Supervolcano

A supervolcano is a volcano capable of producing a volcanic eruption with an ejecta mass greater than 10¹⁵ kg (10¹² t). Supervolcanoes occur when magma in the mantle rises into the crust but is unable to break through the crust, and pressure builds in a large and growing magma pool until the crust is unable to contain the pressure. This can occur at hotspots (for example, Yellowstone Caldera) or at subduction zones (for example, Toba). Another setting for the eruption of very large amounts of volcanic material is in large igneous provinces, which can cover huge areas with lava and volcanic ash, causing long-lasting climate change (such as the triggering of a small ice age or global warming), which can threaten species with extinction. The Oruanui eruption of New Zealand's Taupo Volcano, the world's most recent supereruption, had a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 8.

The origin of the term supervolcano is linked to 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 are the remnants left after Mount Multnomah 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. The book was reviewed in 1949 by another volcanologist, F. M. Byers Jr. In the review, Byers refers to Mount Multnomah as a supervolcano. Although Hodge's suggestion that Mount Multnomah is a supervolcano was rejected long ago, the term supervolcano was popularised by the BBC popular science television program Horizon in 2000 to refer to eruptions that produce extremely large amounts of ejecta.

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