Timetable of major worldwide volcanic eruptions

This article is a list of volcanic eruptions of approximately at least magnitude 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) or equivalent sulfur dioxide emission around the Quaternary period. Some cooled the global climate; the extent of this effect depends on the amount of sulfur dioxide emitted.^[1][2] The topic in the background is an overview of the VEI and sulfur dioxide emission/ Volcanic winter relationship. Before the Holocene epoch the criteria is less strict because of scarce data available, partly for the later eruptions have destroyed the evidence. So, the known large eruptions after the Paleogene period are listed, and specially the Yellowstone hotspot, Santorini, and Taupo Volcanic Zone ones. Just some eruptions before the Neogene period are listed as well. Active volcanoes such as Stromboli, Mount Etna and Kilauea do not appear on this list, but some back-arc basin volcanoes that generated calderas do appear. Some dangerous volcanoes in "populated areas" appear many times: so Santorini, six times and Yellowstone hotspot, twenty one times. The Bismarck volcanic arc, New Britain and the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand appear often too.

In order to keep the list manageable, the eruptions in the Holocene on the link: Holocene Volcanoes in Kamchatka were not added yet, but they are listed on the Peter L. Ward's supplemental table.^[3]

Contents 1 Large Quaternary eruptions 1.1 Since 1000 AD 1.2 Overview of Common Era 1.3 Earlier Quaternary eruptions 2 Large Neogene eruptions 2.1 Pliocene eruptions 2.2 Miocene eruptions 3 Volcanism before the Neogene 4 Notes 4.1 Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 4.2 Volcanic dimming 4.3 Some maps 5 See also 6 Further reading 7 References 8 External links

Large Quaternary eruptions

The Holocene epoch begins 11,700 years BP,^[4] (10 000 ¹⁴C years ago)

Since 1000 AD

• Pinatubo, island of Luzon, Philippines; 1991, Jun 15; VEI 6; 6 to 16 cubic kilometers (1.4 to 3.8 cu mi) of tephra;^[5] an estimated 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide were emitted^[1]
• Novarupta, Alaska Peninsula; 1912, Jun 6; VEI 6; 13 to 15 cubic kilometers (3.1 to 3.6 cu mi) of lava^[6][7][8]
• Santa Maria, Guatemala; 1902, Oct 24; VEI 6; 20 cubic kilometres (4.8 cu mi) of tephra^[9]
• Krakatoa, Indonesia; 1883, August 26–27; VEI 6; 21 cubic kilometres (5.0 cu mi) of tephra^[10]
• Mount Tambora, Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia; 1815, Apr 10; VEI 7; 150 cubic kilometres (36 cu mi) of tephra;^[5] an estimated 200 million tons of sulfur dioxide were emitted, produced the "Year Without a Summer"^[11]
• Grímsvötn, Northeastern Iceland; 1783–1785; Laki; 1783–1784; VEI 6; 14 cubic kilometers of lava, an estimated 120 million tons of sulfur dioxide were emitted, produced a Volcanic winter, 1783, on the North Hemisphere.^[12]
• Long Island (Papua New Guinea), Northeast of New Guinea; 1660 ±20; VEI 6; 30 cubic kilometers (7.2 cu mi) of tephra^[5]
• Kolumbo, Santorini, Greece; 1650, Sep 27; VEI 6; 60 cubic kilometers (14.4 cu mi) of tephra^[13]
• Huaynaputina, Peru; 1600, Feb 19; VEI 6; 30 cubic kilometres (7.2 cu mi) of tephra^[14]
• Billy Mitchell, Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea; 1580 ±20; VEI 6; 14 cubic kilometres (3.4 cu mi) of tephra^[5]
• Bárðarbunga, Northeastern Iceland; 1477; VEI 6; 10 cubic kilometres (2.4 cu mi) of tephra^[5]
• 1452-53 ice core event, New Hebrides arc, Vanuatu; location of this eruption in the South Pacific is uncertain; only pyroclastic flows are found at Kuwae; 36 to 96 cubic kilometers (8.6 to 23.0 cu mi) of tephra; 175-700 million tons of sulfuric acid^[15][16][17]
• Quilotoa, Ecuador; 1280(?); VEI 6; 21 cubic kilometres (5.0 cu mi) of tephra^[5]
• 1258 ice core event, tropics; 200 to 800 cubic kilometers (48.0 to 191.9 cu mi) of tephra^[18]

