Volcano that has erupted 1000 cubic km of lava in a single eruption
A
supervolcano
is a
volcano
that has had an
eruption
with a
volcanic explosivity index
(VEI) of 8,
[1]
the largest recorded value on the index. This means the volume of deposits for such an eruption is greater than 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cubic miles).
[2]
Supervolcanoes occur when
magma
in the
mantle
rises into the
crust
but is unable to break through it. Pressure builds in a large and growing magma pool until the crust is unable to contain the pressure and ruptures. This can occur at
hotspots
(for example,
Yellowstone Caldera
) or at
subduction
zones (for example,
Toba
).
[3]
[4]
Large-volume supervolcanic eruptions are also often associated with
large igneous provinces
, which can cover huge areas with lava and
volcanic ash
. These can cause long-lasting
climate change
(such as the
triggering of a small ice age
) and
threaten species with extinction
. The
Oruanui eruption
of New Zealand's
Taup? Volcano
(about 26,500 years ago) was the world's most recent VEI-8 eruption.
[5]
Terminology
[
edit
]
The term "supervolcano" was first used in a volcanic context in 1949.
[6]
[7]
[note 1]
Its origins lie in an early 20th-century scientific debate about the geological history and features of the
Three Sisters
volcanic region of
Oregon
in the United States. In 1925, Edwin T. Hodge suggested that a very large volcano, which he named
Mount Multnomah
, had existed in that region.
[note 2]
He believed that several
peaks
in the Three Sisters area were remnants of Mount Multnomah after it had been largely destroyed by violent volcanic explosions, similarly to
Mount Mazama
.
[9]
In his 1948 book
The Ancient Volcanoes of Oregon
, volcanologist
Howel Williams
ignored the possible existence of Mount Multnomah, but in 1949 another volcanologist, F. M. Byers Jr., reviewed the book, and in the review, Byers refers to Mount Multnomah as a "supervolcano".
[10]
[11]
More than fifty years after Byers' review was published, the term
supervolcano
was popularised by the
BBC
popular science television program
Horizon
in 2000, referring to eruptions that produce extremely large amounts of
ejecta
.
[12]
[13]
The term
megacaldera
is sometimes used for
caldera
supervolcanoes, such as the
Blake River Megacaldera Complex
in the
Abitibi greenstone belt
of
Ontario
and
Quebec
, Canada.
[14]
Though there is no well-defined minimum explosive size for a "supervolcano", there are at least two types of volcanic eruptions that have been identified as supervolcanoes:
large igneous provinces
and massive eruptions.
[15]
Large igneous provinces
[
edit
]
Large igneous provinces, such as
Iceland
, the
Siberian Traps
,
Deccan Traps
, and the
Ontong Java Plateau
, are extensive regions of
basalts
on a continental scale resulting from
flood basalt
eruptions. When created, these regions often occupy several thousand square kilometres and have volumes on the order of millions of cubic kilometers. In most cases, the lavas are normally laid down over several million years. They release large amounts of gases.
The
Reunion hotspot
produced the Deccan Traps about 66 million years ago, coincident with the
Cretaceous?Paleogene extinction event
. The scientific consensus is that
an asteroid impact
was the cause of the extinction event, but the volcanic activity may have caused environmental stresses on extant species up to the
Cretaceous?Paleogene boundary
.
[16]
Additionally, the largest flood basalt event (the Siberian Traps) occurred around 250 million years ago and was coincident with the largest mass extinction in history, the
Permian?Triassic extinction event
, although it is unknown whether it was solely responsible for the extinction event.
Such outpourings are not explosive, though
lava fountains
may occur. Many volcanologists consider
Iceland
to be a large igneous province that is currently being formed. The last major outpouring occurred in 1783?84 from the
Laki fissure
, which is approximately 40 km (25 mi) long. An estimated 14 km
3
(3.4 cu mi) of basaltic lava was poured out during the eruption (VEI 4).
The Ontong Java Plateau has an area of about 2,000,000 km
2
(770,000 sq mi), and the province was at least 50% larger before the
Manihiki
and
Hikurangi Plateaus
broke away.
Massive explosive eruptions
[
edit
]
Volcanic eruptions are classified using the
volcanic explosivity index
. It is a
logarithmic scale
, and an increase of one in VEI number is equivalent to a tenfold increase in volume of erupted material. VEI 7 or VEI 8 eruptions are so powerful that they often form circular calderas rather than
cones
because the downward withdrawal of magma causes the overlying rock mass to collapse into the empty
magma chamber
beneath it.
