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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: 1) by khallow on Wednesday April 10 2019, @02:18AM (4 children)
Maybe you should stop doing that then?
Ok, so what? I think that's mental illness myself. One can't even think rationally about large disasters if one gives up before even seeing how the disaster turns out. I think this sort of thinking came out of the Cold War with urban populations, particularly of the Hollywood kind, trying to convince themselves (and others) that nobody could survive a nuclear blast. This later got expanded to any tribulation which was perceived as ending civilization. End result is a mental paralysis when it comes to thinking about such things.
My view is that I take what comes. Hopefully, there's no disasters in our future for a long time and we make our world better than ever before, but I'm not planning on giving up if things turn out poorly. Sure, if I get buried tonight by several hundred meters of superhot ash, that sucks. But if I get an opportunity to adapt and fix things, I will. Setbacks happen, but that doesn't mean that we have to accept that.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday April 10 2019, @03:20AM (3 children)
> Implying you contribute anything to society
Delusions of grandeur are a mental illness :) I wish you luck in your newly-irradiated, cropless brave new world, Sir Hallow.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday April 10 2019, @03:56AM (2 children)
Last I checked supervolcanos don't irradiate anything? But maybe they're nuclear powered now?
And as to crops, the climate will return to something that lets light through. Then crops will grow normally again.
Sure, these sorts of events suck. But they don't stay that way.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday April 10 2019, @05:19AM (1 child)
Like I said, have fun in post-$DISASTER world. Somehow I don't think you're the rugged-individual hybrid of Galt, Wayne, Mad Max, and Iron John you think you are :) I'll see you in (front of) Hell, buddy.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday April 10 2019, @06:03PM
So what? Real people have survived real disasters before.