Overview of Common Era

This is a sortable summary of Common Era eruptions; date uncertainties, tephra volumes and references are not included.

Caldera/ Caldera complex name	Volcanic arc/ belt or Subregion or Hotspot	VEI	Date	Tephra or eruption name
Mount Pinatubo	Luzon Volcanic Arc	6	1991, Jun 15
Novarupta	Aleutian Range	6	1912, Jun 6
Santa María	Central America Volcanic Arc	6	1902, Oct 24
Mount Tarawera	Taupo Volcanic Zone	5	1886, Jun 10
Krakatoa	Sunda Arc	6	1883, Aug 26-27
Mount Tambora	Lesser Sunda Islands	7	1815, Apr 10
Grimsvotn and Laki	Iceland	6	1783-85
Long Island (Papua New Guinea)	Bismarck Volcanic Arc	6	1660
Kolumbo, Santorini	South Aegean Volcanic Arc	6	1650, Sep 27
Huaynaputina	Andes, Central Volcanic Zone	6	1600, Feb 19
Billy Mitchell	Bougainville & Solomon Is.	6	1580
Bardarbunga	Iceland	6	1477
1452-53 ice core event	New Hebrides Arc	6	1452-53
Quilotoa	Andes, Northern Volcanic Zone	6	1280
Baekdu Mountain	China/ North Korea border	7	969 AD	Tianchi eruption
Katla	Iceland	6	934-940 AD	Eldgjá eruption
Ceboruco	Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt	6	930 AD
Dakataua	Bismarck Volcanic Arc	6	800 AD
Pago	Bismarck Volcanic Arc	6	710 AD
Mount Churchill	eastern Alaska, USA	6	700 AD
Rabaul Caldera	Bismarck Volcanic Arc	6	540 AD
Ilopango	Central America Volcanic Arc	6	450 AD
Ksudach	Kamchatka Peninsula	6	240 AD
Taupo Caldera	Taupo Volcano	7	230 AD	Hatepe eruption
Mount Vesuvius	Italy	5	79 AD	Pompeii eruption
Mount Churchill	eastern Alaska, USA	6	60 AD
Ambrym	New Hebrides Arc	6	50 AD

Note: Caldera names tend to change over time. For example, Okataina Caldera, Haroharo Caldera, Haroharo volcanic complex, Tarawera volcanic complex had the same magma source in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Yellowstone Caldera, Henry's Fork Caldera, Island Park Caldera, Heise Volcanic Field had all Yellowstone hotspot as magma source.

Earlier Quaternary eruptions

2.588 ± 0.005 million years BP, the Quaternary period and Pleistocene epoch begin.

