Is a super-volcano just 390 miles from London about to erupt?

tylercollins

What do you guys think of this?

January 2, 2012 – GERMANY – A sleeping super-volcano in Germany is showing worrying signs of waking up. It’s lurking just 390 miles away underneath the tranquil Laacher See Lake near Bonn and is capable of ejecting billions of tons of magma. This monster erupts every 10 to 12,000 years and last went off 12,900 years ago, so it could blow at any time. The Laacher See volcano is similar in size to Mount Pinatubo, which caused a 0.5C drop in global temperatures when it erupted in 1991. It covered 620 square miles of land with ash and rocks and several small earthquakes in the region last year indicate that it could be awakening from its deep sleep. Experts believe that if it did go off, it could lead to widespread devastation, mass evacuations and even short-term global cooling from the resulting ash cloud blocking the Sun. The effect on the UK is hard to predict but it’s possible that large parts of southern England could be covered ash. It’s thought that the volcano is similar in size and power to Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, which blew in 1991 and became the biggest eruption of the 20th century. It ejected 10 billion tons of magma, 20 billion tons of sulphur dioxide 16 cubic kilometres of ash and caused a 0.5C drop in global temperatures. Volcanologists believe that the Laacher See volcano is still active as carbon dioxide is bubbling up to the lake’s surface, which indicates that the magma chamber below is ‘degassing.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2081219/Is-super-volcano-Laacher-See-lake-Germany-blow.html

snaps

well it wont be much of a threat to london or us if it did as the wind direction would take the ash cloud east wards.

mike65

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/01/fearmongering-gets-started-in-2012-laacher-see-is-not-ready-to-blow/

Daily Fail at it again:rolleyes:


http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/view_news/4227/Laacher-See-volcano-Germany-no-reason-to-think-it-is-going-to-erupt-anytime-soon.html

Bicycle

The Daily Mail dislikes pretty much all of Europe, and in particular the Germans and the French.

If this was a British Volcano, the Daily Mail would be stating that it was solid as a rock and that the Europeans were scare mongering in an attempt to deflect attention from the rock solid UK pound.

I wouldn't lose sleep over it or frankly ANYTHING in the Daily Mail.

thirtythirty

It's not ready to blow, no. But it will be a sad day when it eventually does go off in the future and all our hardwork building cities and monuments will be obliterated

I say "our" - I haven't had jack to do with it, but you know what I mean

mike65

we're ALL going to DIE!

http://www.inquisitr.com/174750/european-supervolcano-showing-signs-of-life-can-destroy-europe/

Bicycle

BTW, isn't the one underneath Yellowstone Park supposed to erupt soon too and anihilate earth as well?

Someone should organise a schedule.

cherryghost

I'd be more concerned about the possibility of 1/2 volcanic eruptions in Turkey at the moment.

Glico Man

Bicycle wrote: »

BTW, isn't the one underneath Yellowstone Park supposed to erupt soon too and anihilate earth as well?

Someone should organise a schedule.

I'd say there's a very good chance of that... I saw it in a movie :pac:

Senna

I got a cheap flight from Germany to Las Vegas in February, should i just cancel my holiday now seen there are two super volcanoes near both places???

Joe Public

Senna wrote: »

I got a cheap flight from Germany to Las Vegas in February, should i just cancel my holiday now seen there are two super volcanoes near both places???

No, go ahead and post up a few photos if you get the chance.

The tax man

Senna wrote: »

I got a cheap flight from Germany to Las Vegas in February, should i just cancel my holiday now seen there are two super volcanoes near both places???

Well if the big ones disappoint,you'll still have the volcano at The Mirage.:D

Rikand

Bicycle wrote: »

BTW, isn't the one underneath Yellowstone Park supposed to erupt soon too and anihilate earth as well?

Someone should organise a schedule.

at least woody harrelson will be the first to go

ArmaniJeanss

The '390 miles from London' headline is the best part of the article.

Its up there with 'fog in channel, continent cut off'.

Irish Steve

If it chucks out enough Lava, it might fill the English Channel, then there would no longer be a problem:D All it would need then would be a new motorway or 3.

Might cause a few other problems along the way for the continent, and who knows, if it did blow it's top, maybe it would be the solution to the problems of the Euro, but ..........maybe all of this subject should be in a Fantasy Isle type thread to avoid causing mass hysteria;), and it might be a good subject for the AH forum

I'm surprised that the DM didn't even suggest that the CERN experiements were a contributory factor to the thing going pop. Clearly all the other news items are getting stale, and they needed something new to frighten people with.

