New study on giant volcanoes: Volcanic eruptions can happen without warning

A mighty force sleeps under this serene landscape: a gigantic volcano located under the waters of Lake Toba in Sumatra. It has erupted twice in the past million years – two of the largest eruptions to have occurred on Earth. The explosions exceeded 2,800 cubic kilometers. Enough size for Switzerland to hide under a seven centimeter layer of dust, researchers explain in a new study. In these super eruptions, 70,000 times more lava has been expelled than the current eruption at La Palma. Such an outbreak would have huge implications for the world: the climate, the food supply, and the people. Researchers at the Universities of Geneva and Beijing have now investigated how a new eruption of the supervolcano was announced. The island on the lake indicates that the volcano is still active. It was created by the pressure of the magma contained in the magma reservoir of the massive volcano below. “We can see that the island is slowly rising. This is a sign that the volcano is active and magma continues to accumulate,” says Bingbing Liu, a researcher on the study. The researchers examined the mineral zircon, which provides information about the last major eruptions of the volcano. The last volcanic eruption was about 75,000 years ago. According to their calculations, the next super eruption of a similar size will occur in about 600,000 years. But even the magma currently under the lake would have a disastrous effect on the global impact in the event of a volcanic eruption. Luca Carici, also the study author, explains that such a super eruption can happen without any major triggers: “Our investigation shows that there are no extreme events that occur before a super eruption. This means that signs of an impending outbreak – such as frequent earthquakes or rapid ground rise – are not Clear as they appear in films of industrial disasters. In the Toba volcano everything happens very quietly – underground.” According to scientists’ estimates, there are up to nine other volcanoes in the world that can lead to a volcanic eruption with global consequences.

those: University of Geneva