7 Ways Scientists Plan To Avert The Apocalypse

1. Supervolcanic Eruption

Volcanic eruptions sound scary, but not quite as scary as getting turned into planet soup by a giant space rock.

The thing is, though, that if a supervolcano like the one beneath Yellowstone National Park decides to go all doomsday on us, there's nothing we can do about it.

Yup, the scientists don't have a plan for this one.

The blast from this uncontrollable, unpredictable event would be strong enough to fire at least 1,000 cubic kilometres of material into the upper atmosphere. The scalding plume of superheated gases would reach the edge of space before spreading out across the globe.

This would have a dramatic cooling effect on the planet as the aerosols suspended in the upper atmosphere block the sun's heat and light for many years, possibly kick starting an ice age. The effects on agriculture would be catastrophic and famine would become widespread.

Luckily, these super-eruption only occur every 25 millennia or so. Unluckily, Yellowstone looks set to blow its top any day now.

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