- 6 hours ago
Scientists are sounding the alarm about Lake Toba, the Indonesian supervolcano that makes the Yellowstone caldera look small by comparison. This geological study explores how Toba’s last eruption nearly wiped out humanity, creating a genetic bottleneck that forever changed our evolutionary history. In this science documentary, we analyze the magma chambers and volcanic ash deposits that prove Toba is the true king of natural disasters. We’re breaking down the seismic data and CGI models to show what would happen if this megavolcano ever woke up again. Watch now to see the geophysics behind Earth’s most powerful volcanic eruptions and how they dwarf everything we thought we knew. Animation is created by Bright Side.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en
Stock materials (photos, footages and other):
https://www.depositphotos.com
https://www.shutterstock.com
https://www.eastnews.ru
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en
Stock materials (photos, footages and other):
https://www.depositphotos.com
https://www.shutterstock.com
https://www.eastnews.ru
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00The latest super eruption of Yellowstone occurred 640,000 years ago, and it was long before Homo sapiens saw the
00:09light of day.
00:10But we were around during another, no less devastating natural disaster.
00:15This super eruption took place on the island of Sumatra around 74,000 years ago.
00:20That's when an erupting super volcano wreaked havoc on huge territories, sending up plumes of debris and ash that spread
00:28for thousands of miles and caused temperatures on the planet to plummet.
00:33The effects of this super eruption were visible as far away as southern Africa.
00:39Experts believe they could have impacted early humans there.
00:43By the time the volcano erupted, our ancestors had already been using stone tools and had likely known how to
00:49produce yarn.
00:51And some specialists even think that the Toba super eruption was so powerful, it could push our ancestors to the
00:58brink of extinction.
01:00They claim that Toba might be the largest volcanic eruption to occur on Earth within the last 2 million years.
01:07The eruption disgorged so much pyroclastic rock, it would be enough to cover the entire United States to the depth
01:15of a one-story house.
01:17About a third of that deposit piled up on northern Sumatra, while a lot more ended up beneath the floor
01:23of the Indian Ocean.
01:25The super eruption left an elliptical crater lake around 60 miles long.
01:30The caldera is so large, it's hard to feel that you're indeed in a volcano.
01:35Pumace deposits from the eruption remain in the canyon walls and go deep below the ground.
01:42There aren't many arguments about the amount of pumice and ash involved in this disaster.
01:47At the same time, experts aren't sure how much sulfur ended up in the atmosphere.
01:52Even some sulfur layers in the polar ice could be potential candidates.
01:57But so far, scientists haven't found any connection between them and Toba.
02:02But let's get back to the dramatic impact the super eruption had on early humans.
02:08It turns out, some not only survived, but even thrived after this natural catastrophe.
02:14At least judging by the artifacts they made during and after the eruption.
02:19The disaster might not have posed a serious threat to those of our ancestors who took refuge along the coast.
02:26Genetic evidence hints that modern humans descend from a few thousand people that ventured out of Africa around 60,000
02:33years ago.
02:34Why just a few thousand?
02:37According to some experts, the rest of our ancestors could have been devastated by the Toba eruption.
02:44After all, the super volcano spewed out a thousand cubic miles of dust and rock in a flash,
02:51leaving a scar in the ground that was dozens of miles wide.
02:54All that dust and sulfur Toba sent into the atmosphere potentially cooled the surface of our planet,
03:00which led to the appearance of glaciers and the lowering of Earth's sea levels.
03:06And since Toba might have had an important role in shaping humankind,
03:10scientists have been working hard trying to understand precisely how early humans reacted to this disaster.
03:17In 2011, several researchers found an enigmatic soil sample in South Africa's Pinnacle Point,
03:25an archaeological site overlooking the Indian Ocean.
03:28This sample contained some volcanic ash.
03:32After examining the layer, they found more than 400,000 artifacts left by early humans.
03:44Based on this finding, the team suggested that early humans on the South African coast thrived after the eruption,
03:51living in that area for thousands of years and improving their tools.
03:56The region might have served as a refuge during and after the Toba eruption.
04:01A 2009 study suggested that the eruption could have lowered global temperatures by 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
04:08It would have made survival tough elsewhere in Africa.
04:12If there had been a volcanic winter, it wouldn't have been as cold along the coastline.
04:17On the other hand, newer studies claim that Toba spewed out so much sulfur into the atmosphere
04:23that the resulting aerosols could have stuck together,
04:26which would have limited their cooling effect in the long term.
