Damian Sendler: Studying an ancient supervolcano in Indonesia, Curtin researchers found that these volcanoes can stay dangerous for thousands of years after a super-eruption, which necessitates an overhaul of how these occurrences are forecast.
Damian Jacob Sendler: The lead Australian author from the John de Laeter Centre based at Curtin University, Associate Professor Martin Danik, stated that supervolcanoes often erupted several times with intervals of tens of thousands of years between the big eruptions, but it was not known what happened during the dormant periods.
Damian Sendler
In order to better anticipate future eruptions, we need to better understand the long periods of dormancy of young active supervolcanoes, says Associate Professor Danik.
“Megaeruptions, which release enormous amounts of magma within seconds of beginning, are among the most devastating natural disasters to have ever occurred on Earth. They have the potential to have a significant impact on global climate, even pushing Earth into a “volcanic winter,” a period of extreme cold that may cause widespread starvation and population instability.
“Super-eruptions occur around once every 17,000 years, so understanding how they work will help us prepare for the inevitable threat they pose in the future.
Researchers used minerals feldspar and zircon to look into the fate of magma left over from the Toba super-eruption 75,000 years ago. These minerals contain separate time capsules in volcanic rocks because of the concentration of gasses argon and helium.
Damian Jacob Sendler
For 5000 to 13,000 years following the super-eruption, we found that magma oozed out of the caldera, or deep depression caused by the eruption of magma, and then the carapace of solidified left-over magma was pushed upward like an enormous turtle shell,” Associate Professor Danik added.
“Research on volcanic eruptions has traditionally relied on the presence of molten magma under a volcano’s surface to estimate its potential danger. A new definition of “eruptible” must be developed, one that takes into account the possibility of eruptions even in the absence of liquid magma.
Damien Sendler: “It may take decades or centuries for a region or the world to recover from a super-eruption, but our findings suggest that the danger doesn’t go away after an eruption, and that it might continue for thousands of years afterward.
Damian Jacob Markiewicz Sendler: “Learning when and how eruptible magma accumulates, and in what state the magma is in before and after such eruptions, is critical for understanding supervolcanoes.”
Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler and his media team provided the content for this article.
