Supervolcanoes

Question 1

What is a supervolcano?

Answer 1

A supervolcano is a volcano on a massive scale, that erupts at least 1,000 km3 of material, and is found at destructive plate margins
Yellowstone National Park USA

Question 2

How are supervolcanoes formed?

Answer 2

Magma rises through cracks in the crust to form a large magma basin below the surface, the pressure forming a circular bulge on the surface
The bulge eventually cracks creating vents for the lava to escape through- eruption
As the magma basin empties, the bulge is no longer supported so collapses in on itself creating another eruption and causing a large crater (caldera) to be left behind

Question 3

What are the characteristics of a supervolcano?

Answer 3

Flat unlike normal volcanoes which are like mountains
Cover a large area
Have a caldera whereas normal volcanoes have craters

Question 4

What would happen if a supervolcano erupted?

Answer 4

Thousands of cubic kilometers of rock, ash and lava would be released
A thick cloud of super-heated gas and ash would flow at high speed from the volcano, killing, burning and burying everything it touches- everything in tens of miles destroyed
Ash would go into the air and block out daylight over whole continents triggering a mini ice age as less heat energy would get to Earth
Ash would settle over hundreds of square kilometers burying fields and buildings