Sun. Titanic amounts of heat left over from its  birth and the radioactive decay of trillions of  

鐵塊。海量的地球誕生餘熱以及數萬億噸的放射性元素

tons of radioactive elements find no escape  but up. Currents of rock spanning thousands  

除了向上以外沒有其他的逃脫方向。好幾千公里長的岩石流

of kilometers carry this energy to the surface.  Earth’s crust is the only thing in their way.  

把這些能量帶到地球表面。唯一擋著它們去路的只有地殼

It feels solid to us, but it is only a fragile  barrier, an apple skin around a flaming behemoth.  

我們覺得地殼很堅固，但它只是個脆弱的屏障，如包裹著燃燒中的龐然大物的蘋果皮

True apocalypses can break through  and unleash eruptions tens of times  

真正的末日劫難可以突破地殼，釋放出比我們所有

more powerful than all of our nuclear weapons  combined, subjecting the climate to centuries  

核武加起來強數十倍的噴發，使氣候在一年內經歷

worth of change in a single year, while  drowning continents in toxic ash and gases:  

數百年的變化，並將各大陸淹沒於劇毒的火山灰和火山氣體之中

supervolcanoes. How big can they get?  And will they put an end to humanity?

此劫難名為超級火山。它們能有多大？會造成人類滅絕嗎？

Volcanoes

火山

There are many types of volcanos,  from towering mountains to lava domes,  

從高聳的山到熔岩穹丘，火山的種類繁多

but they have two main sources:

但它們有兩種主要成因

The first is at the boundaries between tectonic  plates, the pieces of the crust that cover the  

第一種是在構造板塊邊緣。構造板塊是像拼圖一樣覆蓋地球的

Earth like a giant jigsaw puzzle. There are seven  major tectonic plates and dozens of smaller ones,  

地殼碎片。有七個主要的構造板塊和數十個較小的板塊

drifting against each other at up  to 15 cm per year. This sounds slow,  

它們以每年高達十五厘米的速度相互漂移。這聽起來很慢

but on geological timescales it is a  titanic struggle over who gets to stay  

但在地質時間尺度上，這是場巨大的鬥爭，決定著

on the surface. The winning plate crumples  into a new mountain range while the loser  

誰能留在地表上。獲勝的板塊坍塌成一個新的山脈，而失敗者

is shoved underneath, into an ocean of  hot rock at1300°Ct: The asthenosphere.

被推到下方，進入一千三百攝氏度的熱岩海洋之中：軟流圈

The temperature here is enough  to melt rock into a liquid,  

這裡的溫度足以將岩石熔化

but the insane pressures of all that  mass keep it a superheated solid.

但那些質量所造成的瘋狂壓力使其保持於過熱固態

Tectonic plates are usually in contact  with water for thousands of years and  

構造板塊通常與水接觸上千年並吸收

absorb some of it. When they are  submerged into the hot underworld,  

其一小部分。當它們被隱沒在炙熱的地下世界時

this water triggers chemical transformations  that allow tiny portions to melt into magma.  

這些水觸發化學變化，使小部分岩石熔成岩漿

Liquid magma is less dense than solid rock,  so it rises to the surface in furious bubbles  

因為岩漿的密度比岩石小，它們像劇烈的泡泡般浮到表面

that accumulate in sponge-like reservoirs right  under the crust. If enough magma accumulates,  

並在地殼下囤積成一個海綿狀的岩漿庫。如果有足夠的岩漿累積

it becomes powerful enough to pierce through the  crust – which we experience as volcanoes. This  

壓力強大到能突破地殼，這就是形成了我們所看到的火山

happens under the winning plate, like a revenge  attack by the loser before it is erased forever.

這個過程發生在勝利板塊之下，像失敗者在被永遠消滅前展開復仇攻擊一般

The second main source of volcanoes are thought to  be mantle plumes. These are columns of abnormally  

第二種主要的火山成因被認為是地幔熱柱。這些是異常熱的岩石柱

hot rock that rise all the way from the planet’s  core-mantle boundary to the surface. Much less is  

從地球的核幔邊界一直上升到地表。我們對它們的了解不多

known about them, but in a way it is as if the  Earth’s mantle has weather patterns and mantle  

但某程度上說，就好像地幔有天氣型態

plumes are a little like hot air rising to form  storm clouds. Storms hundreds of millions of  

然後這些地幔熱柱有點像熱空氣上升形成暴風雲一樣。上百萬年

years old, made of rock circulating at  a rate of a few millimetres per month.  

由石頭構成的風暴以每月數毫米的速度循環

They don’t care about the motion of tectonic  plates, so they can break the crust to create  

它們不在乎構造板塊的運動，所以當地殼在它們周圍移動時

volcanoes in the middle of nowhere that stubbornly  stay active as the crust shifts around them.

這些熱柱可以突破地殼在荒郊野外形成長期保持活躍的火山

The volcanic boom-meter

火山爆發儀

Scientists love to put big booms on a  scale and came up with a logarithmic  

科學家們喜歡把大爆發放在一個刻度上，並提出了一個對數刻度

scale that measures the volume ejected during  an eruption: The Volcanic Explosivity Index,  

來測量火山噴發期間所噴出的體積：火山爆發指數

or VEI. Simply put, it starts really  small and gets very big very quickly.

