Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Experts weigh super-volcano risks
On August 27, 1883, the 'super-volcano' Krakatoa exploded and changed the world in a way that has never been repeated since in modern times. Experts say that another such event would have an equally colossal impact on a global scale.
A soon to be aired BBC TV Drama that was postponed from its originally scheduled showing in early January 2005, (because of the tsunami disaster), is entitled, Supervolcano. The authors emphasise that while catastrophic eruptions of this kind are rare in terms of a human lifetime, they are surprisingly common on a geological scale.
Geologists have called for a taskforce to be set up to consider emergency management in the event of a massive volcanic eruption, or super-eruption.
In the instance of Krakatoa's erupting in 1883, the devestation had huge local impact as an estimated 40,000 people died in the tsunami that followed. The global impact meant even greater consequences for the rest of the world's population as ash and debris circled the earth for at least 3 years after the event as sulphuric acid droplets formed in the atmosphere, blocking out sunlight, and causing global temperatures to plummet and crops to fail.
No wonder the authors want to highlight the issue now, which they feel is being ignored. They emphasise that while catastrophic eruptions of this kind are rare in terms of a human lifetime, they are surprisingly common on a geological scale.
The effects, say the authors, "could be sufficiently severe to threaten the fabric of civilisation" - putting events such as the Asian tsunami into the shade.
The fallout from a super-eruption could cause a "volcanic winter", devastating global agriculture and causing mass starvation.
Another past super-eruption struck at Toba in Sumatra and is thought by some to have driven the human race to the edge of extinction. Signs from DNA suggest human numbers could have dropped to about 10,000, probably as a result of the effects of climate change.
The volcanic winter resulting from a super-eruption could last several years or decades, depending on the scale of an eruption, and according to recent computer models, could cause cooling on a global scale of 5-10C.
"We don't want to be sensationalist about this, but it's going to happen," said Professor Stephen Self, a geologist at the Open University in Milton Keynes and a member of the working group that produced the report.
The report, released by The Geological Society in the UK, identifies at least 31 sites where super-eruptions have occurred in the past. They include Lake Taupo in New Zealand and the Phlegrean Fields near Naples, Italy.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Experts weigh super-volcano risks
RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
The Geological Society
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
US Geological Survey
A soon to be aired BBC TV Drama that was postponed from its originally scheduled showing in early January 2005, (because of the tsunami disaster), is entitled, Supervolcano. The authors emphasise that while catastrophic eruptions of this kind are rare in terms of a human lifetime, they are surprisingly common on a geological scale.
Geologists have called for a taskforce to be set up to consider emergency management in the event of a massive volcanic eruption, or super-eruption.
In the instance of Krakatoa's erupting in 1883, the devestation had huge local impact as an estimated 40,000 people died in the tsunami that followed. The global impact meant even greater consequences for the rest of the world's population as ash and debris circled the earth for at least 3 years after the event as sulphuric acid droplets formed in the atmosphere, blocking out sunlight, and causing global temperatures to plummet and crops to fail.
No wonder the authors want to highlight the issue now, which they feel is being ignored. They emphasise that while catastrophic eruptions of this kind are rare in terms of a human lifetime, they are surprisingly common on a geological scale.
The effects, say the authors, "could be sufficiently severe to threaten the fabric of civilisation" - putting events such as the Asian tsunami into the shade.
The fallout from a super-eruption could cause a "volcanic winter", devastating global agriculture and causing mass starvation.
Another past super-eruption struck at Toba in Sumatra and is thought by some to have driven the human race to the edge of extinction. Signs from DNA suggest human numbers could have dropped to about 10,000, probably as a result of the effects of climate change.
The volcanic winter resulting from a super-eruption could last several years or decades, depending on the scale of an eruption, and according to recent computer models, could cause cooling on a global scale of 5-10C.
"We don't want to be sensationalist about this, but it's going to happen," said Professor Stephen Self, a geologist at the Open University in Milton Keynes and a member of the working group that produced the report.
The report, released by The Geological Society in the UK, identifies at least 31 sites where super-eruptions have occurred in the past. They include Lake Taupo in New Zealand and the Phlegrean Fields near Naples, Italy.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Experts weigh super-volcano risks
RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
The Geological Society
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO)
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
US Geological Survey
