Super Volcano

We had a short discussion about this a while back, based around a program that aired on the Discovery Channel. I wasn't aware that there are 4 other "super v's"? Where are they? Is the Puerto Rican Trench one?

Taupo, New Zealand and proto Krakatau are both classed as Ultra-Plinian Volcano's.

Tambora and Mt Mazama are regarded as good candidates for Plinian or ultra-Plinian eruptions.

Toba could be a bigger volcano then Yellowstone!

As to the Puerto Rican Trench, I'd not heard of that one. Does it meet the requirements?

Link to Volcano index

Oh, by the way, Chris, Mt Mazama is in Oregon, you are in New York State. If Mt Mazama went again today, New York State would be buried. Sorry.

I don't think the Puerto Rican Trench qualifies, and I think I'm mixing up my discussions. The PR Trench is a fault line that could possibly generate a tsunami.

That's the one where the Canary Islands fall into the ocean and send a 100ft tidal wave at NYC.

One site says:

"one flank of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma, in the Canaries, is unstable and could plunge into the ocean. The Cassandra Prophecy reveals that if the volcano collapsed in one block (almost 20 cubic kilometres of rock) it would fall into water 6km deep and create a wave 650 metres tall. This would travel across the Atlantic at about 720kph and would probably be 40-50 metres high by the time it made landfall. The surge would create havoc as much as 20 kilometres inland. The whole of the eastern United States would disappear under 100 feet of water. New York, Boston, and Miami would be totally destroyed. Millions would die."

No, the Puerto Rico Trench is just off the Eastern coast of Puerto Rico, not off the coast of Africa. In both cases we're talking about possible tsunami generators, not supervolcanos.

Super Volcano disaster maneuver. Bend over, put you head between your knees and kiss your rear-end goodbye. Same one we were taught for nuclear disaster. I have a government document that instructs us "...do not look at the flash from a nuclear blast..." Lets see, light travels ~186,000 mph, I think you are either looking at it or not, not much chance to make a choice in that unless you are close enough to see the it coming in which case it isn't going to matter whether you are looking at it or not. Some things you just have to accept that there is a limited amount of preparation you can make.

I thought the speed of light was 186,000 miles per second or 669,600,000 mph.

Yeah, know that, mph came out because hands are not always connected to brain. Thanks anyway!

I konw waht you maen!

Drac,

The question was: What's afoot? Why, dust masks, duct tape, and bottled water, of course. Kidding aside, it would not be the first time humans have had to survive a Dark Age...as those familiar with Britain history are probably aware.

By the way, did anyone see the Supervolcano episode, about Toba, that aired on PBS a couple days ago?

No, I didn't catch the Toba show. Actually, I was thinking about the effects on the worlds food supply more then anything else. Obviously, if you are to close to an eruption that chucks 25 cubic kilometres of rock into the air, you wont be worrying where your next meal comes from, but there will be some survivors. As to tsunami, I think another proto Krakatau or Tuapo would fit the bill just fine!

Thanks BRodda, I,d heard about the Cumbre Vieja volcano, but it was from my father in law so I'd dismissed it out of hand!

As memory serves, with super volcano it's more in the neighborhood or 300 cubic miles. For example, it is estimated that the last Yellowstone eruption, the largest yet known, ejected 576 mi³ (2400 km³). By comparison, Mt. Ste. Helen's 1980 eruption (its third in recorded history--it's a quite active composite volcano) spewed 0.95 mi³ (4 km³⁾; Tambora (Indonesia) - 19-24 (80-100); Mt. Mazama (Crater Lake, Ore., 4600 B.C) - 12-17 (50-70); Krakatoa - 4.3 (18); Mt. Vesuvius, Italy - 0.7 (3)...so, by the standards mentioned in the program, only one of these was a supervolcano. According to the PBS program, super volcanoes differ from even the very large explosive volcanoes. Whereas the typical composite volcano pushes up a cone shaped mountain above a single magma vent, the magma chamber(s) beneath a supervolcano is spread out over a very large area (think: the size of the entire Yellowstone park and more). For this reason, pressure builds for a much longer longer period (on the order of a million or more years), and when it blows there is much more accumulated pressure, and much more overlying crust...so much that it would take many days for the eruption to run its course.