• Eifel hotspot, Laacher See, Vulkan Eifel, Germany; 12.9 ka; VEI 6; 6 cubic kilometers (1.4 cu mi) of tephra.^{[19][20][21][22]}
• Emmons Lake Caldera (size: 11 x 18 km), Aleutian Range, 17 ka ±5; more than 50 km³ (12 cu mi) of tephra.^[3]
• Lake Barrine, Atherton Tableland, North Queensland, Australia; was formed over 17 ka.
• Menengai, East African Rift, Kenya; 29 ka^[5]
• Morne Diablotins, Commonwealth of Dominica; VEI 6; 30 ka (Grand Savanne Ignimbrite).^[23]
• Kurile Lake, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia; Golygin eruption; about 41.5 ka; VEI 7^[5]
• Maninjau Caldera (size: 20 x 8 km), West Sumatra; VEI 7; around 52 ka; 220 to 250 cubic kilometers (52.8 to 60.0 cu mi) of tephra.^[24]
• Lake Toba (size: 100 x 30 km), Sumatra, Indonesia; 73 ka ±4; 2,500 to 3,000 cubic kilometers (599.8 to 719.7 cu mi) of tephra; probably 6,000 million tons of sulfur dioxide were emitted (Youngest Toba Tuff).^{[1][25][26][27][28]}
• Atitlán Caldera (size: 17 x 20 km), Guatemalan Highlands; Los Chocoyos eruption; formed in an eruption 84 ka; VEI 7; 300 km³ (72 cu mi) of tephra.^[29]
• Mount Aso (size: 24 km wide), island of Kyūshū, Japan; 90 ka; last eruption was more than 600 cubic kilometers (144 cu mi) of tephra.^[3][30]
• Sierra La Primavera volcanic complex (size: 11 km wide), Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico; 95 ka; 20 cubic kilometers (5 cu mi) of Tala Tuff.^[3][31]
• Mount Aso (size: 24 km wide), island of Kyūshū, Japan; 120 ka; 80 km³ (19 cu mi) of tephra.^[3]
• Mount Aso (size: 24 km wide), island of Kyūshū, Japan; 140 ka; 80 km³ (19 cu mi) of tephra.^[3]
• Puy de Sancy, Massif Central, central France; it is part of an ancient stratovolcano which has been inactive for about 220,000 years.
• Emmons Lake Caldera (size: 11 x 18 km), Aleutian Range, 233 ka; more than 50 km³ (12 cu mi) of tephra.^[3]
• Mount Aso (size: 24 km wide), island of Kyūshū, Japan; caldera formed as a result of four huge caldera eruptions; 270 ka; 80 cubic kilometers (19 cu mi) of tephra.^[3]
• Uzon-Geyzernaya calderas (size: 9 x 18 km), Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia; 325-175 ka^[32] 20 km³ (4.8 cu mi) of ignimbrite deposits.^[33]
• Diamante Caldera–Maipo volcano complex (size: 20 x 16 km), Argentina-Chile; 450 ka; 450 cubic kilometers (108 cu mi) of tephra.^[3][34]
• Yellowstone hotspot; Yellowstone Caldera (size: 45 x 85 km); 640 ka; VEI 8; more than 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cu mi) of tephra (Lava Creek Tuff)^[5]
• Three Sisters (Oregon), USA; Tumalo volcanic center; with eruptions from 600 - 700 to 170 ka years ago
• Uinkaret volcanic field, Arizona, USA; the Colorado River was dammed by lava flows multiple times from 725 to 100 ka.^[35]
• Mono County, California, USA; Long Valley Caldera; 758.9 ka ±1.8; VEI 7; 600 cubic kilometers (144 cu mi) of Bishop Tuff.^[3][36]
• Valles Caldera, New Mexico, USA; around 1.15 Ma; VEI 7; around 600 cubic kilometers (144 cu mi) of the Tshirege formation, Upper Bandelier eruption.^[3][37][38]
• Sutter Buttes, Central Valley of California, USA; were formed over 1.5 Ma by a now-extinct volcano.
• Ebisutoge-Fukuda tephras, Japan; 1.75 Ma; 380 to 490 cubic kilometers (91.2 to 117.6 cu mi) of tephra.^[3]
• Yellowstone hotspot; Island Park Caldera (size: 100 x 50 km); 2.1 Ma; VEI 8; 2,450 cubic kilometers (588 cu mi) of Huckleberry Ridge Tuff.^[3][5]
• Cerro Galán (size: 32 km wide), Catamarca Province, northwestern Argentina; 2.2 Ma; VEI 8; 1,050 cubic kilometers (252 cu mi) of Cerro Galán Ignimbrite.^[39]

Large Neogene eruptions

Pliocene eruptions

Approximately 5.332 million years BP, the Pliocene epoch begins. Most eruptions before the Quaternary period have an unknown VEI.

