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Elements; February 2008; v. 4; no. 1; p. 16
© 2008 Mineralogical Society of America
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(Potentially) Frequently Asked Questions About Supervolcanoes and Supereruptions

Calvin Miller, David Wark, Steve Self, Steve Blake and Dave John

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

1 How many supervolcanoes/supereruptions are known? Are there many more than are mentioned in the papers in this issue?


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There have been far more supereruptions than are mentioned in this issue. Those discussed here are the most famous, best documented, and best known to the authors. A minimum total number cited by Mason et al. (2004) is 47. Many other candidates with less well-documented deposit volumes are known, many others are as yet unrecognized, and many more, we can assume, have had their record obliterated. Natural processes cover the tracks of supereruptions. Their erupted products are spread over enormous areas, in some cases including the seafloor and distant continents, and they are easily eroded or turned into soil. Much of their deposits may be retained within the caldera, where their great thickness is easily underestimated. Thus, the enormous erupted volumes—and therefore their "super" character—may not be recognized.

2 What are their ages? Are they all "young" geologically speaking? Which is the oldest known? Will we start recognizing them in older and older rocks?

Among the 47 eruptions listed in the Mason et al. compilation, only four are older than . . . [Full Text of this Article]


Related articles in Elements:

SUPERVOLCANOES AND THEIR EXPLOSIVE SUPERERUPTIONS
Calvin F. Miller and David A. Wark
Elements 2008 4: 11-15. [Abstract] [Full Text]  





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