又稱VEI。簡單來說，VEI開始時非常小，然後會非常迅速地增大

A VEI 2 eruption would fill four hundred  full Olympic swimming pools with lava.  

一個VEI二級的噴發能用熔岩填滿四百座奧林匹克游泳池

We have around 10 of these per year.

我們每年有約十次這類的爆發

At VEI 3 we already see devastating effects,  

在VEI三級我們已看到毀滅性的影響

like the eruption of the Semeru volcano in 2021  that destroyed thousands of homes in Indonesia.

如在2021年的塞梅魯火山噴發，摧毀了印度尼西亞數千所房屋

At VEI 5, we see catastrophic amounts of  materials, cubic kilometers of debris, equivalent  

在VEI五級，我們看到災難性數量的物質、好幾立方公里的碎片以及相當於

to an entire lake of molten rock blasted into  the air. Like the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai  

一座湖的熔岩噴發到空中。如在2022年的洪阿湯加－洪阿哈阿帕伊島的

eruption that sent a shockwave around the globe  many times and created ocean-wide tsunamis.

海底火山爆發，多次在全球發出衝擊波並在海洋四處繼發海嘯

At a VEI of 6, an eruption can change the world.  In 1883, the Indonesian island volcano Krakatoa  

在VEI六級，一個爆發能夠改變世界。在1883年，印度尼西亞的島嶼火山喀拉喀托

erupted nearly continuously over the course of  5 months. One of those eruptions blew it apart,  

在五個月裡幾乎連續爆發。其中一次爆發將火山本身炸開

producing the loudest sound recorded in history,  

製造出史上最巨大的聲響

10 trillion times louder than a rocket  taking off, heard halfway around the world.  

比火箭發射的聲音大十萬億倍，響徹半個世界

30m high tsunamis swept away nearby populations  and so much gas and ash were released that  

三十米高的海嘯席捲了附近的居民，其釋放出的氣體與火山灰如此之多

global temperatures cooled by nearly 0.5°C.  Red dusty sunsets followed for many years.

全球溫度降低了近零點五攝氏度。塵土飛揚的紅色日落跟隨了許多年

At VEI 7, we get Super-Colossal  eruptions, millennium-defining  

在VEI七級，我們見識到的是超巨大爆發。這種定義千年的

events that human civilization has  only encountered a handful of times.  

事件人類文明目前只經歷過幾次

Mount Tambora was a 4300m high mountain  until it exploded in 1815 and released 400  

坦博拉火山曾是高達四千三百米的高山，直到它在1815年噴發前為止，當時所釋放出的能量

times more energy than the Tsar Bomba.  140 billion tons of ash and dust were  

比沙皇炸彈多四百倍。一千四百億噸的灰與塵被噴射至通往太空中途

shot halfway to space before smothering the  world’s skies, turning them a sickly yellow.  

隨後掩蓋了世界的天空，將它染成病懨懨的黃色

There was no summer the following year, crops  died and over a hundred thousand people perished.

之後的那一年沒有夏天。大量農作物死亡且十萬人以上喪生

This is the dreadful potential of volcanic  eruptions, with famines across the other  

這是火山爆發的可怕潛力，世界另一端的飢荒

side of the world and even centuries-long  cold periods being attributed to them.

甚至長達數百年的寒冷時期都歸因於它們

Ok. But what is a supervolcano?

好的。那什麼是超級火山？

The term “Super volcano” is a media invention  and not a scientific term. The main issue with  

「超級火山」一詞是媒體發明的，並非科學術語。其最大

them is that not every eruption from  a supervolcano is a super eruption.

問題在於超級火山每次爆發不一定是超級噴發

What makes super volcanoes special is that  they have been waiting to erupt for hundreds  

超級火山的特別之處是，數十萬年來它們一直在等著爆發

of thousands of years. Pressure builds up in  colossal magma reservoirs several kilometers deep,  

壓力在數公里深的巨大岩漿庫中積聚

until it becomes strong enough to lift  the rock above it by several meters.  

直到它強到能將上方的岩石抬高數米為止

Rocks crack under the pressure, until they finally  give way and billions of tons of gas and ash blast  

岩石在壓力下崩裂，直到它們最終讓路，使數十億噸的氣體與火山灰

out at supersonic speed. An insane explosion  of at least a thousand cubic kilometers that  

以超音速炸出。這是一場至少涵蓋一千立方公里的

impacts every corner of the globe. And yet, that  is only a small portion of the magma reservoir.

瘋狂大爆炸，衝擊著全球各個角落。然而，這只涉及到岩漿庫裡的一小部分

Super eruptions are like a boiling pot of water  popping its lid off and spilling a bit off the  

超級噴發像一鍋滾水一樣，鍋蓋被掀開並從頂部溢出點水

top. Afterwards the ground collapses into  the void left behind, forming a hole called  

爆發後地面陷落至剩下的虛空之中，形成一個洞

a caldera. Under this caldera, pressure starts  building again until the volcano gathers enough  

名為破火山口。在這破火山口下方壓力再次開始積聚，直到火山集結足夠的

energy for another supereruption – but this  could take hundreds of thousands of years.

