Earth has some massive volcanoes called "supervolcanoes" that can cause huge eruptions, way bigger than anything we’ve ever seen in modern times. Some of these, like Yellowstone in the U.S. and Campi Flegrei in Italy, show signs of activity that scientists are keeping a close eye on. A supervolcano eruption could release so much ash and gas into the atmosphere that it would block sunlight, leading to a dramatic drop in global temperatures and affecting food supplies. The idea that these giants are "waking up" sounds scary, but scientists work hard to monitor any changes and understand what’s happening deep below. Right now, they’re improving ways to detect early warning signs, like small earthquakes or rising ground, that might hint at an eruption. While we're not totally prepared, knowing more about these supervolcanoes helps us get ready, just in case.
00:00Our planet's biggest and meanest supervolcanoes are waking up.
00:05When they erupt, you'll surely notice it, even if you live thousands of miles away from the epicenter.
00:10Scientists are worried we might not have enough time to prepare and deal with the consequences of a supereruption.
00:18There's some volcanic activity close to the Italian city of Naples.
00:22And no, it has nothing to do with the famous Mount Vesuvius, but with another volcano.
00:27This one is harder to see, as it doesn't have a tall peak like Vesuvius.
00:32But don't let this bad guy trick you.
00:34It could be way more dangerous than its giant neighbor.
00:37It does have a huge crater that's about 8 miles wide.
00:41This volcano is called Campi Flegre, and it's actually one of the largest volcanoes in Europe, sitting under the town of Pozwoli.
00:49So, Campi Flegre erupted 39,000 years ago, with a bang so massive it spread ash across the whole Mediterranean region.
00:56It also caused the temperature to drop by over 16 degrees Fahrenheit across Eastern Europe.
01:02It was the biggest volcanic eruption in Europe in 200,000 years.
01:07Since then, Campi Flegre has had smaller eruptions, and the last one happened in 1538.
01:13Now the area is full of small craters, hot springs, and bubbling pools.
01:18And they're all proof that this volcano is still very much alive and brewing something.
01:23Since the early 2000s, the ground in the giant crater and the town nearby have been slowly rising by about 1 to 1.5 inches every year.
01:32There were at least 150 earthquakes that shook this supervolcano lately.
01:38In May 2024, there was a 4.4 magnitude in the area, the biggest in the last 40 years.
01:44Residents had to leave their homes and camp outside, fearing there would be more earthquakes.
01:48No one knows how Campi Flegre is going to behave in the following months or years.
01:53But the authorities are organizing evacuation exercises to prepare the population just in case.
01:59The Italian volcano looks like an innocent kitten compared to the real giants, like Yellowstone.
02:07For a volcano to deserve the title of a super one, it must be able to produce catastrophic-scale eruptions
02:13and eject huge amounts of magma, ash, and volcanic gases.
02:17The Yellowstone giant meets these criteria.
02:21Even though it moves from time to time, the Yellowstone supervolcano hasn't erupted for 640,000 years.
02:27But when it does wake up, it might erupt with incredible power.
02:32About the same amount as 10 huge nuclear power stations can produce.
02:37Under the ground, beneath Yellowstone, there's a superhot area full of molten rock called magma.
02:43As more magma moves into a big space called a magma chamber, the ground above starts to swell or rise.
02:50When the magma cools down, the ground falls.
02:52Between 2004 and 2009, the ground at Yellowstone rose by almost 10 inches, but then it started to slowly go back down in 2010.
03:04Scientists aren't sure if it's going to erupt anytime soon.
03:07There's also another big volcano called Long Valley in California that has been active since 1980, and it can be a really big threat.
03:16Scientists studying this supervolcano found out that before its biggest eruption, 760,000 years ago, the buildup may have taken less than a year.
03:26Now, that's bad news, because a supervolcano eruption can have a huge effect on the world, like the eruption of the Toba volcano in Sumatra around 74,000 years ago.
