If Yellowstone Volcano were to have an explosive caldera-forming eruption...?

Question

What affects do you think that would have globally? What post-catastrophic steps could we take to preserve our race, as humans?

Within the past two million years, Yellowstone Volcano has had three extremely large explosive eruptions (up to 2,500 times the size of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption). They happened 2.1 million years ago, 1.3 millon years ago, and 640,000 years ago.

The most recent such eruption produced spread a layer of volcanic ash over most of the North American continent. However, although each one was of catastrophic proportions, each eruption was significantly smaller than the one before it; the volume of erupted lava from each, respectively, 2500 cubic kilometers, 1000 cubic kilometers, and 280 cubic kilometers.

My questions are as to how we could possibly surive it. If not, why? Would it trigger an ice age? Would oceans become polluted? Would ash completely distroy all sources of food?

Answer 1

i watched the "What If ... Disaster!" discovery channel special series and it included the possibility of the Yellowstone Volcano (which is deemed by experts as a "super-volcano").

Apparently, experts say that the volcano regularly erupts every 50-60 thousand years (i think, may be a longer cycle) but hasn't erupted in the last two cycles. However, activity beneath the surface is active, meaning that the volcano isn't dead.

They were listing the severity of the catastrophe and stated that due to the overall power of the volcano, a best-case scenario would be a 15 mile radius covered in lava and smoke clouds that would linger and devastate the US's crops for that year; a worst-case would be a 100+ mile radius of lava, ash thrown as far off as Chicago and San Francisco, and a blanket of clouds that would linger for as long as 5-10 years and would drop the US's average temperatures by over 10 degress a year and the world's temps by a 2+ degree a year, completely devasting the food supply .

Basically, it would be exactly like a long-term nuclear winter, but without the nuclear and double the winter.

What do we do? Well, nature usually wins over man, but we can always take the necessary precautions. We need to preserve and store food away, which countries have been doing since the 1950s (including the US).

In the end, the human race would survive because I believe the steps have already been taken (albeit for a different situation). But if it's a worst-case, I'm just going to follow the advice of King Arthur and "Run away!"

For we are then screwed.

Answer 2

It would stop photosynthesis for five years, meaning that to survive people would be reduced to cannibalizing each other in three years or so, after eating every other creature. Over the next two years ten percent of humanity might possibly survive after eating the rest. The eruption itself would destroy the United States and Canada so the people who survived would be among the most primitive and least prepared to restore the world in the aftermath. The restoration of photosynthesis would then lead to the war for what is left. The collapse could go all the way to a couple million humans worldwide. certainly too few to maintain current civilization and technical no how. It would take as much as a thousand years to relearn our current state of the art...

Answer 3

That depends are you speaking of a "normal eruption" along the lines of Mt. St. Helens, or a super volcano? If you are speaking of a super volcano, then I am sure you are aware, nearly all of the park resides in the caldera of one unimafinably huge volcano. I believe only six exist worldwide.
If this volcano were to erupt, it would effectively destroy civilization, and may lead the human species to extinction. Many vulcanologist's believe this massive eruption is only a matter of when. Have a nice day.

Answer 4

As I understand it, a massive Yellowstone eruption could kill millions in the US, and inundate a quarter of the US in ash, affecting many millions more. It would also affect weather worldwide, causing temperatures to drop, crops to fail. We can take meaningful steps to preserve life on a localized basis, but we would be helpless in the face of a worldwide catastrophy.

Answer 5

lets just hope weve colonized mars or the moon by the time it happens, so we have somewhere to run.

the best case scenario: it doesnt happen
and i think there is a 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% chance of it not happening in our lifetime.
worst case sceneario:it happens and blows earth out of orbit
possible scenario:very little if anything on the north-western hemisphere survives. best place to be: australia if not moon or mars.

Answer 6

The bears would`nt be best pleased, thats for sure.