Joking apart, and we could do with some real humour right now, what with the snow going on strike, and all the other things that are not happening any more, if this was a serious short term possibility, I suspect we might have heard slightly more about it from the scientific community, unless they are all so frightened of being open about it because if it does happen, the potential for massive economic disruption is so immense, they can't contemplate it, let alone deal with it.

Aiel

A funny headline they had last year was something along the lines of "Japan Tsunami Not Expected to Hit Ireland".Phew,thanks for telling me as i live less then a mile from Galway Bay and i was all set to head for the hills of Connemara to safety:rolleyes:.
There's threads on this forum about Volcano's in Iceland and the Canary Islands that have far more credible chances of happening soon,they make interesting reading.

gbee

We have seen some large seismic activity in recent years. We have watched the Pacific Ring of fire explode one after the other in the last two years, areas thought to have entered dormancy became active suddenly.

We do seem to be entering or in a period of extra activity, timelines for many large volcanic regions have passed without incident and some speculate that dormancy will be followed by extinction.

Our tectonic plates have shown that apparent dormancy may in fact lead to a sudden and massive 'catch up' movement ~ as per last March's Japan earthquake.

Thus, while articles like the Mail are indeed scaremongering, none of the counter arguments give me any peace of mind.

Antomus Prime

Dont forget to duck and cover!!!!

Bicycle

gbee wrote: »

We have seen some large seismic activity in recent years. We have watched the Pacific Ring of fire explode one after the other in the last two years, areas thought to have entered dormancy became active suddenly.

We do seem to be entering or in a period of extra activity, timelines for many large volcanic regions have passed without incident and some speculate that dormancy will be followed by extinction.

Our tectonic plates have shown that apparent dormancy may in fact lead to a sudden and massive 'catch up' movement ~ as per last March's Japan earthquake.

Thus, while articles like the Mail are indeed scaremongering, none of the counter arguments give me any peace of mind.

So, if the earth moves for me - it may not necessarily be my husband...

tylercollins

Can we get this thread renamed to Daily Mail Bull****e?

Power cuts threat as sun storm hits earth

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Sun spots: charged particles
head for earth

A huge mass of electrically-charged particles thrown out by a gigantic eruption on the Sun is due to strike the Earth tonight.

Scientists expect it to trigger one of the most violent geomagnetic storms ever recorded.

The result could be widespread power surges and even blackouts, disrupted TV and mobile phone signals, and broken down communication satellites.

At the same time the Northern Lights, normally confined to polar latitudes, may produce dazzling displays in the skies above southern Britain.

At least one satellite has already been knocked out of action by the storm. Japan's space agency said its Kodama communications satellite had been temporarily shut down after malfunctioning.

The solar flare that caused the eruption burst out of a sunspot at 10.54am yesterday.

Experts said it was the strongest flare seen in the past 30 years. The explosion caused a coronal mass ejection (CME) which is now speeding towards Earth.

Disruption

Last week another CME only hit the Earth a glancing blow, yet was able to disrupt airline communications.

The solar flare was classified as an X18-category explosion, meaning it can trigger planet-wide radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms.

Although the charged particles present no direct danger to people on the ground, they could have a devastating effect on electrical equipment.

Geomagnetic storms are classified on a scale of one to five. Initial indications are that the looming storm could reach the highest G5 level and last for 24 hours.

Northern Lights

The most obvious manifestation of the storm is likely to be glorious auroras lighting up the night sky.

Usually the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, is only visible in Britain from northern Scotland. The Earth's magnetic field channels the solar particles that cause auroras towards the poles.

But experts say that over the next two days the Northern Lights may be seen at latitudes as low as Florida and Texas - and even south enough to cover the whole of Europe.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-200952/Power-cuts-threat-sun-storm-hits-earth.html#ixzz1ibOQMW3O

cherryghost

tylercollins wrote: »

Can we get this thread renamed to Daily Mail Bull****e?

M.T. Cranium

Exacta Volcano says it's going off tomorrow. :eek:

maquiladora

M.T. Cranium wrote: »

Exacta Volcano says it's going off tomorrow. :eek:

Sponge Bob

I'd say Lac Pavin will pop off sooner meself...not as big as the Laacher eruption mind.

gbee

Now you've all read MT's post above.

Dammit, I just realised I've only a plastic wheelie bin and not the tin one I used use for eventualities like this, great for bashing falling pumice, the plastic ones just melt ~ mess.

eskimocat

I think the film Dante's Peak was scheduled recently.. perhaps the DM get their inspiration from their TV guide? Do they even print a TV guide? :pac:

Wild Bill

it’s possible that large parts of southern England could be covered ash

So - it's not all bad news