Scientists with the European Science Foundation issued a dire warning to the general public: Prepare for a global catastrophe now!
The warning is not regarding the runaway climate change currently gripping the planet in a vice-like grip, but rather about the threat of a super-volcanic eruption, which the foundation believes there is a 5-10% chance of happening within the next several decades. In the latest special report released by the foundation, the experts took into consideration a whole host of natural disasters that could bring about the so-called "End of the World", and the eruption of a super-volcano topped their list.
The warning is certainly not without merit. The eruptions of super-volcanic systems over the course of our planetary history have caused mass destruction and extinction level events several times. One such event, known as the Permian Extinction Event or "The Great Dying", is believed to have been caused by a massive super-volcanic eruption of the Siberian Traps in Russia. The eruptions went on for thousands of years, creating methane gas on an enormous scale, which became trapped in the Earth's atmosphere, causing intense global warming and acidic rain. Eventually, almost 95% of all life on the planet at the time perished.
More recently, the eruption of the Laki volcano in Iceland in 1783 created a famine that killed 25% of the population on the island nation. The toxic cloud of ash settled over Europe, killing tens of thousands of people in the UK, Ireland, France, Scandinavia and Germany. The eruption even altered the monsoon season, bringing death by famine and pestilence to millions of people living in India, Egypt and Northern Africa.
Volcanic eruptions of Tambora in Indonesia and Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines, have also created disturbances in the earth's climate, affecting the entire planet. The foundation compiled the information for their report, titled Extreme Geohazards: Reducing the Disaster Risk & Increasing Resilience, in which they estimate that it would cost between $500 million and $3.5 billion a year to increase the level of global monitoring for catastrophic volcanic eruptions. Advanced notice of an impending super-volcanic eruption, such as the dangerous Yellowstone Caldera in the western United States, would be able to save millions of lives.
It is estimated that one to two million people in the United States and Canada would die within hours of the eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera, without advanced warning. Falling ash from the eruption would measure several feet within a radius of several hundred square miles, with ash amounts of up to a foot falling as far east as Chicago and St. Louis. An eruption of the Yellowstone super-volcano would be nothing less than an unimaginable, world-ending catastrophe.
An intense increase in global seismic and volcanic activity is currently being monitored closely by scientists, in an effort to better understand what causes such upticks. The report by the foundation was presented at the European Geosciences Union in Vienna, Austria, on Tuesday.
The warning is not regarding the runaway climate change currently gripping the planet in a vice-like grip, but rather about the threat of a super-volcanic eruption, which the foundation believes there is a 5-10% chance of happening within the next several decades. In the latest special report released by the foundation, the experts took into consideration a whole host of natural disasters that could bring about the so-called "End of the World", and the eruption of a super-volcano topped their list.
The warning is certainly not without merit. The eruptions of super-volcanic systems over the course of our planetary history have caused mass destruction and extinction level events several times. One such event, known as the Permian Extinction Event or "The Great Dying", is believed to have been caused by a massive super-volcanic eruption of the Siberian Traps in Russia. The eruptions went on for thousands of years, creating methane gas on an enormous scale, which became trapped in the Earth's atmosphere, causing intense global warming and acidic rain. Eventually, almost 95% of all life on the planet at the time perished.
More recently, the eruption of the Laki volcano in Iceland in 1783 created a famine that killed 25% of the population on the island nation. The toxic cloud of ash settled over Europe, killing tens of thousands of people in the UK, Ireland, France, Scandinavia and Germany. The eruption even altered the monsoon season, bringing death by famine and pestilence to millions of people living in India, Egypt and Northern Africa.
Volcanic eruptions of Tambora in Indonesia and Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines, have also created disturbances in the earth's climate, affecting the entire planet. The foundation compiled the information for their report, titled Extreme Geohazards: Reducing the Disaster Risk & Increasing Resilience, in which they estimate that it would cost between $500 million and $3.5 billion a year to increase the level of global monitoring for catastrophic volcanic eruptions. Advanced notice of an impending super-volcanic eruption, such as the dangerous Yellowstone Caldera in the western United States, would be able to save millions of lives.
It is estimated that one to two million people in the United States and Canada would die within hours of the eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera, without advanced warning. Falling ash from the eruption would measure several feet within a radius of several hundred square miles, with ash amounts of up to a foot falling as far east as Chicago and St. Louis. An eruption of the Yellowstone super-volcano would be nothing less than an unimaginable, world-ending catastrophe.
An intense increase in global seismic and volcanic activity is currently being monitored closely by scientists, in an effort to better understand what causes such upticks. The report by the foundation was presented at the European Geosciences Union in Vienna, Austria, on Tuesday.