Supervolcanos

A **supervolcano** is a large volcano that has had an eruption with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 8, the largest possible value on the index. This means the volume of deposits for that eruption is greater than 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cubic miles).

Supervolcanoes occur when magma in the mantle rises into the crust but is unable to break through it and pressure builds in a large and growing magma pool until the crust is unable to contain the pressure. This can occur at hotspots (for example, Yellowstone Caldera) or at subduction zones (for example, Toba). 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 Taupo Volcano (about 26,500 years ago) was the world's most recent super eruption at a VEI-8 eruption.

## Terminology

The origin of the term "supervolcano" is linked to 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. He believed that several peaks in the Three Sisters area are the remnants of Mount Multnomah after it had been largely destroyed by violent volcanic explosions, similar to Mount Mazama. In 1948, the possible existence of Mount Multnomah was ignored by volcanologist Howel Williams in his book *The Ancient Volcanoes of Oregon*. The book was reviewed in 1949 by another volcanologist, F. M. Byers Jr. In the review, Byers refers to Mount Multnomah as a supervolcano. Subsequent research proved that each peak of the Three Sisters was formed independently, and that Mount Multnomah did not exist.

More than fifty years after Williams' book was published, the term *supervolcano* was popularised by the BBC popular science television program *Horizon* in 2000, to refer to eruptions that produce extremely large amounts of ejecta.

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.

Eruptions that rate VEI 8 are termed "super eruptions". 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.

## Large igneous provinces

Main articles: Large igneous province
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 Réunion hotspot produced the Deccan Traps about 66 million years ago, coincident with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The scientific consensus is that a meteor 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. 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 km3 (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 km2 (770,000 sq mi), and the province was at least 50% larger before the Manihiki and Hikurangi Plateaus broke away.

## Massive explosive eruptions

See also: List of largest volcanic eruptions
Volcanic eruptions are classified using the Volcanic Explosivity Index, or VEI. It is a logarithmic scale, which means that 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

#### VEI 8

Based on incomplete statistics, at least 60 VEI 8 eruptions have been identified.

#### VEI 7

VEI 7 eruptions, less colossal but still massive, have occurred in historical times. Four VEI 7 eruptions have occurred within the past 2000 years: Taupo Volcano's Hatepe eruption c. 232, the 946 eruption of Paektu Mountain, the eruption of Mount Samalas in 1257, and the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora.

\* means DRE (dense rock equivalent).

## Media portrayal

* *Nova* featured an episode "Mystery of the Megavolcano" in September 2006 examining such eruptions in the last 100,000 years.

## Gallery

Satellite image of San Salvador, El Salvador and the Lake Ilopango caldera (also known as the Dark Age volcano) in the Valley of the Hammocks, site of a VEI 6–8 eruption and said to be ground zero for the extreme weather events of 535–536, when a dark veil settled on the world.Volcano, lake, and caldera locations in the Taupo Volcanic Zone