Global warming could be put on hold if a major eruption of Vesuvius occurs. The devastation of Pompeii in AD 79 was rather minor compared to the huge Plinian eruption that occurred in the Stone Age 4,000 years ago. A BBC news article discusses whether Italy has made sufficient plans for such an event.
source: Wikipedia
A Plinian eruption can take several days to months, according to Wikipedia. The longer eruptions begin with production of clouds of volcanic ash, optionally with pyroclastic flows. The amount of magma erupted can be so large the top of the volcano may collapse, resulting in a caldera. Fine ash can deposit over large areas.
BBC News reports that
…if Vesuvius erupts as it did 4,000 years ago this will not just be Campania and Italy’s problem, it will be Europe’s as well.There will be three million refugees. It will change climates and weather patterns across the continent.
2 responses so far ↓
Emma // January 29, 2007 at 4:47 pm |
How do you get information like that? It is really interesting and I was wondering if you knew anymore sites that did this kind of information?
Noel Jenkins // January 29, 2007 at 6:46 pm |
Another teacher mentioned the BBC news article on a forum.
If you want to find out more about big volcanic eruptions try searching for supervolcanoes – although be warned, it can be a bit frightening!