• Boring Lava Field, Boring, Oregon, USA; the zone became active at least 2.7 Ma, and has been extinct for about 300,000 years.^[40]
• Norfolk Island, Australia; remnant of a basaltic volcano active around 2.3 to 3 Ma.^[41]
• Pastos Grandes Caldera (size: 40 x 50 km), Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, Bolivia; 2.9 Ma; VEI 7; more than 820 cubic kilometers (197 cu mi) of Pastos Grandes Ignimbrite.^[42]
• Little Barrier Island, northeastern coast of New Zealand's North Island; it erupted from 1 million to 3 Ma.^[43]
• Mount Kenya; a stratovolcano created approximately 3 Ma after the opening of the East African rift.^[44]
• Pacana Caldera (size: 60 x 35 km), Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, northern Chile; 4 Ma; VEI 8; 2,500 cubic kilometers (600 cu mi) of Atana Ignimbrite.^[45]
• Frailes Plateau, Bolivia; 4 Ma; 620 cubic kilometers (149 cu mi) of Frailes Ignimbrite E.^[3][46]
• Cerro Galán (size: 32 km wide), Catamarca Province, northwestern Argentina; 4.2 Ma; 510 cubic kilometers (122 cu mi) of Real Grande and Cueva Negra tephra.^[3]
• Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; Kilgore Caldera (size: 80 x 60 km); VEI 8; 1,800 cubic kilometers (432 cu mi) of Kilgore Tuff; 4.45 Ma ±0.05.^[3][47]
• Kari Kari Caldera, Frailes Plateau, Bolivia; 5 Ma; 470 cubic kilometers (113 cu mi) of tephra.^[3]

Miocene eruptions

Approximately 23.03 million years BP, the Neogene period and Miocene epoch begin.

