Supervolcanoes and Other Mega Disasters
 

Was watching some stuff on National Geographic about supervolcanoes. The one in Yellowstone would probably wipe out a good percent of our population and cover the country in an inch of ash. Would also put the planet into an ice age.

The scary thing is there really isn't a way to stop them from happening and it's only a matter of time. The things are so devestating that they change the entire planet. It's amazing for all the power we have over the world, we are still so insignifigant when it comes to this stuff.

Yellowstone is apparently slowly rising. We'll never see it in our lifetime but it's apparently due for one sometime in the near future.

It also got me thinking of other major disasters that will eventually hit our country. There is a fault line up in the Pacific Northwest that would cause a massive tsunami that would wipe out a ton of people in Washington, Oregon, and Canada. Just nuts to think how vulnerable we ultimately are in this world.

mmhmm!

yay for mass die-off events!!

Supervolancoes, giant tsunamis, asteroids from space, zombies, it's all just a matter of time...

Dont forget giant trout.

The fact we can't control them is why it isn't scary. At least to me. Why bother worrying about them.

Except for zombies. Them bitches are frightening.

I can't wait for the zombies.

[Shaun is channel hopping]
[Channel 4 News]
Krishnan Guru-Murthy: Though no one official is prepared to comment, religious groups are calling it Judgement Day. There's...
[VH1, playing "Panic" by The Smiths]
Morrissey: ...Panic on the streets of London...
[ITV News]
News Reporter: ...as an increasing number of reports of...
[Football]
Football Commentator: ...serious attacks on...
[Channel Five News]
News Reporter: ...people, who are literally being...
[Nature documentary, leopards eating a gazelle]
Documentary Narrator: ...eaten alive.
[Sky News]
Jeremy Thompson: Witness reports at best are sketchy. One unifying detail seems to be that the attackers in many instances appear to be...
[T4]
Vernon Kay: ...dead excited to have with us here a sensational chart topping...

I am heading to Adrian Veidts when the Zombies become too numerous for my weapon cache.

It's kind of interesting to think that it all will end sooner or later. There will be a final Super Bowl, a final World Series, a final U.S. president, a final TV broadcast, a final human, a final working government. Maybe it will be sudden, everything normal one second, gone the next. More likely though, it will be gradual.

From catfish large enough to swallow kids whole to trout as large as a boat.

I was just reading about hypercanes. They sound fun. :)

More importantly, an extended period without internet access.

Some things are just too terrifying to think about...

Doctor Who had a fun episode about the end of the earth, when the sun goes nova. And another about nearing the end of time and the universe itself.

SI

This is a huge reason why I think all the hubub about climate change is a joke. All the earth needs to do is have a good belch and we are toast.

Actually we would be icicles.

So, we're all doomed, don't even try?

SI

Oh, forget it.

There's other reasons too, but it amazes me how some sciences look at us as all powerful, while other sciences look at us as insignificant in the bigger scheme of things.

Hell, you get down to it, and if it wasn't for all those bacteria back half a billion years ago spouting off all that oxygen, we wouldn't be here.

You're absolutely correct. It makes arguing about things like file-sharing and gay marriage seem downright trivial.




:D

Somebody call Jerry Bruckheimer.

It blows my mind that there have been recorded points where the ocean temperature (in a specific area, I'm sure) were over 100 degrees F.

One of the theories for the Permian mass extinction is that the oceans got so hot, that carbon started to leech out of limestone, turning the oceans into a weak carbonic acid.

Leave the Supervolvanoes to Michael Bay though because those EXPLODE! Michael Bay.. SPLOSIONS!!

Is there a way to tell if a volcano is getting closer to errupt? I would think everyone on the planet would be thinking of ways to save the planet if we were all gonna be extinct. I'm sure someone would find a way to contain all that stuff. Or maybe not.

I say we cover Yellowstone with Gilette's Foamy shaving cream. That'll hold it!

I think the problem is how do you relieve the pressure? The problem is any method that weakens the wall of the caldera and releases a little bit of pressure, you run the risk of all the magma going through and ripping it completely open.

I remember watching a show on Yellowstone and there are some unique things that happen due to the nature of the volcano there. Essentially, once an eruption happens, the process that occurs quickens before slowing, whereas a normal volcano has a massive (relatively) initial eruption before settling down.

That's another reason why volcanos are so tricky is that it does to some degree matter what type of magma is in the chamber.

What Warhammer said is one huge problem- even if we knew it was coming, we couldn't do a thing.

But we don't even have great prediction ability on these. Within a few days, we can figure out when volcanos are going to go off. But any more than that and we're making guesses at best.

SI

This has got to be related to the situation where I fart on one end of the couch and my wife is able to feel the shaking on the other end of the couch. There is often a delay in how long the smell takes to reach her, but the shaking is immediate.

Hope this adds to the discussion.

Couldn't we build a gigantic vertical tube that would direct all of the lava into outerspace??

Just need to dig underground tunnels so it comes out of Candace's nose on Mount Rushmore...

Yes, but then the cold of space would solidify the lava causing the earth to have an outer shell and would cause massive global cooling.

Duh.

I mean seriously, do you even think through your thoughts????


:)

I know it's hard, but keep up with me here. Once it's done we could just sever the tube and get some space tugboats to lug the shell away.

Problem solved.

They definitely have ways to track it and do. The reason it probably doesn't get much attention is that we could be hundreds of thousands of years away from an eruption. Plus there really isn't much we can do to stop it.

So, you have thought it through....

Tell ya what, I like hard outer shells on ice cream. I like Earth. Why wouldn't I want a hard outer shell on Earth? I think we're on to something.

Clearly!

I don't know about you, but I could go for some Magic Shell now.

Not only could there be a geologic event like these mentioned, but what about the ones from space? A gamma ray burst from an exploding star, if it hit earth, would destroy most of our ozone and then the UV rays from the sun would kill most life on earth. One study indicated this could happen from an exposure of just 10 seconds to a GRB - good luck stopping that one, Bruce Willis.

So that's why we need the volcano shell now! I'm sure it can stop UV

SI