Hum Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 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. 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 in 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'. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom1981 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 IS the text really small on this post for anybody else? Muhammad Farrukh, Seahorsepip and T1Famous 3 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 ^ It was small, but it has been fixed. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkburn Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Is it about to erupt? No, it isn't. Might it one day erupt? Probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom1981 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 ^ It was small, but it has been fixed. ;) Now your seeing-eye dog can read it. That was uncalled for and your post has been reported. I am on a high resolution monitor and the text was very small and barely readable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey B. Veteran Posted January 3, 2012 Veteran Share Posted January 3, 2012 While I will admit that if something such as that were to happen it would be a tragedy, I also have to admit from a curiosity standpoint to be able to witness something such as that would be amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam14160 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Where did Europe go. . . :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisp Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I hope GOD can save us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam14160 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I hope GOD can save us. Which one? :) Oz. and Seahorsepip 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven P. Administrators Posted January 3, 2012 Administrators Share Posted January 3, 2012 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Doom in 2012 is real? Wombatt 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisp Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Which one? :) Balrog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanelyapple Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I hope GOD can save us. Nope, God saves the Queen. Im near last "circle" on this fancy graphic By the way Hum: See means lake (and sea too) in German language, so it can't be Laacher *Lake* lake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phouchg Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 (stolen from the comments of the source article) well, at least it would solve the euro crisis. :rofl: Seahorsepip and Muhammad Farrukh 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 ^ Now we know why they built the Svalbard seed vaults off of Norway. :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiagosilva29 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Someone save Mephistopheles! Steven P. and Muhammad Farrukh 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian0E Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 and even short-term global cooling So... it's a good thing, right? :D :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 That was uncalled for and your post has been reported. I am on a high resolution monitor and the text was very small and barely readable. No one was critisizing YOU. Sometimes the text turns out unintentionally small, when pasted. I usually 'sheep-dip' the original text, before posting here. This is a case where I was in a hurry. I corrected it as soon as I reviewed the post. You should wait a few minutes for corrections. Posting on Neowin can be a messy business ! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Lyle Global Moderator Posted January 3, 2012 Global Moderator Share Posted January 3, 2012 Someone save Mephistopheles! ^^ LMAO Jan and Steven P. 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisp Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Posting on Neowin can be a messy business ! :laugh: Reported for bad mouthing Neowin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuishimi Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I didn't realize that Pinatubo was classified as a super volcano? Well, better cash in the barabonds! (J/K)... yeah there is all kinds of talk about the yellowstone super volcano too, that the dome has been rising quite a bit. There is also talk that it is past due for our magnetic field to destabilize and flip as well. Maybe that's what 2012 is all about. ;) Two super volcanos will erupt, our magnetic field will shut down and a giant asteroid will appear out of no where and clobber us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 ^ Cheery outlook. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam14160 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Stephen Kings "The Stand" is starting to look better each day. If this goes off will it be considered a new "Big Bang" theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocM Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Please, everyone take a deep breath and take this Daily Mail "story" for what it's worth: zip. http://geology.about.com/b/2012/01/02/laacher-see-not-the-doom-volcano-of-2012.htm GeologyBy?Andrew Alden,?Geology?Guide Remember the rule of headlines: If it ends in a question mark, the answer nine times in ten is "No." So when a breathless, fleshless piece in the Daily Mail asks, "Is a super-volcano just 390 miles from London about to erupt?" you know what to think. See is the "super-volcano" in question; it's a caldera in Germany that every European geologist studies in school. It last exploded about 13,000 years ago, leaving behind classic, textbook volcanic features that have been beautifully exposed in quarries. No one, not a soul, in the geoscience community considers Laacher See hazardous. Yet Mail writer Ted Thornhill claims that it "is showing worrying signs of waking up." No, it isn't. Wired Science blogger Erik Klemetti gives the article a good roasting from the scientific side, so I don't have to. I will add that I checked at EurekAlert to see if a recent press release had triggered this story, and I can confirm that it is breathless, fleshless and baseless too. Don't worry about Lacher See?take part of your next European vacation to seek it out! Professor James Aber has posted some geologic notes and photos of this interesting volcanic region. This story is yet another example of human credulity. As I put it elsewhere once, "The fact is, the general run of people love to be amazed. The trouble is, they aren't particular about what amazes them." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lant Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Please, everyone take a deep breath and take this Daily Mail "story" for what it's worth: zip. As with all mail articles you get worried reading them, then you read the source and have a good laugh that you thought they'd publish something serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smooth_criminal1990 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 No one was critisizing YOU. Sometimes the text turns out unintentionally small, when pasted. I usually 'sheep-dip' the original text, before posting here. This is a case where I was in a hurry. I corrected it as soon as I reviewed the post. You should wait a few minutes for corrections. Posting on Neowin can be a messy business ! :laugh: Sounded like a severe case of first world problems what with such a high res monitor :rofl: And I am wondering just how exagerated this is coming from the Daily Mail... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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