Imagine a volcano that’s been snoozing since the Stone Age—thousands of years ago—and now it’s waking up! Scientists have recently noticed signs like rumbling earthquakes, steam, or small eruptions from this once-dormant giant. It’s a big deal because dormant volcanoes can still erupt with a bang, and people living nearby could be in danger. Experts are keeping a close eye, using cool tools like satellites and sensors, to predict what might happen next. While it’s scary, it’s also a reminder of how alive and powerful our planet is. Nature doesn’t follow a strict schedule, so it’s always full of surprises! Credit:
Rainier: by Caleb Riston, CC0 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rainier20200906.jpg
Mount Adams: by Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, CC BY-SA 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/, CC BY-SA 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Adams_3503s.JPG
Eyjafjallajökull Glacier: by Eyjafjallajökull Glacier Volcano, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull_Glacier_Volcano.jpg
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
Rainier: by Caleb Riston, CC0 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rainier20200906.jpg
Mount Adams: by Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, CC BY-SA 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/, CC BY-SA 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Adams_3503s.JPG
Eyjafjallajökull Glacier: by Eyjafjallajökull Glacier Volcano, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull_Glacier_Volcano.jpg
Animation is created by Bright Side.
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Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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00:00These ominous rumbling sounds, the ground shaking under your feet, wait a minute, that's
00:06my tummy, or it might be Washington State's Mount Adams waking up.
00:11It's the largest volcano in the state by both area and volume, and it's recently
00:16started to show signs of life after staying silent for thousands of years.
00:22Scientists have noticed an alarming uptick in seismic activity around the mountain.
00:26And since the last eruption here happened between 3,800 and 7,600 years ago, humanity
00:32was still in the Stone Age at that time.
00:34This sudden chattiness has scientists, let's say, curious.
00:38The U.S. Geological Survey has hurriedly installed temporary seismic stations around Mount Adams
00:44to keep an eye on the situation.
00:46At the same time, they reassure the public there's no need to panic.
00:51Mount Adams doesn't reach the height of the better-known Mount Rainier, and still
00:55it covers a massive area, making it Washington's largest active volcano.
01:00Interestingly, records show that before September of this year, Mount Adams had experienced
01:05an average of just one small earthquake every 2-3 years since 1982.
01:11And then, the Cascades Volcano Observatory and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
01:16detected a staggering six earthquakes in just one month, September.
01:21These quakes were all rather tiny, with magnitudes ranging between 0.9 and 2 on the Richter scale.
01:28It means they were so weak you wouldn't feel them at the surface.
01:32Plus, satellite imagery confirmed there was no ground deformation in the area.
01:37At the moment, the USGS keeps Mount Adams' alert level at green or normal, so we shouldn't
01:43worry about the ground opening and swallowing towns and cities.
01:47But the most recent seismic blips have encouraged the agency to install additional equipment
01:52for more precise monitoring.
01:55Such an expanded network will help scientists notice even the smallest earthquakes, which
01:59will help them understand what's happening under Mount Adams.
02:03This extra equipment might also shed light on whether this recent activity is a signal
02:08of future eruptions or just a random anomaly.
02:12If Mount Adams eventually erupted, it would likely produce slow-moving lava flows rather
02:18than explosive eruptions like Mount St. Helens.
02:21After all, past eruptions have only led to lava flows that travel just a few miles from
02:26the volcano.
02:27So, that's not what we'd need to worry about.
02:30A much more dangerous thing would be lahars.
02:32These are mudflows that can happen when volcanic ash, rock, and melted ice mix during eruptions.
02:39These have occurred near Mount Adams without even eruptions.
02:42Rock, weakened by hydrothermal processes at the volcano's summit, suddenly broke loose,
02:48creating fast-moving, destructive mudflows.
02:51Exactly for this reason, the USGS categorizes Mount Adams as a high-threat volcano.
02:57While it doesn't erupt frequently, it still poses serious risks to nearby settlements.
03:05Another volcano we should carefully watch is Kaldla in Iceland.
03:09It's one of the country's most powerful and dangerous volcanoes.
03:12It last erupted over a century ago, in 1918.
03:16But if it erupts again, it could be 10 times as powerful as another Icelandic volcano whose
03:22name I can't pronounce.
03:25That one erupted in 2010, completely disrupting air travel all over Europe.
03:30An eruption of Kaldla could release large amounts of sulfur dioxide, which could form
03:35sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere.
03:37Such aerosols reflect sunlight, which could even cause temporary global cooling.
03:43This phenomenon often followed catastrophic volcanic eruptions in the past.
03:48Although eruptions are common in Iceland, Kaldla's ash cloud would likely shoot higher
03:52into the sky and cover larger areas of Europe than that other one did.
03:57It would ground flights and negatively affect economies.
04:01If Kaldla erupted, it would also harm agriculture, water supplies, and air quality.
04:07In 2014, scientists noted that a large eruption could even cause a tsunami that might travel
04:12along Iceland's south coast and out to sea.
04:15But the potential impact of such a tsunami is still unclear.
04:20Kaldla tends to erupt on a regular schedule, every 40 to 80 years, which means that another
04:25eruption is statistically very likely soon.
