Enormous Volcanic Eruptions

Huge volcanic eruptions are the only natural hazard apart from the impact of an asteroid that can cause a global catastrophe. In the short history of civilisation, there have been few volcanic events with global effects. Much larger magnitude eruptions happened regularly in the millions of years previous. Such extreme eruptions perturb global climate for years and can have severe environmental consequences.

The modern world is vulnerable to large volcanic events, making the study of their return periods, possible environmental effects and consequences a key goal of volcanology.