Known super eruptions
[
edit
]
Based on incomplete statistics, at least 60 VEI 8 eruptions have been identified.
[15]
[17]
Well-known VEI 8 eruptions
Name
|
Zone
|
Location
|
Notes
|
Years ago (approx.)
|
Ejecta bulk volume (approx.)
|
Reference
|
Youngest Toba eruption
|
Toba Caldera
,
North Sumatra
|
Sumatra
, Indonesia
|
Produced 439?631 million tons of
sulfuric acid
|
75,000
|
2,000?13,200 km
3
|
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
|
Flat Landing Brook Formation
|
Tetagouche Group
|
New Brunswick
, Canada
|
Possibly the largest known supereruption. Existence as a single eruption is controversial, and it could have been a multiple 2,000+ km
3
event that spanned less than a million years
|
466,000,000
|
2,000?12,000 km
3
|
[25]
[26]
|
Wah Wah Springs Caldera
|
Indian Peak?Caliente Caldera Complex
|
Utah
, United States
|
The largest of the Indian Peak-Caliente Caldera Complex eruptions, preserved as the Wah Wah Springs Tuff; includes pyroclastic flows more than 500 meters (1,600 ft) thick
|
30,600,000
|
5,500?5,900 km
3
|
[27]
[28]
|
La Garita Caldera
|
San Juan volcanic field
|
Colorado
, United States
|
Fish Canyon eruption
|
27,800,000
|
5,000 km
3
|
[29]
[30]
|
Grey's Landing Supereruption
|
Yellowstone hotspot
|
United States
|
Deposited the Grey's Landing Ignimbrite
|
8,720,000
|
2,800 km
3
|
[31]
|
La Pacana
|
Andes Central Volcanic Zone
|
Chile
|
Responsible for the Antana Ignimbrite
|
4,000,000
|
2,500 km
3
|
[32]
|
Huckleberry Ridge eruption
|
Yellowstone hotspot
|
Idaho
, United States
|
Huckleberry Ridge Tuff; consisted of three distinct eruptions separated by years to decades
|
2,100,000
|
2,450?2,500 km
3
|
[33]
[34]
|
Whakamaru Caldera
|
Taup? Volcanic Zone
|
North Island
, New Zealand
|
Whakamaru Ignimbrite/Mount Curl Tephra
|
340,000
|
2,000 km
3
|
[35]
|
Heise Volcanic Field
|
Yellowstone hotspot
|
Idaho
, United States
|
Kilgore Tuff
|
4,500,000
|
1,800 km
3
|
[36]
|
McMullen Supereruption
|
Yellowstone hotspot
|
Southern
Idaho
, United States
|
McMullen Ignimbrite
|
8,990,000
|
1,700 km
3
|
[31]
|
Heise Volcanic Field
|
Yellowstone hotspot
|
Idaho
, United States
|
Blacktail Tuff
|
6,000,000
|
1,500 km
3
|
[36]
|
Cerro Guacha
|
Altiplano?Puna volcanic complex
|
Sur Lipez
, Bolivia
|
Guacha ignimbrite, two smaller eruptions identified
|
5,700,000
|
1,300 km
3
|
[37]
|
Mangakino Caldera
|
Taup? Volcanic Zone
|
North Island
, New Zealand
|
Kidnappers eruption
|
1,080,000
|
1,200 km
3
|
[38]
|
Oruanui eruption
|
Taup? Volcanic Zone
|
North Island
, New Zealand
|
Taup? Volcano
(
Lake Taup?
)
|
26,500
|
1,170 km
3
|
[39]
|
Galan
|
Andes Central Volcanic Zone
|
Catamarca
, Argentina
|
Consisted of three distinct eruptions, separated by 30-40 thousand years
|
2,500,000
|
1,050 km
3
|
[40]
|
Lava Creek eruption
|
Yellowstone hotspot
|
Idaho
,
Montana
, and
Wyoming
, United States
|
Lava Creek Tuff
; consisted of two distinct eruptions separated by years
|
640,000
|
1,000 km
3
|
[33]
[34]
[28]
|
Media portrayal
[
edit
]
- Nova
featured an episode "Mystery of the Megavolcano" in September 2006 examining such eruptions in the last 100,000 years.