• Lord Howe Island, Australia; Mount Lidgbird and Mount Gower are both made of basalt rock, remnants of lava flows that once filled a large volcanic caldera 6.4 Ma.^[48]
• Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; 5.51 Ma ±0.13 (Conant Creek Tuff).^[47]
• Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; 5.6 Ma; 500 cubic kilometers (120 cu mi) of Blue Creek Tuff.^[3]
• Cerro Panizos (size: 18 km wide), Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, Bolivia; 6.1 Ma; 652 cubic kilometers (156 cu mi) of Panizos Ignimbrite.^[3][49]
• Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; 6.27 Ma ±0.04 (Walcott Tuff).^[47]
• Yellowstone hotspot, Heise volcanic field, Idaho; Blacktail Caldera (size: 100 x 60 km), Idaho; 6.62 Ma ±0.03; 1,500 cubic kilometers (360 cu mi) of Blacktail Tuff.^[3][47]
• Pastos Grandes Caldera (size: 40 x 50 km), Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex, Bolivia; 8.3 Ma; 652 cubic kilometers (156 cu mi) of Sifon Ignimbrite.^[3]
• Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, northern Papua New Guinea; 8–10 Ma
• Banks Peninsula, New Zealand; Akaroa erupted 9 Ma, Lyttelton erupted 12 Ma.^[50]
• Mascarene Islands were formed in a series of undersea volcanic eruptions 8-10 Ma, as the African plate drifted over the Réunion hotspot.
• Yellowstone hotspot, Twin Fall volcanic field, Idaho; 8.6 to 10 Ma.^[51]
• Yellowstone hotspot, Picabo volcanic field, Idaho; 10.21 Ma ± 0.03 (Arbon Valley Tuff).^[47]
• Mount Cargill, New Zealand; the last eruptive phase ended some 10 Ma. The center of the caldera is about Port Chalmers, the main port of the city of Dunedin.^[52][53][54]
• Yellowstone hotspot, Idaho; Bruneau-Jarbidge volcanic field; 10.0 to 12.5 Ma (Ashfall Fossil Beds eruption).^[51]
• Anahim hotspot, British Columbia, Canada; has generated the Anahim Volcanic Belt over the last 13 million years.
• Yellowstone hotspot, Owyhee-Humboldt volcanic field, Nevada/ Oregon; around 12.8 to 13.9 Ma.^[51][55]
• Campi Flegrei, Naples, Italy; 14.9 Ma; 79 cubic kilometers (19 cu mi) of Neapolitan Yellow Tuff.^[3]
• Huaylillas Ignimbrite, Bolivia, southern Peru, northern Chile; 15 Ma ±1; 1,100 cubic kilometers (264 cu mi) of tephra.^[3]
• Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (North), Trout Creek Mountains, Whitehorse Caldera (size: 15 km wide), Oregon; 15 Ma; 40 cubic kilometers (10 cu mi) of Whitehorse Creek Tuff.^[3][56]
• Yellowstone hotspot (?), Lake Owyhee volcanic field; 15.0 to 15.5 Ma.^[57]
• Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Jordan Meadow Caldera, (size: 10–15 km wide), Nevada/ Oregon; 15.6 Ma; 350 cubic kilometers (84 cu mi) Longridge Tuff member 2-3.^{[3][51][56][58]}
• Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Longridge Caldera, (size: 33 km wide), Nevada/ Oregon; 15.6 Ma; 400 cubic kilometers (96 cu mi) Longridge Tuff member 5.^{[3][51][56][58]}
• Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Calavera Caldera, (size: 17 km wide), Nevada/ Oregon; 15.7 Ma; 300 cubic kilometers (72 cu mi) of Double H Tuff.^{[3][51][56][58]}
• Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Hoppin Peaks Caldera, 16 Ma; Hoppin Peaks Tuff.^[59]
• Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (North), Trout Creek Mountains, Pueblo Caldera (size: 20 x 10 km), Oregon; 15.8 Ma; 40 cubic kilometers (10 cu mi) of Trout Creek Mountains Tuff.^[3][56][59]
• Yellowstone hotspot, McDermitt volcanic field (South), Washburn Caldera, (size: 30 x 25 km wide), Nevada/ Oregon; 16.548 Ma; 250 cubic kilometers (60 cu mi) of Oregon Canyon Tuff.^[3][56][58]
• Yellowstone hotspot (?), Northwest Nevada volcanic field (NWNV), Virgin Valley, High Rock, Hog Ranch, and unnamed calderas; West of Pine Forest Range, Nevada; 15.5 to 16.5 Ma.^[60]
• Yellowstone hotspot, Steens and Columbia River flood basalts, Pueblo, Steens, and Malheur Gorge-region, Pueblo Mountains, Steens Mountain, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, USA; most vigorous eruptions were from 14–17 Ma; 180,000 cubic kilometers (43,184 cu mi) of lava.^{[3][61][62][63][64][65][66][67]}
• Mount Lindesay (New South Wales), Australia; is part of the remnants of the Nandewar extinct volcano that ceased activity about 17 Ma after 4 million years of activity.
• Oxaya Ignimbrites, northern Chile (around 18°S); 19 Ma; 3,000 cubic kilometers (720 cu mi) of tephra.^[3]
• Pemberton Volcanic Belt was erupting about 21 to 22 Ma.^[68]

