Super Volcanoes
What are Super Volcanoes?
There are a lot of misconceptions about super volcanoes. A lot of people do not seem to understand how intense and more powerful a super volcano is in comparison to a volcano most folks are more familiar with. One of the major key differences between a super volcano and a volcano mankind is used to is that they are much larger in size. Super volcanoes are also capable of much more powerful eruptions. They also have a much larger amount of boiling hot magma that has a girth wide enough to completely decimate planet Earth. Super volcanoes can range in how powerful their eruptions can be, but even a small eruption from a super volcano would be devastating to Earth. A super volcano has the capability to completely change the climate and environment of the Earth. The planet would be effected on a global scale. Not only would the human population suffer great losses in numbers, the planet we know and love would be drastically changed.
History Of Super Volcanoes
Super volcanoes have been recorded to have erupted on Earth before roughly seventy four thousand years ago in Toba, Indonesia. The super volcano that erupted in this region is said to have ten thousand times stronger than the volcano that destroyed Mount St. Helens. The sun was blocked out for months by the massive amount of billowing ash and soot. Earth’s temperature is also said to have dropped roughly twenty one degrees after this volcanic eruption of massive proportion. Seventy five percent of plant life and the human population was said to be cut down to merely thousands.
There has been scientific research that states that all six of the super volcanoes that are located through out the world have erupted at one time or another over the history of the planet. These super volcanic eruptions are said to be the blame of the major geological changes and climate changes that has occurred since the formation of the Earth.
What causes a Super Volcano?
Super volcanoes erupt when a massive amount of the Earth’s magma rises from the center of the planet. This magma is then pushed up to a hot spot in the Earth’s crust, but the magma is usually unable to escape. The pressure behind this magma builds up underneath of the ground. These types of volcanoes have been scientifically proven to form mostly near plate boundaries that are converging as well as hot spot areas.
When a normal volcanic eruption occurs, the magma is forced up from the bottom of the Earth through the crust. When the scorching hot magma begins to cool, it takes the mountain form that we recognize today as a volcano.
What Happen if a Super Volcano Erupts?
If a super volcano was to erupt this very second, folks could expect a massive outbreak of earthquakes. Areas that have never experienced an earthquake in history will be shaking like a jumping bean. The ground would open up and swallow our homes, cars, and buildings into the Earth. Where the ground opens up, there will be massive amounts of hot magma underneath. The ground would also begin to swell, like the rising of a mountain. This could cause mass destruction and an astronomical death toll if this were to happen in a large city. The layer of rock that holds the magma underneath of the ground would be shattered, sending scorching magma shooting over forty miles into the air. What goes up must come back down again. Anything that is within a seven hundred mile area of the eruption would experience massive magma storms that would rain down magma and debris. Any area that is near a spot of the Earth that has had the ground rise up would experience a storm of their own, but their storm would consist of falling man made debris. Over seven hundred miles worth of the land would be covered by nothing but an endless sea of lava and magma. Any town, animal, plant, or person that is in this path will be completely destroyed. Nothing would survive.
The amount of ash and soot that would be in the air following the eruption would have the potential to block out the sun for a period of at least eleven years. A temperature drop of at least twenty one degrees or more would occur to climates all over the world. As these climate changes occur, sensitive ecosystems that are still intact would experience issues of their own due to these climate changes. Plant life would definitely be affected by this climate change as well. As the food chain is disrupted, there could be a food shortage for those who are lucky enough to survive such a disaster. Let’s not forget the chaos, panic, and destruction that would occur to mankind during and after a super volcanic eruption. What survivors are left after the super volcanic eruption would kill off a great number of themselves in their state of shock, panic, and paranoia. Suicide numbers can also be expected to rise as people take in the death, destruction, and chaos that is taking place around them.
There are some scientists that believe that a super volcanic eruption would lead to the new ice age. These scientists state that the ice age would not be anything as serious or as large as the last known ice age, but it is still a possibility. Since mankind has not been around to keep records of previous super volcanic eruptions, they are not sure as to what could happen to our planet and life as we know it.
Where are the Super Volcanoes?
There are super volcano locations right here in the United States. In fact, one of the major super volcano hot spots includes Yellow Stone National Park, which is located in the state of Wyoming. There are several super volcanoes located through the world. One eruption from one of these many super volcanoes could cause massive amounts of destruction and a high death toll. If all of the six potential super volcanoes throughout the world erupted at once, that would be the end of mankind and life on this planet. The possible super volcanoes are located in Yellow Stone National Park, Long Valley, and Valles Caldera. These are just the super volcanoes that are located in the United States. There are other super volcanoes that are located in Lake Toba in Indonesia, Taupo Volcano in New Zealand, and Aira Caldera in Japan.
Geologists have recently discovered a large and strange bulge in the terrain located in the center of Oregon. There is not a lot of explanation as to what this strange bulge could be. Another bulge similar to the one found in Oregon is located in Yellow Stone National Park. The bulge in Yellow Stone National Park in Wyoming has grown over ninety centimeter since the year 1923. This information leads scientists to believe that there is a large amount of magma that is building up at a rate that is simply unbelievable.
The devastation that occurred in 1980 when Mount St. Helens erupted would be just a small peek at the disturbances that would occur in the year 2012. There are many people who seem to think that the up and coming galactic alignment, that has been a scientifically proven fact by the respected scientists at NASA, could be the trigger that causes if not one, then all of the super volcanoes in the world to erupt. Our own worst nightmares would not even begin to be a glimmer of the capabilities and possibilities as to what would happen if a super volcano did erupt.
