Scientists Discover a Hidden Supervolcano Buried Beneath England
Geologists have identified a massive, long-extinct supervolcano buried off the coast of England that erupted approximately 454 million years ago. The discovery was made by analyzing zircon crystals from boreholes, solving a long-standing mystery regarding the origin of widespread volcanic ash layers.
Why it matters
This discovery provides critical data for understanding Earth's geological history and the scale of ancient volcanic events.
The phrase “hidden supervolcano” sounds a bit like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Supervolcanoes are notoriously conspicuous, what with their enormous size and penchant for spewing massive amounts of lava, ash, and rock into the sky. This one, however, has quietly been buried off the east coast of England for millennia.
Its discovery, detailed in a recent study published by the GSA Bulletin, answers a question that has puzzled geologists for decades. The authors believe that some 454 million years ago, this long-extinct supervolcano produced one of the largest eruptions known to scientists, creating the Kinnekulle tephra. The origin of this expansive volcanic ash layer—spread across Norway, Sweden, the Baltic region, Belarus, and Poland—was a mystery until now.
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