I think at last count there are 7 such supervolcano's dispersed across the globe.
This juxtaposed against the "Save the Planet" bunch makes them look really silly.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This planet Earth has been in the past, is now, and will always be a dangerous place, but the alternatives are worse.
Just came across this and wanted to add info regarding the 6 others . I think mammoth here in California is one also, but smaller than Yellowstone.
Geologists warn of "Supervolcano" threat
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Just how large was the eruption of Santorini?
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The explosive force and destruction of a volcanic eruption is measured using the Volcano Explosivity Index (VEI).
Whilst it is thought that Santorini eruption in c1645BC was four times bigger than that of Krakatoa in 1883, they are both ranked 6 on the VEI scale. Of those eruptions that have been measured, only that of Tambora in Indonesia in 1815 is ranked higher, at 7 on the VEI scale.
The Santorini eruption deserves its reputation as one of the largest and most devastating of the last 10,000 years. During the eruption about 30 cubic kilometres (7 cubic miles) of molten fine grained igneous rock called rhyodacite was expelled. The plinian column formed reached about 36km (23 miles) high and the pyroclastic flow spewed ash, rock and gases such as sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere.
The removal of such large amounts of magma from the volcano caused it to collapse and fill with water from the surrounding sea. The result of the water hitting the remaining hot magma was much like pouring water onto a chip pan - the water quickly heated and expanded causing further, violent explosions that ejected large blocks of magma from the crater.
Question Number: g00182d |
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Of course, I suppose if the proposed Yellowstone Supervolcano catastrophically erupted, the planet earth would go zipping around the solar system like a ballon let loose....