04:30In other words, right after the eruption, temperatures would have plummeted, but only in some regions.
04:36And after three years or so, the effects of the eruptions would have calmed down altogether,
04:41becoming not dangerous to humans.
04:43Well, apparently, more research is needed.
04:47Meanwhile, let's figure out if we should watch out for any volcanoes these days.
04:52Last year, thousands of small earthquakes shook the ground near Iceland's Fartsangi geothermal power plant.
05:00Magma rose to the surface there, and now it has opened wide fractures slicing through the small town of Grindavík.
05:08The ground there is still swelling, and an eruption might happen with little notice.
05:13But of course, that's not all.
05:15Over the planet, 45 other volcanoes keep rumbling.
05:20For example, Italy's Vesuvius, that infamous thing that finished the city of Pompeii in 79 CE.
05:27Over the last 17,000 years, the volcano has experienced eight explosive eruptions,
05:33followed by powerful pyroclastic flows,
05:36dense masses of super-hot ash, lava fragments, and gases flowing at high speeds.
05:42The volcano's last eruption happened in 1944.
05:47Mount Rainier is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the USA.
05:51Its high elevation, chemical composition, and proximity to Washington's Seattle and Tacoma suburbs,
05:58and the volcano's ability to produce massive pyroclastic flows,
06:02make Mount Rainier a threat to consider.
06:05The heat from this volcano could potentially melt the ice and snow covering it,
06:09leading to rapid downstream flows of debris, mud, and rocks.
06:13The Novorukta volcano in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Reserve formed in a 1912 eruption,
06:21which was the world's largest in the 20th century.
06:25The volcano sent almost seven cubic miles of ash and debris into the air.
06:29It also produced such a powerful ash flow that it created the Valley of 10,000 Smokes.
06:37Mount Pinatubo is located in a populated region in the Philippines.
06:41It became notorious after a 1991 massive eruption,
06:45which was the second largest eruption of the 20th century.
06:49More than 700 people lost their lives during that natural disaster.
06:54Today, more than 21 million people live within 62 miles of Pinatubo.
07:01Mounted Gun, a continuously erupting volcano in Indonesia,
07:06had its last major eruption in 1963.
07:09It was one of the most tragic eruptions in the country's history.
07:13It lasted for 11 months, producing ashfall and pyroclastic flows
07:18that led to the loss of more than 1,000 lives and serious property damage.
07:24People saw ash plumes above the volcano throughout 2018,
07:28following the eruption in November 2017.
07:33Japan's Mount Fuji hasn't erupted since 1707.
07:37That year, a massive earthquake likely set it off.
07:41In 2014, experts warned that Fuji could be at risk of another eruption
07:45following the 9-magnitude earthquake that shook Japan in 2011.
07:50Experts believed the earthquake had raised pressure below Fuji.
07:54The eruption in 1707 sent so much ash and debris into the air
07:59that all this mass even reached Tokyo.
08:02Should Fuji erupt again,
08:04it would affect more than 25 million people in the surrounding areas.
08:10The eruption of Washington's Mount St. Helen in 1980
08:13was one of the most destructive volcanic events in U.S. history.
08:1857 people, as well as thousands of animals,
08:21lost their lives during that natural disaster.
08:25The eruption also destroyed around 200 square miles of forest.
08:29Experts think that Mount St. Helen's history of massive eruptions
08:33means that future catastrophes are bound to happen.
08:36The next explosive eruption might send large amounts of ash
08:40all over the Pacific Northwest.
08:42No wonder the volcano is under close monitoring.
08:47One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes,
08:50Mount Merupi, has been erupting for centuries.
08:53NASA claims that the biggest risk of this volcano is pyroclastic flows,
08:57which can spread over vast areas and harm loads of people.
09:02For the last time, Merupi erupted in January 2024,
09:07sending plumes of smoke into the air.
09:09These days, more than 24 million people live in the area surrounding this volcano.
09:17It was April 2025 when geologists went back to Yellowstone's Norris Geyser Basin
09:23for the first time this year.
09:25And while doing their usual check,
09:27they realized that something was different this time.
09:31Where there used to be just a boring patch of ground,
09:34now there was a giant hole, about 13 feet wide,
09:38filled with weird, milky, light blue water.
09:41Everyone was terrified.