[41]
- Supervolcano
is the title of a British-Canadian television disaster film, first released in 2005. It tells a fictional story of a supereruption at Yellowstone.
- In the 2009 disaster film
2012
, a supereruption of Yellowstone is one of the events that contributes to a global cataclysm.
Gallery
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
The term was first used in
Conquering the World
, a 1925 travelogue by Helen Bridgeman, referring to an Indian Ocean sunset in Indonesia as an upside down "super-volcano".
[8]
- ^
Subsequent research proved that each peak of the Three Sisters was formed independently, and that Mount Multnomah never existed.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
de Silva, Shanaka (2008).
"Arc magmatism, calderas, and supervolcanos"
.
Geology
.
36
(8): 671.
Bibcode
:
2008Geo....36..671D
.
doi
:
10.1130/focus082008.1
.
- ^
"Questions About Supervolcanoes"
.
Volcanic Hazards Program
.
USGS
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. 21 August 2015.
Archived
from the original on 3 July 2017
. Retrieved
22 August
2017
.
- ^
Wotzlaw, Jorn-Frederik; Bindeman, Ilya N.; Watts, Kathryn E.; Schmitt, Axel K.; Caricchi, Luca; Schaltegger, Urs (September 2014).
"Linking rapid magma reservoir assembly and eruption trigger mechanisms at evolved Yellowstone-type supervolcanoes"
.
Geology
.
42
(9): 807?810.
Bibcode
:
2014Geo....42..807W
.
doi
:
10.1130/g35979.1
.
ISSN
1943-2682
.
- ^
Budd, David A.; Troll, Valentin R.; Deegan, Frances M.; Jolis, Ester M.; Smith, Victoria C.; Whitehouse, Martin J.; Harris, Chris; Freda, Carmela; Hilton, David R.; Halldorsson, Sæmundur A.; Bindeman, Ilya N. (25 January 2017).
"Magma reservoir dynamics at Toba caldera, Indonesia, recorded by oxygen isotope zoning in quartz"
.
Scientific Reports
.
7
(1): 40624.
Bibcode
:
2017NatSR...740624B
.
doi
:
10.1038/srep40624
.
ISSN
2045-2322
.
PMC
5264179
.
PMID
28120860
.
- ^
Wilson, C. J. N.
(2001). "The 26.5ka Oruanui eruption, New Zealand: An introduction and overview".
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
.
112
(1?4): 133?174.
Bibcode
:
2001JVGR..112..133W
.
doi
:
10.1016/S0377-0273(01)00239-6
.
- ^
supervolcano, n.
Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, online version June 2012. Retrieved on 2012-08-17.
- ^
Byers Jr., F. M. (May 1949).
"Review of
The Ancient Volcanoes of Oregon
, by H. Williams"
.
The Journal of Geology
.
57
(3): 325.
doi
:
10.1086/625620
.
JSTOR
30058772
– via
JSTOR
.
- ^
Klemetti, Erik (4 October 2013).
"The rise of a supervolcano"
.
Wired
. Retrieved
29 November
2023
.
- ^
Harris, Stephen (1988).
Fire Mountains of the West: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes
. Missoula, Mountain Press.
- ^
supervolcano, n.
Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, online version June 2012. Retrieved on 2012-08-17.
- ^
Byers Jr., F. M. (May 1949).
"Review of
The Ancient Volcanoes of Oregon
, by H. Williams"
.
The Journal of Geology
.
57
(3): 325.
doi
:
10.1086/625620
.
JSTOR
30058772
– via
JSTOR
.
- ^
"Supervolcanoes"
.
bbc.co.uk
. BBC. 3 February 2000
. Retrieved
30 November
2023
.
- ^
USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory
Archived
4 February 2012 at the
Wayback Machine
. Vulcan.wr.usgs.gov. Retrieved on 2011-11-18.
- ^
Pearson, V.; Daigneault, R. (January 2009).
"An Archean megacaldera complex: The Blake River Group, Abitibi greenstone belt"
.
Precambrian Research
.
168
(1?2): 66?82.
Bibcode
:
2009PreR..168...66P
.
doi
:
10.1016/j.precamres.2008.03.009
.
- ^
a
b
Bryan, S.E. (2010).
"The largest volcanic eruptions on Earth"
(PDF)
.
Earth-Science Reviews
.
102
(3?4): 207?229.
Bibcode
:
2010ESRv..102..207B
.
doi
:
10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.07.001
.
