National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: "Supervolcano" With Twisted Innards Found in Italy


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A tool marks a dark gray boulder encased in light gray fossilized volcanic ash found along the Sesia River in the Italian Alps. The boulder is evidence of the eruption of an ancient supervolcano, scientists said in September 2009.

The powerful explosion 280 million years ago created a huge caldera and may have spewed enough material into the air to trigger prolonged global cooling.

Photograph courtesy Kimberly Cobb