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- Written By: Michael Anissimov
- Edited By: Niki Foster
- Last Modified Date: 08 February 2012
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2003-2012 Conjecture Corporation
A supervolcano is defined as a volcano that ejects more than a trillion tons of material when it erupts. Supervolcanoes can cover an entire continent in ash. A supervolcano explosion is about 30 times stronger than the strongest volcanic eruption in recent history, which occurred at Krakatoa.
The last time a supervolcano exploded was at Toba in Sumatra around 71,000 years ago. Ash blotted out the sun's rays, and humanity came close to extinction. Anthropologists estimate that only about 5,000 humans survived to reproduce in the aftermath of this event.
Another famous supervolcano is located directly underneath Yellowstone National Park, in the USA. The caldera is 40-50 kilometers (25-31 miles) long, about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) wide and about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) thick. It is so large as to be visible from space. The supervolcano explodes about once every 600,000 years. It last exploded more than 630,000 years ago.
A supervolcano sends hundreds to thousands of cubic kilometers of ash into the atmosphere, changing the climate for hundreds to thousands of years. When Yellowstone last exploded, a pack of fossilized rhinos was discovered 1000 km (621 miles) away from the blast zone. They choked to death underneath the heavy ash. A supervolcano is the most powerful known destructive force on the planet. Only asteroids or other cosmic events are potentially powerful enough to exceed their magnitude.
The difference between volcanoes and supervolcanoes is in the way the magma underneath each comes to the surface. In a normal volcano, a thin magma chamber leads to a towering cone, with a relatively thin layer of rock shielding the magma from the surface. When pressure underneath builds up sufficiently, the magma is shot upwards.
In a supervolcano, magma comes up close to the surface, but a large mass of rock prevents it from breaking free. This rock forms the top of a large depression called a caldera. Over hundreds of thousands of years, magma from beneath builds up in a huge lake of tremendous pressure immediately under the caldera. When this pressure reaches a critical threshold, it blasts the entire caldera sky-high, ejecting hundreds of cubic kilometers of molten lava.
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anon243625
Post 20 |
You will be safe if your are in brainerd mn and up and east. |
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anon242778
Post 19 |
Volcanoes are cool. |
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anon129271
Post 18 |
it's possible the volcano in yellowstone could blow up at the time when we least expect it, but let's pray that it wont blow up for another 1000 years. |
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anon118510
Post 17 |
yes but it could blow at any time so anyone who has given a timescale is totally wrong, as it could explode in weeks or perhaps in millions of years. That's how unpredictable volcanoes are, and an explosion could send ash all the way around the globe, blocking out light so everyone would be affected. Yes, this could happen. Krakatoa, which wasn't a super volcano, did this. |
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anon82939
Post 14 |
The biggest super volcano is yellowstone. Even with that it will not cover the earth with ash, at most (and with the slightest chance) it will cover the continent. Yes, the ash will turn us into a mini ice age because it is so light that it will stay up in the air, blocking most of the suns rays that heat us. Also, the vulcanologists at Yellowstone say that it will erupt in, give or take, 10,000 years. No one can ever predict when a volcano is going to erupt. Yes they can come close but it's not going to be that soon. |
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anon80219
Post 13 |
I heard that it would explode in about 500-1,000 years, so even though I'm 12, it won't happen in my lifetime. Most people in the country, and maybe even parts or most of the world will probably die. |
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anon78146
Post 12 |
I find all of this very interesting. Adelaide Australia had a 3.9 earthquake last night. I remember feeling a tremor back in the 80's but this one woke the whole house up. This volcano could seriously create a blanket of ash over the world? |
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anon61464
Post 9 |
Apparently, scientists are saying it will blow in the next decade. There's been over 500 earthquakes reported from last week and they're detecting high pressures from under the surface. |
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anon61180
Post 8 |
if you live in minnesota you will for sure die a horrible death. |
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OldRiverRat
Post 5 |
While I'm sure the US Geological Survey and related agencies are watching the Yellowstone Caldera/Super-volcano, I'm sure that when it goes, most of the Rockies and Great Plains are toast, literally. I can remember my Dad telling me about how one of his bosses was killed in the 1959 quake in Yellowstone, by a flood coming down the river valley. My son visited in the summer of 2009 and said he could feel the heat and felt the earth shake when the geysers erupted. |
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anon52888
Post 4 |
It could blow at any time and when it does it will affect the whole world, it not with the sheer blast and pyroclastic flow, then with the ash fall that happens. This then poisons water supplies and crops grown, not to mention the animals as well.
This then puts strain on the rest of the world, by not getting food transported. Furthermore the ash fall mixed with water will make roofs collapse and when breathed in, it creates a sort of cement in your lungs which will kill you. The ash also creates acidic rain, making sure crops can't grow on top of it. this then leads to global cooling, famine and generally, the global economy will fail. |
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anon48525
Post 3 |
It depends where it is, no. 1. |
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anon2082
Post 1 |
when will it blow and will i get hit if i live in minnesota? |