An interesting aspect of Yellowstone is that it is not a volcano located adjacent to a tectonic plate subduction zone, or above a seafloor spreading center or continental rift valley. Instead, it is situated above a so-called hot spot, a magma plume that stays anchored in one place in the mantle as the continental plate moves (in the case of Yellowstone, westward) over it. For this reason, all of what is present-day Yellowtone in Wyoming and Montana is moving eastward and will one day be situated in what is now the Dakotas.

A fascinating aspect of the Toba eruption was that its discovery was almost an accident, as three independent investigations (each knowing nothing about the other) converged to attempt to explain a very high incidence of sulfur found in Greenland ice cores from 75,000 years ago. It was this finding that eventually set in motion a worldwide search lasting many years that eventually led to the positive identification of Toba as a supervolcano.

Finally, while we're on the subject of volcanoes, anyone want to venture a guess as to which is the largest mountain on earth? The answer might surprise you.

Sorry! I was thinking of the plume height! Should have typed 1000 cubic K's.

To CowAnon #13

Highest mountain - under an ocean somewhere?

getting warm

Mauna Kea! (Hawaii's big island) Rises from the sea floor to 13,000-some feet above sea level!

Warmer still.

"anyone want to venture a guess as to which is the largest mountain on earth?" Okay, I'll bite: Mauna Kea/Loa? --Europium

Sorry, never heard of that mountain. Sounds like it could be one of the "fudge" toppings you can put on the "peak" of your ice cream sundae at the UT S.U.B.?? Ever bit into one of those?

Hi CowAnon, In reply to your comment on the dark ages in the UK, don't worry, Blair will be gone soon!

At least that's what he's been promising us...!!

Don't forget the Y2K Jelly.

Timely coincidence - This was email release from NASA yesterday RE: super volcano "Novarupta" in Alaska. Which I automatically assumed (wrongly) would be the topic of this discussion.

Here; I hope, is the link.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/03oct_novarupta.htm?list937953

A very interesting article....especially since the event (said in the article to have caused the caldera on Mt. Katmai; and which was comparable in scale to Krakatoa) had been recorded as an eruption of Mt. Katmai (2.9 mi³ [12 km³] ejected) in 1912? However, in regard to the assumption, Novarupta's place among so-called super volcanoes would be a matter of conjecture as to whether it was, or could become "super"; guess you could say it's a pitfall when using vague (comic book) terms such as super. It is noteworthy, however, that Alaska is deemed to be an area of high interest regarding possible, future supervolcanoes. The article didn't say, but perhaps the discovery of Novarupta had some connection to the search there for evidence of a past or incipient supervolcano?

Hmm. Thats what I'm getting at. Global warming + nuclear winter = ? I'm betting they don't cancel out.

Yellowstone Super Volcano

Yellowstone known by many for its beauty. The park itself has a hidden secret one that no one on this earth can fully comprehend. You know it as a super volcano, but Yellowstone has many other extreme events.

First, lets examine the most common of these events earthquakes.

From 1,000 to 3,000 earthquakes occur each year within Yellowstone National Park and its immediate surroundings. Most are too small and can't be felt. Several quakes can be felt by visitors to the park each year.

The main causes for the quakes are rising magma and faults. The most extreme earthquake in Yellowstone's recent history occurred in 1959. It was a magnitude 7.5 and killed over 25 people. Damage was over 10 million dollars (In today's standards that is over 50 million dollars). Another sizable quake happened in 1975 near Norris.

If you do the math you will find that another major earth quake should have occurred around 1991. This quake is now 32 years past due.

Second, we will look at hydrothermal explosions.

Article contuned at http://elenow.blogspot.com/