Volcanism before the Neogene

• • La Garita Caldera (size: 100 x 35 km), Wheeler Geologic Area, Central Colorado volcanic field, Colorado, USA; VEI 8; 5,000 cubic kilometers (1,200 cu mi) of Fish Canyon Tuff was blasted out in a major single eruption about 27.8 Ma.^[39][69][70]
  • Unknown source, Ethiopia; 29 Ma ±1; 3,000 cubic kilometers (720 cu mi) of Green Tuff and SAM.^[3]
  • Sam Ignimbrite, Yemen; 29.5 Ma; at least 5,550 cubic kilometers (1,332 cu mi) of distal tuffs associated with the ignimbrites.^[71]
  • Jabal Kura’a Ignimbrite, Yemen; 29.6 Ma; at least 3,700 cubic kilometers (888 cu mi) of distal tuffs associated with the ignimbrites.^[71]
• About 33.9 million BP, the Oligocene epoch of the Paleogene period begins
  • Bennett Lake Volcanic Complex, British Columbia/ Yukon, Canada; around 50 Ma; VEI 7; 850 cubic kilometers (204 cu mi) of tephra.^[72]
  • Canary hotspot is believed to have first appeared about 60 million years ago.
• Approximately 65.5 million years BP, the K–T boundary/ extinction event occurred
  • Réunion hotspot, Deccan Traps, India, formed between 60 and 68 Ma
  • The Louisville hotspot has produced the Louisville seamount chain, it is active for at least 80 million years. It may have originated the Ontong Java Plateau around 120 Ma.
  • Hawaii hotspot, Meiji Seamount is the oldest seamount in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, with an estimated age of 82 million years.
  • Paraná and Etendeka traps, Brazil, Namibia and Angola; 128 to 138 Ma.^[73]
  • Glen Coe, Scotland; VEI 8; 420 Ma
  • Scafells, Lake District, England; VEI 8; Ordovician (488.3 - 443.7 Ma).
• Approximately 2,500 million years BP, the Proterozoic eon of the Precambrian eon begins
  • Mackenzie Large Igneous Province, Canadian Shield, Canada; 1,270 Ma.
• About 3,800 million years BP, the Archean eon of the Precambrian eon begins
  • Blake River Megacaldera Complex, Misema Caldera, Ontario-Quebec border, Canada; 2,704-2,707 Ma.^[72]

Notes

• The Mackenzie Large Igneous Province contains the largest and best-preserved continental flood basalt terrain on Earth.^[74] The Mackenzie dike swarm throughout the Mackenzie Large Igneous Province is also the largest dike swarm on Earth, covering an area of 2,700,000 km² (1,000,000 sq mi).^[75]
• The Bachelor (27.4 Ma), San Luis (27-26.8 Ma), and Creede (26 Ma) calderas partially overlap each other and are nested within the large La Garita (27.6 Ma) caldera, forming the central caldera cluster of the San Juan volcanic field, Wheeler Geologic Area, La Garita Wilderness. Creede, Colorado and San Luis Peak (Continental Divide of the Americas) are nearby. North Pass Caldera is northeastern the San Juan Mountains, North Pass. The Platoro volcanic complex lies southeastern of the central caldera cluster. The center of the western San Juan caldera cluster lies just West of Lake City, Colorado.
• The Rio Grande rift includes the San Juan volcanic field, the Valles Caldera, the Potrillo volcanic field, and the Socorro-Magdalena magmatic system.^[76] The Socorro Magma Body is uplifting the surface at approximately 2 mm/year.^[77][78]
• The southwestern Nevada volcanic field, or Yucca Mountain volcanic field, includes: Stonewall Mountain caldera complex, Black Mountain Caldera, Silent Canyon Caldera, Timber Mountain - Oasis Valley caldera complex, Crater Flat Group, and Yucca Mountain. Towns nearby: Beatty, Mercury, Goldfield.^[79] It is aligned as a Crater Flat volcanic field, Réveille Range, Lunar Crater volcanic field, Zone (CFLC).^[80] The Marysvale Volcanic Field, southwestern Utah is nearby too.
• McDermitt volcanic field, or Orevada rift volcanic field, Nevada/ Oregon, nearby are: McDermitt, Trout Creek Mountains, Bilk Creek Mountains, Steens Mountain, Jordan Meadow Mountain (6,816 ft), Long Ridge, Trout Creek, and Whitehorse Creek.
• Emmons Lake stratovolcano (caldera size: 11 x 18 km), Aleutian Range, was formed through six eruptions. Mount Emmons, Mount Hague, and Double Crater are post-caldera cones.^[5]
• The topography of the Basin and Range Province is a result of crustal extension within this part of the North American Plate (rifting of the North American craton or Laurentia from Western North America; e.g. Gulf of California, Rio Grande rift, Oregon-Idaho graben). The crust here has been stretched up to 100% of its original width.^[81] In fact, the crust underneath the Basin and Range, especially under the Great Basin (includes Nevada), is some of the thinnest in the world.
• Topographically visible calderas: South part of the McDermitt volcanic field (four overlapping and nested calderas), West of McDermitt; Cochetopa Park Caldera, West of the North Pass; Henry's Fork Caldera; Banks Peninsula, New Zealand (Photo) and Valles Caldera. Newer drawings show McDermitt volcanic field (South), as five overlapping and nested calderas. Hoppin Peaks Caldera is included too.
• Repose periods: Toba (0.38 Ma),^[27] Valles Caldera (0.35 Ma),^[82][83] Yellowstone Caldera (0.7 Ma).^[84]
• Kiloannum (ka), is a unit of time equal to one thousand years. Megaannum (Ma), is a unit of time equal to one million years, one can assume that "ago" is implied.

Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)

VEI	Tephra Volume (cubic kilometers)	Example
0	Effusive	Masaya Volcano, Nicaragua, 1570
1	>0.00001	Poás Volcano, Costa Rica, 1991
2	>0.001	Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand, 1971
3	>0.01	Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia, 1985
4	>0.1	Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland, 2010
5	>1	Mount St. Helens, United States, 1980
6	>10	Krakatoa, Indonesia, 1883
7	>100	Mount Tambora, Indonesia, 1815
8	>1000	Yellowstone Caldera, United States, Pleistocene

       

Volcanic dimming

The Global dimming through volcanism (ash aerosol and sulfur dioxide) is quite independent of the eruption VEI.^[85][86][87] When sulfur dioxide (boiling point at standard state: -10°C) reacts with water vapor, it creates sulfate ions (the precursors to sulfuric acid), which are very reflective; ash aerosol on the other hand absorbs Ultraviolet.^[88] Global cooling through volcanism is the sum of the influence of the Global dimming and the influence of the high albedo of the deposited ash layer.^[89] The lower snow line and its higher albedo might prolong this cooling period.^[90] Bipolar comparison showed six sulfate events: Tambora (1815), Cosigüina (1835), Krakatoa (1883), Agung (1963), and El Chichón (1982), and the 1809–10 ice core event.^[91] And the atmospheric transmission of direct solar radiation data from the Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO), Hawaii (19°32'N) detected only five eruptions:^[92]

• Jun 11, 2009, Sarychev Peak (?), Kuril Islands, 400 tons of tephra, VEI 4
• Jun 12-15, 1991 (eruptive climax), Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, 11,000 ±0.5 tons of tephra, VEI 6
  • Global cooling: 0.5°C,^[93]
• Mar 28, 1982, El Chichón, Mexico, 2,300 tons of tephra, VEI 5
• Oct 10, 1974, Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala, 400 tons of tephra, VEI 4
• Feb 18, 1963, Agung, Lesser Sunda Islands, 100 tons of lava, more than 1,000 tons of tephra, VEI 5
  • Northern Hemisphere cooling: 0.3°C,^[94]

 

But very large sulfur dioxide emissions overdrive the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere. Carbon monoxide's and methane's concentration goes up (greenhouse gases), global temperature goes up, ocean's temperature goes up, and ocean's carbon dioxide solubility goes down.^[2]

