Experiences with smaller eruptions are “scaled up” to assess impacts of larger events--but there are big problems unresolved....

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Although Pinatubo’s 1991 eruption was large enough to cause a detectable three year global surface temperature decrease, it erupted far less than one percent of the volume of a Yellowstone eruption. It is challenging to try to scale the global impact by orders of magnitude from the rather weak global effects of Pinatubo.

Pinatubo

12 June 1991

USGS   Dave Harlow

Global Assessments of Pinatubo:


Pinatubo test of climate feedback Robock

Atmospheric Impact of Pinatubo Self

Atmospheric Impact of Pinatubo  McCormick

More Information about Super-eruptions:

Secondary Issues:

   Geological Record of Supereruptions

    Large Igneous Provinces

    Calderas and Silicic Complexes

    Transport to Troposphere and Stratosphere

    Sulfur and Supereruptions

    Volcanic ash in Super Eruptions

    Scaling Up Eruptions

    Global Environmental Effects

    Forecasting a Super Eruption

Reference Page

Pinatubo Crater