A previously unknown mysterious supervolcano could be hiding under the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. This is suggested by a new study in which they show that a wide crater, created when the supervolcano exploded, connects at least four existing volcanoes. It is so large that if the supervolcano erupted over the past few thousand years, it could have wiped out civilizations around the world.
The discovery has yet to be confirmed and arose from various tests that at first glance seem unrelated, says Diana Roman, a volcanologist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. In fact, the Four Mountain Islands seem an ordinary volcanic cluster. But, taken together, the data persuasively point to the existence of a caldera about 20 kilometers in diameter.
Furthermore, analysis of volcanic gases such as sulfur dioxide , as well as micro-earthquake patterns, also suggest the presence of a caldera.
Gathering the scientific evidence has been challenging , due to the site's extremely remote location, a largely underwater environment, and the presence of newer volcanic deposits obscuring older ones.
Reference: American Geophysical Union. "Cluster of Alaskan islands could be single, interconnected giant volcano." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 December 2020.
