Volcanic winter and accelerated glaciation following the Toba super-eruption

Rampino, Michael R.; Self, Stephen

doi:10.1038/359050a0

Cited by 386 publications

(185 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…For instance, the stratospheric aerosol loading associated with the Toba event has been recently proposed to have greatly accelerated a shift to glacial conditions [Rampino and Self, 1992]. However, the sulfur released by the Toba eruption has been estimated only by scaling up sulfur yields associated with small to moderate historical eruptive events [Rampino et al, 1985] or by using ice core data (Table 3, (Table 3).…”

Section: Toba and Fish Canyon Eruptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redox control of sulfur degassing in silicic magmas

Scaillet¹,

Clemente²,

Evans³

et al. 1998

J. Geophys. Res.

192

139

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Abstract. Explosive eruptions involve mainly silicic magmas in which sulfur solubility and diffusivity are low. This inhibits sulfur exsolution during magma uprise as compared to more mafic magmas such as basalts. Silicic magmas can nevertheless liberate large quantities of sulfur as shown by the monitoring of SO2 in recent explosive silicic eruptions in arc settings, which invariably have displayed an excess of sulfur relative to that calculated from melt degassing. If this excess sulfur is stored in a fluid phase, it implies a strong preference of sulfur for the fluid over the melt under oxidized conditions, with fluid/melt partition coefficients varying between 50 and 2612, depending on melt composition. Experimentally determined sulfur partition coefficients for a dacite bulk composition confirm this trend and show that in volcanic eruptions displaying excess gaseous sulfur, the magmas were probably fluid-saturated at depth. The experiments show that in more reduced silicic magmas, those coexisting only with pyrrhotite, the partition coefficient decreases dramatically to values around 1, because pyrrhotite locks up nearly all the sulfur of the magma. Reevaluation of the sulfur yields of some major historical eruptions in the light of these results shows that for oxidized magmas, the presence of 1-5 wt % fluid may indeed account for the differences observed between the petrologic estimate of the sulfur yield and that constrained from ice core data. Explosive eruptions of very large magnitude but involving reduced and cool silicic magmas, such as the Toba or the Bishop events, release only minor amounts of sulfur and could have consequently negligible long-term (years to centuries) atmospherical effects. This redox control on sulfur release diminishes as the melt composition becomes less silicic and as temperature increases, because both factors favor more efficient melt sulfur degassing owing to the increased diffusivity of sulfur in silicate melts under such conditions.

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Section: Toba and Fish Canyon Eruptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redox control of sulfur degassing in silicic magmas

Scaillet¹,

Clemente²,

Evans³

et al. 1998

J. Geophys. Res.

192

139

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“…The Toba eruption occurred at a prominent transition from warm to cold climates in the last glacial cycle, at a time of abrupt ice-sheet growth and sea-level fall and when Milankovitch insolation parameters were such as to favor the growth of Northem Hemisphere ice sheets. Because climate cooling was already under way when Toba erupted, it may be that sea-level fall related to the cooling had some role in triggering the eruption from an unstable magma chamber (1,3). Calculations suggest that the brief cooling related to the dust and aerosols from the Toba eruption may have been a contributing factor in the rapid climatic switch.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Bottleneck in Human Evolution and the Toba Eruption

Rampino¹,

Self²

1993

Science

Self Cite

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may experience a temporary loss in productivity. Both universities and granting agencies need to find ways to offset this.Another important area that was discussed was that of mentors. All of us independently noted the role our mothers played in supporting us in our career decisions and in setting an example for us to follow early in life. We also talked about the crucial role that past and present mentors, both male and female, have had in teaching us how to be effective scientists, encouraging us to continue on and actively helping us to advance. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of these individuals in shaping our paths and the debt that we owe them.

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“…There has been considerable debate concerning the sulphur yield of the YTT eruption, for example (e.g. Rampino and Self 1992;Oppenheimer 2002;Williams 2012), and there is even less consensus on the halogen yields of such large eruptions. Cadoux et al (2015) for example showed that halogen inputs from the large Minoan eruption of Santorini could have had significant impacts on atmospheric ozone.…”

Section: Large Magnitude Explosive Eruptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imagining the Unimaginable: Communicating Extreme Volcanic Risk

Donovan

Oppenheimer

2016

Advances in Volcanology

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This chapter considers the challenges surrounding the management of extreme volcanic risk. We examine eruption scenarios based on past episodes and assess the key issues that might arise should similar events occur in the future. The nature of such eruptions will entail transboundary and multi-scalar hazards. In a globalised world, the geopolitical and societal issues that are likely to emerge cannot all be predicted, and communication technologies themselves are likely to be affected. We explore two aspects: communication prior to the eruption, and communication during the eruption. To the best of our knowledge, all large eruptions are presaged by sensible phenomena but the enduring challenge for volcanic hazard assessment and risk management will remain the uncertainty surrounding evaluations of the likelihood, timing, nature and magnitude of potentially damaging activity. At present, too, communication of volcanic risk beyond the borders of the country where the volcano is located is generally patchy and unsystematic in most parts of the world (with the exception of the threat of ash clouds to aviation). In the preparatory phase, it is also critical to establish robust communication strategies that are resilient during an eruption. Such strategies would be essential for communicating the availability of supplies, the extent and nature of damage, and the ongoing status of the eruption.

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Volcanic winter and accelerated glaciation following the Toba super-eruption

Cited by 386 publications

References 41 publications

Redox control of sulfur degassing in silicic magmas

Redox control of sulfur degassing in silicic magmas

Bottleneck in Human Evolution and the Toba Eruption

Imagining the Unimaginable: Communicating Extreme Volcanic Risk

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