Some maps

See also

Further reading

• Ammann, Caspar M.; Philippe Naveau (6 March 2003). "Statistical analysis of tropical explosive volcanism occurrences over the last 6 centuries". Geophysical Research Letters 30 (5): 1210. Bibcode 2003GeoRL..30e..14A. doi:10.1029/2002GL016388. http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/ccr/ammann/76/2002GL016388.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-19. 
• Froggatt, P.C.; Lowe, D.J. (1990). "A review of late Quaternary silicic and some other tephra formations from New Zealand: their stratigraphy, nomenclature, distribution, volume, and age". New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 33: 89–109. http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/includes/download.aspx?ID=91578. Retrieved 2010-03-19. 
• Lipman, P.W. (Sept. 30, 1984). "The Roots of Ash Flow Calderas in Western North America: Windows Into the Tops of Granitic Batholiths". Journal of Geophysical Research 89 (B10): 8801–8841. Bibcode 1984JGR....89.8801L. doi:10.1029/JB089iB10p08801. 
• Mason, Ben G.; Pyle, David M.; Oppenheimer, Clive (2004). "The size and frequency of the largest explosive eruptions on Earth". Bulletin of Volcanology 66 (8): 735–748. Bibcode 2004BVol...66..735M. doi:10.1007/s00445-004-0355-9. 
• Newhall, Christopher G., Dzurisin, Daniel (1988); Historical unrest at large calderas of the world, USGS Bulletin 1855, p. 1108 [1]
• Siebert L., and Simkin T. (2002-). Volcanoes of the World: an Illustrated Catalog of Holocene Volcanoes and their Eruptions. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Digital Information Series, GVP-3, (http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/).
• Simkin T., and Siebert L. (1994). Volcanoes of the World. Geoscience Press, Tucson, 2nd edition. pp. 349. ISBN 0 945005 12 1. 
• Simkin T., and Siebert L. (2000). "Earth's volcanoes and eruptions: an overview". In Sigurdsson H.. Encyclopedia of Volcanoes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 249–261 
• Simkin, T.; Siebert L., McClelland L., Bridge D., Newhall C., and Latter J.H. (1981). Volcanoes of the World: A Regional Directory, Gazeteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years. Hutchinson-Ross, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. pp. 232. ISBN 0 87933 408 8. 
• Stern, Charles R. (December 2004). "Active Andean volcanism: its geologic and tectonic setting". Revista Geológica de Chile 31 (2): 161–206. doi:10.4067/S0716-02082004000200001. http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0716-02082004000200001&script=sci_arttext. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
• United States Geological Survey; Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington; Index to CVO online volcanoes
  • Map: Tom Simkin, Robert I. Tilling, Peter R. Vogt, Stephen H. Kirby, Paul Kimberly, and David B. Stewart, Third Edition (Published 2006) interactive world map of Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Impact Craters, and Plate Tectonics
• Ward, Peter L. (2 April 2009). "Sulfur Dioxide Initiates Global Climate Change in Four Ways". Thin Solid Films 517 (11): 3188–3203. doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2009.01.005. http://www.tetontectonics.org/Climate/SO2InitiatesClimateChange.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-19. 
  • Supplementary Table I: "Supplementary Table to P.L. Ward, Thin Solid Films (2009) Major volcanic eruptions and provinces". Teton Tectonics. http://www.tetontectonics.org/Climate/Table_S1.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-16. 
  • Supplementary Table II: "Supplementary References to P.L. Ward, Thin Solid Films (2009)". Teton Tectonics. http://www.tetontectonics.org/Climate/Table_S1_References.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-16. 

References

External links

• Volcano World Information
• Volcano Live, John Seach
• Volcanoes in Nicaragua
• Holocene Volcanoes in Kamchatka
• National Park Service interactive map showing trace of the hotspot over time
• Reference Database of the International Association of Volcanology (XLS file)
• Reference Database of Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (XLS file)
• Volcanic sulfate record in the GISP2 core (ftp protocol)

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