Q. Which of the following statements with regard to global volcanic systems is/are correct?
1.The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia stands as the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded human history, directly triggering the global Year Without a Summer in 1816.
2.The Yellowstone Caldera in the western United States is a massive continental supervolcano responsible for prehistoric eruptions that distributed ash over large areas of North America.
3.Both Mount Tambora and the Yellowstone Caldera are classified as young, oceanic shield volcanoes formed by low-silica hotspot volcanism.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer: A
Notes:
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is correct: The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora on Sumbawa Island had a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 7. The massive volume of atmospheric sulfur aerosols it generated blocked solar radiation, dropping global temperatures and causing severe agricultural failure across Europe and North America in 1816.
- Statement 2 is correct: Yellowstone is a continental supervolcano. Its system has produced three prehistoric super-eruptions (2.1 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago) that blanketed the North American continent in volcanic ash.
- Statement 3 is incorrect: Mount Tambora is a stratovolcano, and Yellowstone is a continental caldera system. Neither is an oceanic shield volcano, and both are driven by highly explosive, high-silica magma systems, not low-silica fluid basaltic flows.
