a reply to:
vinifalou
I see what you are saying. You are concerned that some huge release of pressure, could cause unprecedented volcanic and Earthquake activity, any one
of which could potentially cause tsunami waves of significant magnitude, which might threaten coastal locations exposed directly to threat from the
pacific region, and any such activity that might happen there?
Well, I can definitely see where you are coming from on that front.
Either a quake, or a volcanic eruption of a specific nature (for example, one which splits a mountain close to a shore line, dropping billions of
tonnes of material directly into a lagoon, causing a giant tsunami wave), near to the sea or in the right (wrong) place, could lead to heavy loss of
life, devastation of waterfronts, and send a wave penetrating deep into any large landmass, making the threat more than just a coastal problem.
Also, BIG volcanic eruptions have the potential to single handedly cool the planet by entire degrees within the space of a year, because of the
sulfur released in aerosol form and the way it behaves when exposed directly to the atmosphere. In times past, events like these in the Pacific Rim
area, have led to masses of human deaths, purely from starvation caused by failed crops. There are examples of such from the 1200s, where mass graves
in London were located which were of that age, starting a search for a cause of death that ended on a remote Indonesian island, which featured a large
caldera, with a new, smaller volcano inside of it, but which had, during the timeframe involved, been a much larger mountain, which detonated, spewing
ash and sulfur into the atmosphere...
But it did not just screw up the Northern Hemisphere. This detonation occurred on the equator, and the volcanic fallout was dispersed across BOTH
hemispheres of the world. Ash deposits were found at BOTH the North and South poles, which correspond directly to that event.
If something like that happened today though, would the consequences be as far reaching? In those times, we had no grid based power systems, and only
rudimentary methods of keeping warm. Nowadays, although it can be expensive, I doubt the cold would be killing anyone. Also, our plants these days,
specifically our crops, are hardier than they used to be, mostly as a result of meddling by bioscientists. Virus resistant, pest resistant... They
MUST have done something to make food crops somewhat more resilient against unusual spikes or troughs in temperature as well... plus, we have totally
different farming methods than we used to, especially in the developed world.
All in all, I think it would definitely ruin some peoples travel plans, I think it would change peoples holiday arrangements and their preparations
for winter. I think we might go without a summer or two. But I do not think the havoc would be quite as significant now, or the global death toll for
that matter. We have more information now, hydroponics is a thing... We have more strings on our bows now than used to be the case, and I think that
would increase the chance of survival for more people than has previously been the case, in these world wide events.