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  • 超级火山

    Satellite view of Lake Toba, showcasing its large caldera and surrounding landscape.
     

    Is this a supervolcano?
    ::这是超火山吗?

    Lake  Toba in Indonesia is 100 km (62 mi) by 30 km (19 mi). The  water  fills a giant  caldera  created by a supervolcano. The  eruption  took place about 75,000 years ago, Earth's largest eruption in the past 25 million years. So much material was ejected into the  atmosphere  that there was a 6- to 10- year  volcanic winter. Some scientists think that only 10,000 humans survived worldwide. The numbers of other mammals also plummeted.
    ::印度尼西亚的托巴湖每30公里(19米)为100公里(62米),水填满了由超级火山所创造的巨型卡路德拉。火山爆发是在大约75 000年前发生的,这是地球在过去2 500万年中最大的一次喷发。大量物质被喷射到大气中,火山冬天长达6至10年。一些科学家认为全世界只有10 000人幸存下来。其他哺乳动物的数量也下降了。

    Calderas
    ::卡尔德

    During a massive eruption, all of the material may be ejected from a  magma chamber . Without support, the  mountain  above the empty chamber may collapse. This produces a huge  caldera . Calderas are generally round, bowl-shaped formations ( Figure   ).
    ::在大规模喷发期间,所有材料都可以从岩浆室中喷射出来。 没有支持,空洞室上方的山可能崩塌。这会产生巨大的热量。 Calderas 通常是圆形、 碗形结构( 图 ) 。

    A panoramic view of Crater Lake, showcasing its blue waters and surrounding mountains.
     
    Crater Lake, Oregon is the remnant of Mount Mazama. After an enormous eruption the mountain collapsed, forming a caldera. Crater Lake should actually be named Caldera Lake. Wizard Island, within the lake, is a cinder cone.

    Supervolcanoes
    ::超超火山体

    Supervolcano  eruptions are extremely rare in Earth's history. It’s a good thing because they are unimaginably large. A supervolcano must erupt more than 1,000 cubic km (240 cubic miles) of material. For comparison, the devastating 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens ejected 1.2 km 3  of material. Mount Pinatubo, a large eruption in the Philippines in 1991, erupted only 25 km 3  of material. Not surprisingly, supervolcanoes are the most dangerous type of volcano.
    ::超火山爆发在地球历史上是极为罕见的。这是件好事,因为它们是不可想象的大火山。 超火山爆发必须喷发超过1000立方公里(240立方英里)的物质。 相比之下,1980年圣海伦斯山爆发的破坏性喷发喷发了1.2公里的物质。 皮纳图博山(1991年菲律宾爆发的大型火山爆发)只喷发了25公里的物质。 毫不奇怪,超火山是最危险的火山类型。

    Supervolcano Eruptions
    ::超火山爆发

    The exact cause of supervolcano eruptions is still debated. However, scientists think that a very large magma chamber erupts entirely in one catastrophic explosion. This creates a caldera into which the surface collapses ( Figure   ). The composition of the eruption is  felsic  or highly felsic.
    ::超火山爆发的确切原因仍在争论之中。然而,科学家们认为,一个巨大的岩浆室完全在一次灾难性爆炸中爆发。这造成了一个地表崩塌的卡路里(图 ) 。 火山爆发的构成是方略或高度方略。

    Satellite view of the caldera at Santorini, Greece, depicting its large circular shape.
     
    The caldera at Santorini in Greece is so large that it can only be seen by satellite.

    Yellowstone Caldera
    ::黄石公园caldera

    The largest supervolcano in North America is beneath Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Much of the national park lies within the enormous Yellowstone Caldera. It is so large that you can stand on one rim and not see the other side.
    ::北美最大的超级火山是怀俄明黄石公园下方的怀俄明州黄石公园。 大部分国家公园都位于巨大的黄石公园卡尔德拉。 它是如此之大,你可以站在一端,看不到另一边。

    Map of Yellowstone Caldera, showing areas like Lake Yellowstone and Old Faithful.
     
    What would cause such a giant caldera?

    Yellowstone sits above a  hotspot  that has erupted catastrophically three times: 2.1 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago. Yellowstone has produced many smaller (but still enormous) eruptions more recently ( Figure   ). Fortunately, current activity at Yellowstone is limited to the region’s famous  geysers . No one knows when the supervolcano will erupt again.
    ::黄石公园位于热点之上,这个热点爆发了三次灾难性的灾难:210万次、130万次和64万年前。 黄石公园最近产生了许多规模较小(但仍巨大 ) 的火山爆发(图 ) 。 幸运的是,黄石公园目前的活动仅限于该地区著名的喷泉。 没有人知道超级火山何时会再次爆发。

    Yellowstone caldera, illustrating magma sources and geological features related to supervolcanism.
     
    The Yellowstone hotspot has produced enormous felsic eruptions. The Yellowstone caldera collapsed in the most recent super eruption.

    Supervolcano Eruptions and Life on Earth
    ::地球上的超级火山爆发和生命

    A supervolcano could change life on Earth as we know it. Ash could block sunlight so much that  photosynthesis  would be reduced and global temperatures would plummet. Volcanic eruptions could have contributed to some of the  mass extinctions  in our planet’s history. No one knows when the next super eruption will be.
    ::超火山可能改变我们所知的地球生命。 阿什可以阻断阳光,以至于光合作用会减少,全球气温会暴跌。 火山爆发可能导致我们星球历史上的大规模灭绝。 没有人知道下一次超级火山爆发何时会发生。

    Summary
    ::摘要

    • A caldera forms after a massive eruption. The top of the volcano collapses, forming a basin.
      ::火山的顶部坍塌 形成一个盆地
    • Supervolcano eruptions are rare but massive and deadly.
      ::超火山爆发是罕见的,但大规模和致命的。
    • Yellowstone Caldera is a supervolcano that has erupted catastrophically three times.
      ::黄石公园卡尔德拉是一个超级火山 已经爆发了三次 灾难性的爆发。
    • Supervolcano eruptions can change the course of life on Earth.
      ::超火山爆发可以改变地球上的生命过程

    Review
    ::回顾

    1. What is the composition of supervolcano eruptions? Why are these eruptions so massive?
      ::超火山喷发的成分是什么?这些喷发为什么如此庞大?
    1. What is the source of volcanism for the supervolcano at Yellowstone?
      ::黄石公园超火山 的火山活动来源是什么?
    1. How could a supervolcano eruption change the course of life on Earth?
      ::超火山喷发怎么会改变地球上的生命?

    Explore More
    ::探索更多

    Use the resource below to answer the questions that follow.
    ::利用以下资源回答以下问题。

     

     

    1. What is one of the Earth's largest volcanoes? Where is it found?
      ::地球上最大的火山之一是什么?
    1. Why is Yellowstone considered a supervolcano?
      ::为什么黄石公园被认为是超火山?
    1. How many times has Yellowstone erupted? When was the most recent?
      ::黄石公园爆发了多少次?
    1. When was the last supervolcano eruption?
      ::上次超火山爆发是什么时候?
    1. What effect do scientists think the last supervolcano eruption had on climate?
      ::科学家们认为上次超火山喷发 对气候有什么影响?