Supervolcano


A supervolcano is a large volcano that has had an eruption with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 8, the largest recorded value on the index. This means the volume of deposits for that eruption is greater than 1,000 cubic kilometers.
, the site of a VEI 8 eruption c. 75,000 years ago.
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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 or at subduction zones. 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 and threaten species with extinction. The Oruanui eruption of New Zealand's Taupo Volcano was the world's most recent VEI-8 eruption.

Terminology

The term "supervolcano" was first used in a volcanic context in 1949.
Its origins lie in 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 were 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. This book was reviewed in 1949 by another volcanologist, F. M. Byers Jr. In the review, Byers refers to Mount Multnomah as a supervolcano.
More than fifty years after Byers' review was published, the term supervolcano was popularised by the BBC popular science television program Horizon in 2000, referring 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

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 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 long. An estimated of basaltic lava was poured out during the eruption.
The Ontong Java Plateau has an area of about, and the province was at least 50% larger before the Manihiki and Hikurangi Plateaus broke away.

Massive explosive 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

Based on incomplete statistics, at least 60 VEI 8 eruptions have been identified. Below is a list of well-known super-eruptions.
NameZoneLocationNotesYears ago Ejecta bulk volume Reference
Wah Wah SpringsIndian Peak–Caliente Caldera ComplexUtah, United StatesThe largest of the Indian Peak-Caliente Caldera Complex eruptions, preserved as the Wah Wah Springs Tuff; includes pyroclastic flows more than thick30,600,000
La Garita CalderaSan Juan volcanic fieldColorado, United StatesFish Canyon eruption27,800,0005,000 km3
Lake TobaLake Toba, North SumatraSumatra, IndonesiaProduced 2200–4400 million tons of H2SO474,0002,800 km3
Huckleberry Ridge eruptionYellowstone hotspotIdaho, United StatesHuckleberry Ridge Tuff; consisted of three distinct eruptions separated by years to decades2,100,000
Taupo Nui a tiaTaupo Volcanic ZoneNorth Island, New ZealandWhakamaru Ignimbrite/Mount Curl Tephra340,0002,000 km3
Heise Volcanic FieldYellowstone hotspotIdaho, United StatesKilgore Tuff4,500,0001,800 km3
Heise Volcanic FieldYellowstone hotspotIdaho, United StatesBlacktail Tuff6,000,0001,500 km3
Cerro GuachaAltiplano-Puna volcanic complexSur Lípez, BoliviaGuacha ignimbrite, two smaller eruptions identified5,700,0001,300 km3
Mangakino CalderaTaupo Volcanic ZoneNorth Island, New ZealandKidnappers eruption1,080,0001,200 km3
Oruanui eruptionTaupo Volcanic ZoneNorth Island, New ZealandTaupo Volcano 26,5001,170 km3
Cerro GalánAndes Central Volcanic ZoneCatamarca, ArgentinaConsisted of three distinct eruptions, separated by 30-40 thousands of years2,500,0001,050 km3
Lava Creek eruptionYellowstone hotspotIdaho, Montana, and Wyoming, United StatesLava Creek Tuff; consisted of two distinct eruptions separated by years640,0001,000 km3
Bishop TuffLong Valley CalderaCalifornia, United StatesA single eruption completed within 6 days; volume in dense rock equivalent760,000600 km3

Media portrayal