Sentences with phrase «volcanic winter»

Around 74,000 years ago, a massive caldera erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggering a prolonged and devastating volcanic winter.

The eruption is thought to have spewed almost 1 trillion gallons (3.7 trillion litres) of molten rock onto the surface, along with just as much sulphur into the atmosphere, triggering what researchers now call a «volcanic winter».

The finding casts doubt on the theory that humans were almost wiped out around that time by a «volcanic winter» — an idea that comes from genetic data showing that the population rapidly expanded just after that time, as if it had recently collapsed.

Gas and ashes spewed into the atmosphere spread around the world within weeks, and some scientists think they triggered a global «volcanic winter» that may have lasted decades, leading to massive die - offs and the near - extinction of the human species.

A volcanic winter could have decimated human populations, especially in the Toba region, contributing to a genetic «bottleneck,» where only the survivors» genes got passed on, as some researchers have reported.

Gas and ashes spewed into the atmosphere and spread around the world within weeks, and some scientists think they triggered a global «volcanic winter» that may have lasted decades, leading to massive die - offs and the near - extinction of the human species.

Armed with a clear timeline, the archeologist Marean was able to show that those human ancestors living at Pinnacle Point and Vleesbaai — located about five miles apart — showed remarkable improvement in their life style during the volcanic winter caused by the Toba eruption.

However, a «volcanic winter» occurring suddenly and lasting a decade or two could still have devastating consequences on life at the surface, with abrupt massive decreases in food production and potential extinctions of some species.

The coming eruption has the potential to create a global cooling effect on Earth's climate called a volcanic winter.

In addition, sulfur and particulates contribute to cooling, or volcanic winter, which usually lasts three to six months.