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Supervolcanoes could erupt and kill millions in next 80 years

What Would Happen If the Yellowstone Supervolcano Erupted?
What Would Happen If the Yellowstone Supervolcano Erupted?


Scientists have warned that volcanic activity is at its highest and there is a ten per cent chance that a supervolcano could erupt within the next 80 years, killing millions of people.

See also: Japan 'could be wiped out' by volcano eruption within 100 years

A European Science Foundation (ESF) report warned that supervolcanoes, such as the caldera at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, are a bigger threat to our planet than earthquakes, asteroid impacts and tsunamis.

See also: Bison 'fleeing' supervolcano were actually just frisky

The Extreme Geo-hazards: Reducing the Disaster Risk and Increasing Resilience report reads: "Although in the last few decades earthquakes have been the main cause of fatalities and damage, the main global risk is large volcanic eruptions that are less frequent but far more impactful than the largest earthquakes.

"Due to their far-reaching effects on climate, food security, transportation, and supply chains, these events have the potential to trigger global disaster and catastrophe."

"The cost of response and the ability to respond to these events is beyond the financial and political capabilities of any individual country."

Last April, scientists discovered a large reservoir of hot rock beneath the shallow, already-documented magma chamber of the Yellowstone National Park 'supervolcano' in America.

The magma chamber is 4.5 times larger than the chamber above it, with enough magma to fill the Grand Canyon.

Researchers used a technique called seismic tomography to get a complete picture of the volcanic "plumbing system" at Yellowstone.

University of Utah seismologist Jamie Farrell said: "The existence of the second magma chamber does not make it any more or less likely that a large volcanic eruption at Yellowstone will occur. These findings do not change the current volcanic hazard at Yellowstone."

There is a 700,000 to one chance the volcano will erupt each year.