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A NASA thought experiment called, Defending Human Civilisation From Supervolcanic Eruptions, stated that a supervolcano eruption was more likely to happen in the future than an asteroid hitting the earth, according to the Daily Star. It said: “Supervolcanic eruptions occur more frequently than a large asteroid or comet impacts that would have a similarly catastrophic effect to human civilization.” Jet Propulsion Laboratory researchers found that collisions from asteroids which are more than 2km in diameter occurred “half as often as supervolcanic eruptions”.
[...]Yellowstone Caldera[*] is classed as a supervolcano which erupted 60,000 years ago and again 60,000 years before that.
Although there is no guarantee, if the volcano follows the same pattern then it is now due for another eruption.
Researchers have found that if a supervolcano like Yellowstone did erupt, then a “volcanic winter” would ensue which could surpass the “amount of stored food worldwide”.
People living on another continent would not be spared from the aftermath of a supervolcanic eruption.
[*] Wikipedia entry on the Yellowstone Caldera (aka Supervolcano).
The referenced NASA document — Defending Human Civilization From Supervolcanic Eruptions (pdf) — is less sensational; here is the abstract from the paper:
Large volcanic eruptions greater or equal to a magnitude 8 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (i.e., supervolcanic eruptions) eject >10 15 kg of ash and sulfate aerosols, sufficient to blanket sizeable fractions of continents and create a regional or global "volcanic winter." Such events could seriously reduce worldwide agricultural production for multiple years, causing mass famine. Supervolcanic eruptions occur more frequently than large asteroid or comet impacts that would have a similarly catastrophic effect to human civilization, especially now that many asteroid orbits have been mapped. We assess whether future supervolcanic eruptions could be dampened, delayed, or prevented by engineering solutions.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 09 2019, @04:57PM (4 children)
Obviously I am in favor of preventing, but I wonder about the side effects...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 09 2019, @05:53PM (1 child)
That's indeed the problem. Scientists and geologists cannot say with 100% certainty that geothermal heat mining wouldn't end up triggering it itself. It's a hair trigger; monkeying with it could make it go off earlier than it otherwise would.
For example, since we can only mine the heat of a relatively small portion of the magma bubble, if we reduce the heat in a small part, the heat difference may create a convection flow that ends up setting the whole thing off. It's hard to build a magma submarine to study it fully.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday April 09 2019, @05:57PM
Cixin Liu, 'Through Her Eyes'
<sarcasm> The Chinese have it covered. </sarcasm>
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday April 09 2019, @05:55PM (1 child)
Side effects? If an erection lasts for more than four hours, please contact a physician immediately.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday April 10 2019, @02:53PM
That's only, if you've taken the pill. Otherwise, it's more of a you're using it wrong kind of thing.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"