09:44Was it the sign that the Yellowstone supervolcano was ready to erupt?
09:48If so, it would be a worldwide disaster,
09:52the kind that destroys cities.
09:54According to the U.S. Geological Survey,
09:57if such an eruption occurred,
09:59the after-effects would be felt all over the world.
10:02To start, the areas immediately surrounding Yellowstone
10:06would experience pyroclastic flows.
10:09That's the lava that erupts out of a volcano,
10:12including a high-density mix of volcanic gas,
10:15ash, pumice, and hot lava blocks.
10:18Those flows would destroy everything they touch,
10:21and an eruption of Yellowstone
10:23would send them into Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
10:28Areas further away from Yellowstone would escape the flows,
10:32but they would experience falling ash.
10:34It would come down heavily in the states closest to the epicenter.
10:38The ash would be especially dangerous for anyone breathing it in.
10:43The weight of the ash would also pose a serious threat.
10:46It would smother crops and collapse buildings as it piles up.
10:51Tragic consequences would be countless,
10:53but we'll talk about them later,
10:55because soon after the discovery,
10:57the weird pit surprised even experts.
11:01Geologists found rocks scattered everywhere.
11:03Some were about a foot across,
11:06and all of them were dusted with gray mud.
11:09This mud matched the walls of the new spring.
11:12It was like the place had simply exploded,
11:15but nobody had actually seen it happen.
11:18The team checked old satellite images
11:20to figure out when it appeared.
11:22In December 2024, the ground was totally normal.
11:26By January 6, 2025, a little dip had formed.
11:31And by February 13, that water-filled hole was finally there.
11:36But the weird thing was that the sensors
11:39that usually pick up major hydrothermal explosions
11:42didn't detect anything.
11:44There was no giant blast or warning signs.
11:47Later, it turned out that this puzzling opening in the ground
11:51hadn't just popped up in one huge explosion.
11:54Instead, it formed from a bunch of smaller bursts over time.
11:59Little explosions first threw out rocks, then mud,
12:02and eventually created the pit.
12:05With time, it filled with silica-rich water.
12:09That was a huge relief for everyone.
12:12Yellowstone sits on a supervolcano,
12:14and its big explosions are a nightmare scenario.
12:18Luckily, this time,
12:19it was just a slow-building, small-scale explosion.
12:23It was dramatic, sure, but totally manageable.
12:27You see, Yellowstone National Park is full of geysers,
12:30hot springs, and all kinds of natural landscapes.
12:34But under the surface, things get incredibly intense.
12:38All because of the supervolcano.
12:41Now, supervolcanoes are often extremely large.
12:45They often have no cone at all,
12:47since they're typically the remains of gigantic magma chambers.
12:51Once, those chambers flared up, leaving behind a caldera.
12:56They're usually located over hotspots.
12:58It's no surprise that supervolcanoes can produce supereruptions.
13:03And when they do it,
13:05they blow more than 240 cubic miles
13:08of ash, molten rock, and hot gases up into the air.
13:12In other words,
13:13four supereruptions could fill the Grand Canyon to the brim.
13:18Supervolcanoes form when huge volumes of scorching hot magma
13:22escape from deep underground.
13:25This magma rises close to the surface
13:27but can't break through Earth's crust.
13:30So, a pressurized pool of bubbling magma
13:33gathers at a depth of only several miles.
13:36The pressure keeps growing
13:38because more and more magma is trying to get to the surface.
13:41And then, bang, a supereruption occurs.
13:45Now, back in 2015,
13:47researchers at the University of Utah
13:50mapped out the main magma chamber
13:52of the Yellowstone supervolcano
13:54and were shocked by its size.
13:56And then, they found another one below it.
13:59Together, these underground magma pools
14:02could hold enough molten rock
14:04to fill the Grand Canyon 11 times.
14:07All that magma pushes up on the ground above,
14:10which is why Yellowstone rises
14:12about an inch or two every year.
14:15That slow lift might not sound like much,
14:18but combine it with the fact
14:20that Yellowstone is still an active volcano
14:23and has a volcanic explosivity index of 8,
14:27and it's enough to make you wonder
14:29what could happen if things went south.
14:32And yes, Yellowstone has indeed
14:34been a bit jumpy in recent years.
14:37In March 2023,
14:39there were 354 earthquakes in the area.
14:42Most were tiny,
14:44but the biggest hit a magnitude 3.7,
14:47part of a swarm of 106 quakes.