- ^
Keller, G (2014). "Deccan volcanism, the Chicxulub impact, and the end-Cretaceous mass extinction: Coincidence? Cause and effect?".
Geological Society of America Special Papers
.
505
: 57?89.
doi
:
10.1130/2014.2505(03)
.
ISBN
9780813725055
.
- ^
BG, Mason (2004). "The size and frequency of the largest explosive eruptions on Earth".
Bull Volcanol
.
66
(8): 735?748.
Bibcode
:
2004BVol...66..735M
.
doi
:
10.1007/s00445-004-0355-9
.
S2CID
129680497
.
- ^
Petraglia, M.; Korisettar, R.; Boivin, N.; Clarkson, C.; Ditchfield, P.; Jones, S.; Koshy, J.; Lahr, M. M.; et al. (2007).
"Middle Paleolithic Assemblages from the Indian Subcontinent Before and After the Toba Super-Eruption"
.
Science
.
317
(5834): 114?116.
Bibcode
:
2007Sci...317..114P
.
doi
:
10.1126/science.1141564
.
PMID
17615356
.
S2CID
20380351
.
- ^
Knight, M.D., Walker, G.P.L., Ellwood, B.B., and Diehl, J.F. (1986). "Stratigraphy, paleomagnetism, and magnetic fabric of the Toba Tuffs: Constraints on their sources and eruptive styles".
Journal of Geophysical Research
.
91
(B10): 10355?10382.
Bibcode
:
1986JGR....9110355K
.
doi
:
10.1029/JB091iB10p10355
.
{{
cite journal
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Ninkovich, D., Sparks, R.S.J., and Ledbetter, M.T. (1978). "The exceptional magnitude and intensity of the Toba eruption, Sumatra: An example of using deep-sea tephra layers as a geological tool".
Bulletin Volcanologique
.
41
(3): 286?298.
Bibcode
:
1978BVol...41..286N
.
doi
:
10.1007/BF02597228
.
S2CID
128626019
.
{{
cite journal
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Rose, W.I. & Chesner, C.A. (1987).
"Dispersal of ash in the great Toba eruption, 75 ka"
(PDF)
.
Geology
.
15
(10): 913?917.
Bibcode
:
1987Geo....15..913R
.
doi
:
10.1130/0091-7613(1987)15<913:DOAITG>2.0.CO;2
.
ISSN
0091-7613
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 17 June 2010.
- ^
Williams, M.A.J. & Royce, K. (1982). "Quaternary geology of the middle son valley, North Central India: Implications for prehistoric archaeology".
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
.
38
(3?4): 139.
Bibcode
:
1982PPP....38..139W
.
doi
:
10.1016/0031-0182(82)90001-3
.
- ^
Antonio Costa; Victoria C. Smith; Giovanni Macedonio; Naomi E. Matthews (2014).
"The magnitude and impact of the Youngest Toba Tuff super-eruption"
.
Frontiers in Earth Science
.
2
: 16.
Bibcode
:
2014FrEaS...2...16C
.
doi
:
10.3389/feart.2014.00016
.
- ^
Lin, Jiamei; Abbott, Peter M.; Sigl, Michael; Steffensen, Jørgen P.; Mulvaney, Robert; Severi, Mirko; Svensson, Anders (2023).
"Bipolar ice-core records constrain possible dates and global radiative forcing following the ~74 ka Toba eruption"
.
Quaternary Science Reviews
.
312
: 108162.
Bibcode
:
2023QSRv..31208162L
.
doi
:
10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108162
.
- ^
"Lexique du substrat rocheux"
.
dnr-mrn.gnb.ca
. Retrieved
22 December
2019
.
- ^
"A mid-Darriwilian super volcano in northern New Brunswick, rapid climate change and the start of the great Ordovician biodiversification event"
(PDF)
. pp. 118?119.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 12 December 2019
. Retrieved
11 November
2023
.
- ^
Tingey, David G.; Hart, Garret L.; Gromme, Sherman; Deino, Alan L.; Christiansen, Eric H.; Best, Myron G. (1 August 2013).
"The 36?18 Ma Indian Peak?Caliente ignimbrite field and calderas, southeastern Great Basin, USA: Multicyclic super-eruptions"
.
Geosphere
.
9
(4): 864?950.
Bibcode
:
2013Geosp...9..864B
.
doi
:
10.1130/GES00902.1
.
- ^
a
b
King, Hobart M.
