Science Daily August 6, 2021
The typical focus of attention for global-scale catastrophes has been on large-scale eruptions with a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 7–8. An international team of researchers (UK, Israel) has identified seven “pinch points” where clusters of relatively small but active volcanoes sit alongside vital infrastructure that, if paralyzed, could have catastrophic global consequences. They include, the volcanic group on the northern tip of Taiwan, the home to one of the largest producers of electronic chips; The Mediterranean, where earthquakes can induce tsunamis that smash submerged cable networks and seal off the Suez Canal; eruptions in the US state of Washington in the Pacific Northwest could trigger mudflows and ash clouds that blanket Seattle, shutting down airports and seaports with potential economic losses of more than US$7 trillion over the ensuing five years; the Indonesian archipelago is one of the busiest shipping passages in the world, and the Luzon Strait in the South China Sea, another key shipping route, is the crux of all the major submerged cabling that connects China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. According to the researchers it is time to change how we view extreme volcanic risk. The more probable scenarios involve lower-magnitude eruptions interacting with our societal vulnerabilities and cascading us towards catastrophe…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Cascading system failures from lower magnitude volcanic eruptions. Credit: Nature Communications volume 12, Article number: 4756 (2021)