Giant volcanic eruption 260 mln yrs ago may have caused global mass extinction

October 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have suggested that a real tsunami may have inspired the legend of Atlantis, with evidence coming from islands close to Greece.he islands that make up the small circular archipelago of Santorini, roughly 200 km southeast of Greece, are what remain of what once was a single island, before one of the largest volcanic eruptions in human antiquity shattered it in the Bronze Age some time between 1630 B.C. to 1550 B.C.

September 21st, 2009 SYDNEY - A scientist has said that a volcanic eruption is "well overdue" in Australia from the past 3,000 years and there are hundreds of volcanoes that could cause trouble, from South Australia and Victoria through to Queensland. According to a report by Fairfax Digital Network, Melbourne geologist Bernie Joyce has made the warning.

September 18th, 2009 LONDON - A team of geologists is trying to gather data in an attempt to understand how global warming will increase the explosivity of volcanic eruptions. As increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels warm the planet, the problems associated with melting ice won't just raise sea-levels; they will also uncap volcanoes.

August 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists is all set to study an island in the process of rebirth after a volcanic eruption destroyed life on it recently. When Alaska's Kasatochi Volcano erupted on August 7, 2008, it virtually sterilized Kasatochi Island, covering the small Aleutian island with a layer of ash and other volcanic material several meters thick.

August 8th, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, scientists have determined that the use of geo-engineering to slow global warming may increase the risk of droughts. Methods put forward include reflecting solar radiation back into space using giant mirrors or aerosol particles.

July 30th, 2009 LONDON - Astronomers have detected a new mysterious bright spot on the planet Venus, which might have been caused by volcanic activity, turbulence in the planet's atmosphere, or charged particles from the sun. According to a report in New Scientist, amateur astronomer Frank Melillo of Holtsville, New York, first spotted the new feature, which is brighter than its surroundings at ultraviolet wavelengths, on the planet's southern hemisphere on July 19.

July 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has discounted a theory which suggested that when a giant volcano on Sumatra blew its top 74,000 years ago, the Earth went into deep freeze, cooling the climate by at least 10 degrees Celsius. The volcano, named Toba, may have ejected 1000 times more rock and other material than Mount St.

July 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Climate model simulations by a team of scientists has suggested that Indonesia's Toba supervolcano, when it erupted about 74,000 years ago, triggered a 1,000-year episode of ice sheet advance, and also may have produced a short-lived "volcanic winter", which drastically reduced the human population at the time. Previous climate model simulations of the eruption have been unable to produce the glaciation, and there are no climate observations to support the volcanic winter.

July 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has determined that glaciers are the reason behind seismic activity and earthquakes in Iceland. The study was carried out by Kristin Jonsdottir, Roland Roberts, Veijo Pohjola, Bjorn Lund, Zaher Hossein Shomali, Ari Tryggvason, and Reynir Boovarsson from the Department of Earth Science, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

June 5th, 2009 SYDNEY - Massive volcanic eruptions in ancient times triggered rapid climate change and mass extinctions, by ejecting colossal volumes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. We have carefully dated minerals contained in the volcanic rocks and shown that only the fastest sequences of eruptions caused significant species extinctions, said Fred Jourdan of Curtin University, Australia.

May 8th, 2009 Scientist says volcanic eruption in Congo imminentKINSHASA, Congo — Scientists found evidence of intense volcanic activity — including tremors, pools of lava and plumes of smoke — at two volcanoes near a major city in eastern Congo, and said some residents had fled for fear of an eruption. The volcanoes in the central African nation could be about to erupt, threatening Goma, which has a population of more than half a million people, scientists said Thursday.

April 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have challenged the theory that a meteor impact 65 million years back killed off the dinosaurs in a mass extinction event. The crater, caused by the meteor, was discovered in 1978 in northern Yucutan and measured about 180 kilometers (112 miles) in diameter, proof of a massive extra-terrestrial impact.

April 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An asteroid hit which caused the vast Chicxulub crater 65 million years ago, might not have actually wiped out the dinosaurs, along with 65 percent of all species, according to a new study. The crater, discovered in 1978 in northern Yucatan in Mexico, measuring about 180 kilometres in diameter, recorded a massive extra-terrestrial impact.

March 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have determined that studying tornado-like rotation in volcanoes can help them to better predict the effects of volcanic eruptions. The research is based on a 200-year-old report by a sea captain and photographs of the 2008 eruption of Mount Chaiten.

January 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Big volcanic eruptions cooled the tropics over the past 450 years, an effect masked by rising global temperatures, says a new study. Scientists already agree that large eruptions have lowered temperatures at higher latitudes in recent centuries, because volcanic particles reflect sunlight back into space.