Mr Mawby, Head of Earth & Planetary Sciences, continued our Monday’s Experts series with an enthralling talk titled “Boom and Doom: How Supervolcanoes Tried to Cancel Life on Earth.”
At the turn of the millennium, while much of the world was caught up in the frenzy over the Y2K bug and its potential to wreak havoc across industries, another pressing issue began to stir excitement within geological circles: the timing and potentially devastating impacts of supervolcanic eruptions. This was the year the BBC Horizon documentary highlighted Yellowstone as a colossal ticking time bomb. From that moment, geologists across the globe became deeply engaged in studying and documenting both historical and potential supervolcanic threats.
During his talk, Mr Mawby delved into the fascinating science of supervolcanoes, explaining their classification and the physical processes behind their eruptions. A supervolcano is defined by an eruption with a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 8, releasing at least 1,000 cubic kilometres of material. He also shed light on the far-reaching consequences of such eruptions, including their dramatic effects on the atmosphere, ocean circulation, and their potential to trigger extinction-level events.