The 12 biggest volcanic eruptions in recorded history

[Still Waters]

History has seen some monstrous volcanic eruptions, from Mount Pinatubo's weather-cooling burp to the explosion of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai on the island nation of Tonga.

The power of such eruptions is measured using the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), a classification system developed in the 1980 that's similar to the magnitude scale for earthquakes. The scale goes from 1 to 8, and each succeeding VEI is 10 times greater than the last.

There haven't been any VEI-8 volcanoes in the last 10,000 years, but human history has seen some powerful and devastating eruptions. Because it's extremely difficult for scientists to be able to rank the strength of eruptions in the same VEI category, here we present 11 of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in recorded history, meaning over the last 4,000 years, plus one VEI-8 eruption that happened in the distant past.

https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/volcanos/the-12-biggest-volcanic-eruptions-in-recorded-history

[Essan]

The Tongan eruption was the first volcanic eruption that I personally "experienced" - albeit from the other side of the world - along with many other amateur meteorologists around the world.   We were able to track and observe the pressure wave as it passed over (as recording on our weather stations).  Pretty amazing.  In a geeky way.

[Doc Socks Junior]

They just had to sneak Yellowstone, 640,000 years ago, onto that list. Ugh.

Although, I suppose given the forum, it could count as alternative recorded history...

[Doug1066]

Just speculating, but:  an increase in PDSI in Oklahoma began at the time of the Tamboura eruption.  The year 1816 has a very narrow tree ring, probably caused by weather disturbance from the volcano.  PDSI continued to rise until about 1911 when it leveled off.  Could Tamboura have been the cause?

See "An Example of Climate Change" thread.

Doug

[Abramelin]

On 6/10/2023 at 7:14 PM, Doc Socks Junior said:

They just had to sneak Yellowstone, 640,000 years ago, onto that list. Ugh.

Although, I suppose given the forum, it could count as alternative recorded history...

Heh, WHO or better WHAT recorded the Yellowstone eruption?

[Doc Socks Junior]

Well, the eruption itself is recorded in the deposits thereof.

Can read the composition, paleomagnetic field, geospeedometry in the crystals...but maybe not what the article was really getting at.