04:29That's why Kaldla remains under close scientific observation.
04:35The Canary Islands' Cumbre Vieja erupted recently in 2021, reminding people of its
04:41destructive potential.
04:43The lava flow from this eruption was devastating.
04:46It covered whole neighborhoods and flowed into the ocean, destroying more than 3,000
04:51homes.
04:52Thousands of people had to be evacuated.
04:54But the craziest thing?
04:56Even though the damage was significant, scientists believe it could've been far worse.
05:01A massive eruption of Cumbre Vieja could've caused the volcano's entire western flank
05:06to collapse into the Atlantic Ocean, triggering a mega-tsunami.
05:11This hypothetical tsunami could've potentially created waves hundreds or even thousands of
05:16feet high.
05:17They could've flooded coastlines around the Atlantic Basin, including parts of the
05:21US and Europe.
05:23Luckily, recent studies claim that a collapse of that scale is unlikely.
05:29Even though the chance of a mega-tsunami is low, scientists still think it's wise to
05:33prepare for possible eruptions because there's a chance of extensive damage.
05:38The lava flows that occur at this volcano tend to be extensive and dangerous to both
05:43human life and the infrastructure on the island.
05:49If you decide to travel to Ecuador, you should be wary of Cotopaxi, one of the most active
05:54volcanoes in this country.
05:56It's been rumbling with minor eruptions since 2022.
06:00While these eruptions have been relatively small, Cotopaxi's has a great potential for
06:05a major eruption, and it has scientists on high alert.
06:09If Cotopaxi erupted on a large scale, it could produce a massive ash cloud over 12 miles
06:15high, threatening the lives of around 200,000 people in the neighboring area.
06:21A serious danger is Cotopaxi's snow-capped summit.
06:24It would melt super-rapidly in a major eruption.
06:28It could lead to destructive floods and landslides that would flow down the mountain and potentially
06:33reach populated areas.
06:35This combination of volcanic activity and glacial floods makes Cotopaxi a high-risk
06:41volcano.
06:42A powerful eruption could occur soon, or it could be years or even decades away.
06:47But monitoring efforts are in place to catch any warning signs.
06:54The next volcano we should watch out for is already infamous – Mount Vesuvius.
06:59Its catastrophic eruption in 79 CE destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
07:07Its last eruption occurred in 1944, but Vesuvius remains highly active and poses a great risk
07:13to nearby Naples, one of Italy's largest cities.
07:17A large eruption would threaten over 3 million people.
07:20Many of them live in the vicinity or even directly on the slopes of the volcano.
07:25If Vesuvius erupted, it would be an explosive event, with ash, rocks, and volcanic gas ejected
07:32at extremely high speeds.
07:34And even though such a destructive event isn't expected for a few hundred years, Vesuvius
07:39remains one of the world's most closely watched volcanoes.
07:43After all, it has a real potential to cause catastrophic damage in a densely populated
07:49area.
07:52Then we have Popocatépetl, often called El Popo.
07:55It's one of North America's tallest active volcanoes, which lies about 40 miles from
08:00Mexico City.
08:02Exactly this proximity to a metropolitan area with a population of 22 million people makes
08:08Popocatépetl especially hazardous.
08:11A large eruption could send a massive ash cloud over Mexico City, causing widespread
08:16disruptions.
08:18Ash could clog the city's drainage systems, contaminate water supplies, and even cause
08:22power outages by short-circuiting electrical systems.
08:26Plus, lahars could rush down the volcano, reaching nearby towns.
08:31Popocatépetl has been showing near-constant seismic activity since the early 2000s, and
08:37smaller eruptions are pretty common here.
08:40In early 2024, there were 13 recorded minor eruptions, which alarmed nearby towns.
08:46At the same time, volcanologists consider such eruptions normal for Popocatépetl.
08:53While talking about super-dangerous volcanoes, we can't skip Yellowstone National Park.
08:59It houses one of the world's largest supervolcanoes.
09:03Its last massive eruption occurred about 640,000 years ago.
09:07But if this monster were to erupt today, the impact would be much more devastating
09:12for the entire planet.
09:15States closest to Yellowstone, including Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, would be most affected,
09:21likely experiencing disastrous pyroclastic flows.
09:24These flows, which are made of a dangerous mix of lava, ash, and gases, can obliterate
09:30everything in their path.
09:32Large parts of the country would also be blanketed in volcanic ash, over 3 feet in some areas.
09:38On a global scale, an eruption at Yellowstone would send tons of ash and gases into the
09:43stratosphere, potentially blocking sunlight and causing global temperatures to drop for
09:49a few years.
09:50This would disrupt agriculture, collapse transportation systems, and create food shortages on a massive
09:56scale.
09:57Still, even though there's a popular myth that Yellowstone is overdue for an eruption,
10:03geologists clarify that this isn't true.
10:06Volcanoes don't follow precise timetables, and the activity at Yellowstone doesn't
10:11indicate an imminent eruption.
10:13So yeah, that's good news.
10:17That's it for today!
10:18So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
10:22friends!
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