Terms Of The Effects Volcanoes Have On Civilization

Earth has physically changed millions of times due to moving tectonic plates which has formed our planets mountains; altering the way our environment looks. Volcanoes, (formed when magma from the upper mantle heads to the surface, causing the land to rise) are one of nature’s finest spectacles. These geographical forces have erupted many times; from small-scale eruptions to cataclysmic ones; making them a force to consider about. Therefore the past is useful in predicting possible future eruptions as in terms of the effects they can have on civilisation, they are unpredictable in what they can produce. A super volcano is different to a normal volcano. The physicality maybe similar, but instead of one blast, they are a series of separate eruptions which then converge into one mega eruption. Each is a result of rising and growing chamber of hot molten rock known as magma. The problem is volcanoes are split into three categories: active, dormant and extinct. For scientists, active volcanoes are less of a threat as scientists know when they will erupt. With dormant however, they are scientist’s worst fear as they can come back to life and erupt.

A catastrophic eruption in the Siberian Traps, (a large region of volcanic rock covering 3.9 million square km) during the “Permian – Triassic” period, erupted wiping out 94% of all aquatic creatures and 70% of all land mammals, resulting in a 30 million year restoration period due to the environmental disruptions. Therefore people should pay more attention as this was only the result of plates moving underground which started the eruption. The effects this had on the planet were deadly: poisonous gas, global warming, deterioration of soils and plants from the landscape, eruption of gases from deep within the oceans, and mass de-oxygenation. Although the chances of this happening again are improbable, this just shows the capabilities within super