NASA's attempts to calm supervolcanoes won't work says expert
Iceland's newest tourist attraction opened this week after a volcano in the Reykjanes peninsula erupted.
The world's newcomer "baby" volcano — formed on July 10 — is spewing out "spatter bombs" of molten lava into the surrounding crater, in the process attracting scores of onlookers.
Volcanoes are dotted all around the world, often in regions that host fault lines and volatile junctions beneath the Earth's surface.
While most are by nature harmless to the world at large, others, a group known as supervolcanoes, pose a serious threat to existence as we know it.
Here, Express.co.uk takes a look at the menacing cohort, including one that is less than 1,000 miles away from the UK.
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The Reykjanes peninsula has attracted many visitors in the past week (Image: GETTY)
Campi Flegrei
Campi Flegrei is Europe's only supervolcano, sitting a stone's throw away from the UK in geographic terms, less than 1,000 miles as the crow flies.
Also known as the Phlegraean Fields, Campi Flegrei is beneath Naples and was formed some 39,000 years ago.
The event saw lava and rocks thrown hundreds of kilometres away in what was the most violent eruption in the past 200,000 years in Europe.
What makes Campi Flegrei unique is the fact that it is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world, with three million people living in nearby Naples.
In June, scientists said that the supervolcano, which last erupted in 1538, has a "realistic possibility" of erupting in the near future.
A view of the Solfatara crater, part of the Campi Flegrei (Image: GETTY)
Yellowstone Caldera
On the other side of the world sits Yellowstone Caldera, located in Wyoming, USA.
It is perhaps one of the most is the most famous supervolcano and also has the potential to be the most powerful.
Yellowstone has in recent years sprouted up more thermal springs, hinting at the continued activity beneath its surface.
It last erupted 700,000 years ago but experts say it should in theory explode once every million years.
Estimates suggest that some 87,000 people would be killed immediately in an eruption, with millions more affected in the aftermath.
Thousands of tonnes of ash would shoot into the atmosphere and travel as far as Europe, enveloping the continent in a cloud of thick smog.
Long Valley Caldera
Another supervolcano in the US, Long Valley is situated in California, and has so much magma beneath its surface, it could support an eruption equivalent to a massive event which occurred 767,000 years ago.
The eruption back then released 140 cubic miles of material into the atmosphere.
By comparison, the 1980 Mount St Helens eruption resulted in the release of 0.29 cubic miles.
It is one of the world's largest calderas, measuring about 20 miles long, 11 miles wide and up to 3,000 feet (910 m) deep.
In the last 5,00 years, an eruption has happened at Long Valley every 250 to 700 years.
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A hot pool of mineral water along Hot Creek at the Long Valley caldera (Image: GETTY)
Lake Toba
Located deep inside the Indonesian interior, this supervolcano is one of Earth's largest.
Last eruption 74,000 years ago, an estimated 2,800 cubic km of material was ejected into the atmosphere.
It caused global temperatures to plummet for ten years, covering swathes of Indonesia and nearby India in ash.
An island in the middle of Lake Toba in Sumatra, it is slowly rising and is thought to be a sign that the Earth is bulging because of magma pressure below the surface.
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Taupo
Located beneath the surface of Lake Taupo in the middle of New Zealand’s North Island.
Retrospective calculations suggest it only began erupting 300,000 years ago. It has rarely been quiet since.
Taupo is responsible for the most recent supervolcano, coming in at around 26,500 years ago when 1,200 cubic km of pumice and ash was sent flying into the atmosphere.
There have been 28 smaller eruptions since then, separated by about 50 and 5,000 years — hinting at just how volatile it is.
Others include:
Values Caldera, USA; Aira Caldera, Japan; La Garita Caldera, USA; Mount Tambora; Indonesia; Baked Mountain, North Korea and China; Kurile Lake, Russia; Karymshina, Russia; Bennett Lake, Canada; Cerro Galan, Argentina; Pacana Caldera, Chile; Pastos Grandes, Bolivia; Mount IO, Japan; Kyushu, Japan.
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