"Volcanic Explosivity Index: Measuring the size of an eruption"
.
Geology.com
.
- ^
Ort, Michael (22 September 1997).
"La Garita Caldera"
.
Northern Arizona University
. Archived from
the original
on 19 May 2011
. Retrieved
5 August
2010
.
- ^
Lipman, Peter W. (2 November 2007).
"Geologic Map of the Central San Juan Caldera Cluster, Southwestern Colorado"
. USGS Investigations Series I-2799.
Archived
from the original on 31 August 2010
. Retrieved
6 August
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Knott, Thomas; Branney, M.; Reichow, Marc; Finn, David; Tapster, Simon; Coe, Robert (June 2020).
"Discovery of two new super-eruptions from the Yellowstone hotspot track (USA): Is the Yellowstone hotspot waning?"
.
Geology
.
48
(9): 934?938.
Bibcode
:
2020Geo....48..934K
.
doi
:
10.1130/G47384.1
. Retrieved
21 June
2022
.
- ^
Lindsay, J. M. (1 March 2001).
"Magmatic Evolution of the La Pacana Caldera System, Central Andes, Chile: Compositional Variation of Two Cogenetic, Large-Volume Felsic Ignimbrites"
.
Journal of Petrology
.
42
(3): 459?486.
Bibcode
:
2001JPet...42..459L
.
doi
:
10.1093/petrology/42.3.459
.
ISSN
0022-3530
.
- ^
a
b
Large Holocene Eruptions
.
Global Volcanism Program
.
Archived
13 February 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
. Volcano.si.edu. Retrieved on 2011-11-18.
- ^
a
b
"What is a supervolcano? What is a supereruption?"
. USGS.
- ^
Froggatt, P. C.; Nelson, C. S.; Carter, L.; Griggs, G.; Black, K. P. (13 February 1986). "An exceptionally large late Quaternary eruption from New Zealand".
Nature
.
319
(6054): 578?582.
Bibcode
:
1986Natur.319..578F
.
doi
:
10.1038/319578a0
.
S2CID
4332421
.
The minimum total volume of tephra is 1,200 km
3
but probably nearer 2,000 km
3
, ...
- ^
a
b
Lisa A. Morgan & William C. McIntosh (2005). "Timing and development of the Heise volcanic field, Snake River Plain, Idaho, western USA".
GSA Bulletin
.
117
(3?4): 288?306.
Bibcode
:
2005GSAB..117..288M
.
doi
:
10.1130/B25519.1
.
S2CID
53648675
.
- ^
Salisbury, M. J.; Jicha, B. R.; de Silva, S. L.; Singer, B. S.; Jimenez, N. C.; Ort, M. H. (21 December 2010). "40Ar/39Ar chronostratigraphy of Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex ignimbrites reveals the development of a major magmatic province".
Geological Society of America Bulletin
.
123
(5?6): 821?840.
Bibcode
:
2011GSAB..123..821S
.
doi
:
10.1130/B30280.1
.
- ^
Rejuvenation and Repeated Eruption of a 1.0 Ma Supervolcanic System at Mangakino Caldera, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2012, abstract #V31C-2797. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ^
Wilson, C. J. N (1 December 2001).
"The 26.5ka Oruanui eruption, New Zealand: an introduction and overview"
.
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
.
112
(1): 133?174.
Bibcode
:
2001JVGR..112..133W
.
doi
:
10.1016/S0377-0273(01)00239-6
.
ISSN
0377-0273
.
- ^
Kay, Suzanne Mahlburg; Coira, Beatriz; Worner, Gerhard; Kay, Robert W.; Singer, Bradley S. (1 December 2011).
"Geochemical, isotopic and single crystal 40Ar/39Ar age constraints on the evolution of the Cerro Galan ignimbrites"
.
Bulletin of Volcanology
.
73
(10): 1487?1511.
Bibcode
:
2011BVol...73.1487K
.
doi
:
10.1007/s00445-010-0410-7
.
ISSN
1432-0819
.
- ^
"Mystery of the Megavolcano"
Archived
17 June 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
. Pbs.org. Accessed on 2017-10-12.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Technological
| |
---|
Sociological
| |
---|
Ecological
| |
---|
Biological
| |
---|
Astronomical
| |
---|
Eschatological
| |
---|
Others
| |
---|
Fictional
| |
---|
Organizations
| |
---|
General
| |
---|
|