03:38It became the biggest volcanic eruption the Earth had seen in 28 million years.
03:43It covered parts of Indonesia, India, and the Indian Ocean with a thick layer of volcanic debris, almost like a 6-inch blanket.
03:52The amount of rock it spewed out was like stacking nearly 3 million Empire State Buildings.
03:57The giant crater it left behind can still be seen from space.
04:01All the ash and gases shot up into the air and blocked some of the sunlight.
04:05It caused a volcanic winter that lasted about 6 to 10 years.
04:09Some scientists think this eruption might have even affected early humans.
04:14Around the time Toba erupted, the human population took a sharp dip, and there were far fewer people.
04:20Some say this is why all modern humans come from a small group of survivors.
04:24According to the Toba Catastrophe Theory, most early humans in Europe and Asia didn't survive the cold and harsh climate after the eruption.
04:32But a lucky group lived through all that in Africa.
04:35Not all scientists agree with this idea, and some archaeological and climate records show a different story.
04:43Another volcano that changed the world in a big way was Mount Tambora in 1815.
04:49The next year went down in history as the year without a summer.
04:53It was cold and rainy, and there was snow and frost even in the middle of summer, especially in Europe and North America.
05:00This happened because the volcano sent out a lot of sulfur dioxide into the sky, which spread all over the world and made the planet colder.
05:09When Tambora erupted, it caused huge tsunamis that smashed homes and took the lives of around 10,000 people.
05:16Afterward, about 80,000 more people passed away because of the consequences the eruption it caused in the world.
05:22The cold weather ruined crops, so food became really expensive.
05:26And because horses were the main way people traveled, the cost of oats that they ate went way up, too.
05:33Some people even think this led to the invention of the bicycle in 1817 as a new way to get around.
05:39The eruption made the earth colder for about three years.
05:42Now, even though the Tambora eruption was so powerful, Krakatoa, another volcano in Indonesia, stole the show when it erupted in 1883.
05:53It was just easier to spread information about it through telegrams and photos.
05:57Its final blast was the loudest recorded sound in history, and people could hear it on 10% of the entire earth's surface.
06:04The eruption started a tsunami, with waves about half as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
06:10Now, if we only had 12 months to prepare for a supervolcano eruption, it would be really hard to store enough food and get ready.
06:19But don't panic just yet.
06:21Supervolcano eruptions are very rare, and the last one happened 26,500 years ago in New Zealand.
06:29Scientists think that a supereruption happens once every 100,000 years on average.
06:34But the sad part here is that the earth doesn't follow a perfect timeline.
06:38There could be clusters of supereruptions with shorter gaps between them and then longer quiet periods.
06:45Since there have already been two supereruptions in the last 100,000 years, there's always a chance one could happen again sooner than we expect.
06:53Plus, although there are places like Yellowstone and Long Valley, where we expect volcanoes to erupt, there are less obvious possible hotspots.
07:04In Chile, there's a volcano called Laguna del Maule that has erupted in the past and left behind a huge crater.
07:11Over the last 20 years, the ground there has been swelling really fast, rising up to almost 1 foot a year.
07:17Some people are worried that this could be a sign of a big eruption coming.
07:22But scientists say there's not enough magma yet to cause a supereruption.
07:26In Bolivia, the Juturanku volcano is also acting up.
07:31It's part of a group of volcanoes that have caused supereruptions in the past.
07:35Since the 1960s, the ground around Juturanku has been lifting.
07:39But the last eruption was 250,000 years ago.
07:43Even though the magma might be rising, it's not enough to worry about just yet.
07:48The chances of a supereruption happening during our lifetime are 1 in 1,400, which is pretty low, so you don't need to worry too much.
07:58But just like someone wins the lottery every week with very small chances, a supereruption could happen sometime in the future.
08:05And when it does, we'll need to be prepared.
08:08That's it for today.
08:10So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
08:15Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side!
Be the first to comment