yellowstone.
http://armageddononline.tripod.com/volcano.htm

Yes, Yellowstone could prove to be the biggest catastrophe short of a Hillary Clinton Presidency....

Seriously, though ..... next week on the Discovery Channel.....
"Supervolcano" April 10, 8pm ET/PT

just in case you want to get really, really depressed

 

[j07950]

how bad would it affect america?

Why do you only want to know how it would affect america? Does the rest of the world not count?

 

[manu1959]

Why do you only want to know how it would affect america? Does the rest of the world not count?

because that is where he lives.....are you not allowed to care about yourself and you family anymore.....

 

[j07950]

because that is where he lives.....are you not allowed to care about yourself and you family anymore.....

I just find revealing how the first question that comes up is: "How bad could it be for america?"
I would actually ask how bad could it be for the world but nevermind me

 

[dilloduck]

I just find revealing how the first question that comes up is: "How bad could it be for america?"
I would actually ask how bad could it be for the world but nevermind me

I find it revealing that you immediately judged him to be selfish.

 

[j07950]

I find it revealing that you immediately judged him to be selfish.

Did I say that? You assumed it, so maybee you get what I'm getting at...it sounds selfish although I'm sure he's not...I just found it interesting that America came up first and not our dear old World

 

[no1tovote4]

Did I say that? You assumed it, so maybee you get what I'm getting at...it sounds selfish although I'm sure he's not...I just found it interesting that America came up first and not our dear old World

Most would not immediately think of the whole planet first as there is little that would destroy the entire planet. It is interesting that you didn't immediately think of home first, maybe it is more indicative of those traveling than of those who are not.

There are more than one psychological way to look at it other than the assumption that everybody on this board is Amerocentric.

 

[dilloduck]

Did I say that? You assumed it, so maybee you get what I'm getting at...it sounds selfish although I'm sure he's not...I just found it interesting that America came up first and not our dear old World

He's an American. What would you worry about FIRST. Antarctica ??

 

[007]

I just find revealing how the first question that comes up is: "How bad could it be for america?"
I would actually ask how bad could it be for the world but nevermind me

America ALWAYS helps others in their time of need. But how the hell are we going to help others, or even be concerned for that matter, if we're knocked out ourselves?

I thought "how bad will it be for America" was a fair and uncolored question. I was wondering the same thing myself.

 

[007]

Yes, Yellowstone could prove to be the biggest catastrophe short of a Hillary Clinton Presidency....

Seriously, though ..... next week on the Discovery Channel.....
"Supervolcano" April 10, 8pm ET/PT

just in case you want to get really, really depressed

This is a DEFINITE must watch!

 

[KarlMarx]

This is a DEFINITE must watch!

The last time a super volcano popped it's cork, it was about 75,000 years ago. It was the loudest sound ever heard by human ears. It occured somewhere around Sumatra and had the force of 2,000,000 hydrogen bombs (give or take a few thousand). Everything within a few hundred miles was destroyed.

Then there was that comet fragment that hit Tunguska, Siberia back in 1912, which flattened trees for 50 miles in all directions.

It's stuff like this that makes me realize just how small we are and Who really is in charge of the universe!

 

[007]

Then there was that comet fragment that hit Tunguska, Siberia back in 1912, which flattened trees for 50 miles in all directions.

Karl... isn't that thing that hit Tunguska still a mystery? I mean, at ground zero, wasn't there "no damage", other than that's where all the trees started laying back? And wasn't it 1908?

http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=6192737

 

[KarlMarx]

Karl... isn't that thing that hit Tunguska still a mystery? I mean, at ground zero, wasn't there "no damage", other than that's where all the trees started laying back? And wasn't it 1908?

http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=6192737

I guess I was wrong, was it 1908? I was going by memory.... not the most reliable thing on a 47 year old!

You're right, they never found anything, which is why many think it was a comet fragment (comets are sometimes called "dirty snowballs", they are made of a frozen mixture of gases, water vapor and dust, which probably evaporated in the blast... so that is why many think it was a comet).

I believe that the trees were knocked over --- probably snapped as well by the force of the blast..... the reason why there wasn't any other damage was that Tunguska is in a very remote location. If "whatever it was" had been close to Moscow or another city, there would have been massive damage.

I'll have to check with a co-worker about the details.... he's a comet/meteorite afficionado and can straighten me out on the details.

 

[KarlMarx]

Karl... isn't that thing that hit Tunguska still a mystery? I mean, at ground zero, wasn't there "no damage", other than that's where all the trees started laying back? And wasn't it 1908?

http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?osti_id=6192737

Hi Pale

Just an update.... I checked with my source here at work.....

He thinks it was a comet fragment, but said that you're right, no one really knows what it was...