1. Supervolcanoes!
• AIMS:

To know about the characteristics of a Supervolcano eruption

To understand the likely effects of an eruption

2. Supervolcano Characteristics
• Emit at least 1,000km³ of material. This is BIG!
• They don’t look like a traditional volcano, more a large
depression called a caldera, often marked by a rim of higher
land around the edges.

3. Caldera Formation
Full magma chamber under
pressure causes eruption
Magma chamber now partially
emptied, pressure released
Volcano collapses into top
of magma chamber
Large (60km) crater forms
with a steep rim
Turn to p22and copythe diagramdown!

4. A caldera!

5. Mr Pinks in a small caldera!

8. Stupervolcano Case Study:
Yellowstone Supervolcano p22
Greater London on the same scale

9. Yellowstone
•
Watch the video here (from 4.00) to see what Yellowstone and Old
Faithful look like.

10. Video

Yellowstone video (10 mins)

Make notes on the effects of a future eruption under the title
below as we watch the video.
Characteristics Effects

11. Some impacts …
• Magma would be flung 50km up into the atmosphere
• All life up to 1000KM away would be killed by falling ash, lava
flows and by the force of the explosion
• 100KM³ of lava would pour out of the volcano
• Ash in the atmosphere would block out the suns light and
trigger a freezing cold volcanic winter;
• Crops wouldn’t grow and people would starve
• Economies would collapse

12. Task
• Produce an article for the Washington Post reporting on
• What a super volcano is
• What the likely effects the Yellowstone super volcano would be
on the USA. Think about the social, economic, environmental and
political.
Washington
PostSuper volcano
blows its lid!
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