The Toba volcanic super-eruption of 74,000 years ago: Climate change, environments, and evolving humans

摘要

The Toba volcano in northern Sumatra erupted some time about 74,000 years ago, an event codified by volcanologists as the Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT). The YTT eruption spewed an estimated 2800 km~3 of magma, making it the largest global eruption during the last two million years. Thick ignimbrite deposits covered up to 30,000 km~2 of northern Sumatra. The ash blanketed a large marine and terrestrial area, from the Arabian Sea in the west to the South China Sea in the east. The YTT event is an example of a 'super-eruption', a class of eruption that occurs on average of once every 100,000 years. The most devastating volcanic eruptions in recorded history, such as Tambora and Krakatau, and more recently, Pinatubo, pale in comparison with the YTT.