Scientist: Kim Jong-un Could Trigger Volcanic Eruption

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http://www.trunews.com/article/scientist-kim-jong-un-could-trigger-volcanic-eruption

In North Korea, Mt. Paektu is a very big piece of the national mythology, but in reality, it’s a supervolcano capable of causing catastrophic damage to a very large area, according to a scientist who studies volcanoes. Such an eruption could lead to thousands of deaths, widespread agricultural collapse, and famine the likes of which the region has never seen—which, for North Korea, is saying something. In an op-ed for Forbes, volcanologist Robin Andrews wrote that all it could take to trigger such a calamity is a nuclear test detonation:

>According to a separate study conducted over the last couple of years, the country’s underground weapons tests are sending powerful pressure waves towards Paektu’s massive magma chamber. This pressure is essentially being transferred to the magma, and at a certain point, it could cause the rock surrounding the partly liquid doom to crack, and thereby trigger an eruption.

Andrews writes that past North Korean nuclear tests have been of yields around kilotons, or roughly half the size of the atomic bomb that destroyed Nagasaki at the end of World War II. However, should a test of a more complex hydrogen bomb be conducted at the Punggye-ri test site, the resulting pressure waves would be more than enough to trigger an eruption. He noted that Mt. Paektu’s last eruption in 1903 was relatively minor, but in 946, it unleashed an eruption that has not been observed by modern science:

>Known as the Millennium Eruption, it unleashed 100 cubic kilometres of volcanic debris, smothered the surrounding landscape in pyroclastic flows, and unleashed 1,000 times more energy than the famous 1980 eruption at Mount St. Helens.

While a repeat 946 eruption isn’t guaranteed, the distinct possibility is something all sides should consider, Andrews added.