14:50Now, before you freak out,
14:52experts from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory
14:55say there's no need to panic.
14:57No eruption is coming anytime soon.
15:00Volcanoes don't stick to a schedule.
15:02Just because Yellowstone hasn't erupted in a long time
15:06doesn't mean it's about to blow.
15:08The park is stable, for now.
15:11But scientists are keeping a close eye on everything underground.
15:15The quakes, the rising ground,
15:17and even temperature changes,
15:19just to be safe.
15:21The super-hot plume of magma,
15:23a hot spot under Yellowstone,
15:25has been churning for 17 million years.
15:29The Earth's crust slowly moved over it,
15:32making the hot spot leave a trail of volcanoes
15:35stretching more than 450 miles
15:38along the Snake River plain.
15:40Most of those ancient ones
15:41are now buried under layers of lava and sediment.
15:44In just the past 2.1 million years,
15:48Yellowstone has unleashed three cataclysmic eruptions.
15:52So massive, they managed to reshape the land.
15:55Each explosion sent pyroclastic flows,
15:58rivers of searing hot rock, ash, and pumice,
16:02racing outward for miles.
16:04The debris piled up in layers hundreds of feet thick,
16:08some forming solid, lava-like rock.
16:10When those eruptions emptied the underground magma chambers,
16:14the roof collapsed,
16:16forming the massive calderas we see today.
16:19Even after those mega-eruptions,
16:22Yellowstone didn't stop.
16:24Between 180,000 and 70,000 years ago,
16:28enormous rhyolite lava flows,
16:30sometimes over 144 cubic miles,
16:34poured out.
16:35Some flows followed north-south vent lines.
16:38The West Yellowstone flow erupted around 110,000 years ago.
16:43The Nez Perez Creek flow followed 160,000 years ago.
16:48If you stand at Madison Junction,
16:50on the caldera's northwest rim,
16:52you can see it.
16:53A cliff that formed when the Lava Creek Tough eruption
16:57collapsed the land 640,000 years ago.
17:01And inside the caldera,
17:03you'll see the hardened lava flows
17:05snaking across the floor.
17:07Figuring out when a supervolcano might blow
17:11is like being able to read nature's warning signals.
17:14Thousands of years before a massive eruption,
17:17the heat underground starts building,
17:19and the magma chambers become like ticking pressure cookers.
17:23Little signs start showing up.
17:26Gas bubbles escape as the pressure shifts,
17:29and earthquakes shake the ground.
17:30The land above slowly rises.
17:33Cracks appear.
17:35Hot springs and geysers start acting up,
17:38heating even more than usual.
17:40Now, what would happen if Yellowstone erupted?
17:43Remember those pyroclastic flows we talked about before?
17:47They can contain two parts.
17:49The lower flow of the hot lava that moves at ground level,
17:53and a cloud of ash that follows above the lava level.
17:56So, the two of them would devastate huge areas.
18:00The ash would even reach Europe
18:02within three to four days of the eruption.
18:05But it wouldn't be so bad there.
18:07After that, it would only take around two to three weeks
18:11before cooler temperatures set in around the globe,
18:14all thanks to the sulfur gas
18:16that would get to the upper atmosphere after the eruption.
18:20Scientists predict that global temperatures
18:22would drop by up to 10 to 12 degrees.
18:25These consequences could last for 6 to 10 years,
18:29putting an end to monsoons,
18:31which could cause widespread famine in Asia.
18:34Scared?
18:35Well, don't be.
18:36The good news is that scientists don't believe
18:39that the sleeping giant under Yellowstone National Park
18:42will wake up in our lifetime.
18:45Experts say the next Yellowstone eruption
18:48won't likely happen for hundreds of thousands of years.
18:51And even then, it may not be that bad,
18:54because scientists have discovered
18:56that the magma lurking within Yellowstone
18:59is actually split up amongst four different chambers.
19:03Not only that, but some of the reservoirs of magma
19:06are likely to cool down and solidify,
19:10lessening the chances of an eruption.
19:12So, while an eruption does sound like
19:15it would change the landscape of the world,
19:17it's very unlikely to happen anytime soon.
19:21That's it for today.
19:22So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity,
19:25then give the video a like
19:26and share it with your friends.
19:27Or, if you want more,
19:28just click on these videos
19:29and stay on the bright side!
Comments