WHEN supervolcanoes blow they can cover entire continents with ash. But how this happens has been a puzzle because wind and the initial force of the eruption are not enough to carry the ash over such long distances. Now an examination of prehistoric eruptions has come up with an answer.
Supervolcanoes are classified as volcanoes that spew out more than a trillion tonnes of material when they erupt – equivalent to 30 Krakatoas. Such volcanoes cannot be studied directly as the most recent was Toba in Sumatra around 71,000 years ago.
So Peter Baines from the University of Melbourne, Australia,…
