Huge volcanic eruptions are the only natural hazard apart from the impact of an asteroid that can cause a global catastrophe. In the short history of civilisation, there have been few volcanic events with global effects. Much larger magnitude eruptions happened regularly in the millions of years previous. Such extreme eruptions perturb global climate for years and can have severe environmental consequences.

The modern world is vulnerable to large volcanic events, making the study of their return periods, possible environmental effects and consequences a key goal of volcanology.

A lecture by Sir Stephen Sparks CBE, Visiting Professor of Geology 14 November 2018

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/volcanic-eruptions

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

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