Earth's supervolcanoes are waking up. Here's what that means for the planet

4 hours ago

Campi Flegrei volcano near Naples, Italy, is a large caldera and considered Europe's closest supervolcano, showing signs of unrest with ground uplift and increased seismic activity.
Yellowstone in the USA and Long Valley in California are notable supervolcanoes with significant past eruptions and ongoing resurgence, including ground deformation and earthquake swarms.
Supervolcanoes can cause catastrophic eruptions ejecting over 1,000 km³ of material, leading to regional devastation and global cooling via volcanic winters.
Research suggests supervolcano eruptions may have rapid build-ups, as seen at Long Valley possibly under a year, posing challenges for disaster preparedness.
Other restless volcanoes include Laguna del Maule in Chile and Uturuncu in Bolivia, showing uplift but currently insufficient magma for super-eruptions.
The probability of a super-eruption within a human lifetime is low (approx. 1 in 1,400), but eventual occurrence is certain, necessitating preparedness.

Hasty Briefsbeta