能量發生下一次超級爆發。但這可能需要數十萬年的時間

It is estimated that one of the few  volcanoes capable of supereruptions  

我們預估地球上其中一座能超級噴發的火山

on Earth could cause a catastrophic eruption every  

平均需要一萬七千年的時間

17,000 years on average. That would make them far  more frequent than comparable asteroid impacts..

才會造成災難性的爆發。這使它們比規模類似的小行星撞擊更頻繁

The most recent super-eruption is the Oruanui  eruption 26,500 years ago in New Zealand.  

最近一次的超級噴發是兩萬六千五百年前在紐西蘭的Oruanui爆發

With the force of dozens of billions of tons of  TNT, a Mount Everest- sized pile of explosives,  

其威力相當於數十億噸、如一座聖母峰般大的TNT炸藥堆

a huge portion of the landscape was  scooped out and thrown into the atmosphere.  

有一大部分的景觀被挖出並扔到大氣層中

It left behind a caldera spanning 20km and  it caused the entire Southern Hemisphere  

爆發形成的破火山口有二十公里寬，並導致整個南半球進入

to undergo a period of abrupt cooling. Though  among super-eruptions, it is a mere firework.

一段突然的降溫期。話雖如此，和其他超級噴發比起來，這只是一束煙花

The Lake Toba eruption of 74,000 years ago  was a much more significant turning point  

七萬四千年前的多巴湖爆發在史上是個更顯著的

in history. It released a gargantuan 5300 cubic  kilometers of material, enough to blanket parts  

轉捩點。它釋放多達五千三百立方公里的物質，足以把部分

of South Asia in 15 cm of ash and trigger  a rapid 4°C drop in global temperatures.  

南亞地區覆蓋在十五公分高的火山灰之中，並導致全球氣溫迅速下降四攝氏度

It’s possible that the volcanic winter lasted  ten years, followed by worldwide droughts for  

這個火山冬天可能維持了十年，隨後是數百年的

centuries. Earth’s climate might have  not recovered for a thousand years.

全球乾旱。地球的氣候有可能花了一千年才得以恢復

The largest volcanic events we know  of were not really huge explosions,  

我們已知的最大型火山事件與大爆炸無關

but floods of millions of cubic kilometers of  lava. The grand finale were the Siberian Traps  

而是數百萬立方公里的熔岩如洪水般氾濫。最為盛大的是

around 250 million years ago, a continuous  release of lava for two million years.  

約二點五億年前的西伯利亞暗色岩，當時熔岩持續湧入兩百萬年

They raised the ocean temperatures to over 40°C,  which caused the Permian–Triassic extinction,  

把海洋溫度提升至四十攝氏度以上，這導致了二疊紀-三疊紀滅絕事件

killing over 90% of all species. Earth’s surface  needed 9 million years to recover. These sorts  

殺死了百分之九十的所有物種。地表花了九百萬年才得以復原。這類的火山爆發

of eruptions don’t change the climate:  they are the climate. But thankfully,  

並不改變氣候，它們就是氣候本身。但幸運的是

we haven’t seen anything even remotely close  to that scale in many millions of years.

數百萬年來我們還未看到任何接近如此規模的火山爆發

So. Should you be scared of super-volcanoes?  Definitely not. They’ve been used to frighten  

那麼，你需要害怕超級火山嗎？當然不需要。它們常被用來嚇唬

many people and are overhyped as an unavoidable  apocalypse. The most famous one, Yellowstone,  

很多人，並被過度吹噓為無可避免的末日事件。最有名的是黃石公園

will erupt again, but they will  be relatively small eruptions.  

會再度噴發。但到時的爆發規模會較小

Natural disasters for sure, but not enough to  devastate the US or come close to ending humanity.

是屬於天災沒錯，但不足以摧殘美國，更不會造成人類滅絕

The chance of a VEI 8 eruption in the  next few hundred years is less than 2%  

接下來數百年會發生VEI八級火山噴發的機率低於百分之二

and more importantly, it would  not come as a sudden surprise.  

更重要的是，這類噴發不會突如其來的發生

However, less powerful but more  frequent eruptions can also do  

然而，威力較弱但更頻繁的火山爆發也能對

serious damage to our civilizations and  are in many ways a much greater concern.

文明帶來重大損傷，在很多方面上是更大的擔憂

So we must watch for slow changes in  magma reservoirs, like ground swelling  

所以我們必須密切關注岩漿庫的變化，如地面隆起

and temperature increases, to get an early  warning that can save the lives of people  

和溫度上升等，以發掘能拯救火山鄰近居民的

living the closest to a volcano. And there’s time  to develop solutions that can remove sulfur and  

前期警訊。此外我們有時間設計能從平流層移除硫磺

ash from the stratosphere to eliminate the root  cause of the climate disruption we’ve seen from  

和火山灰的解決方案，以消滅過往火山爆發破壞

previous eruptions. Who knows, maybe we’ll even  be able to turn this force of destruction into  

氣候的根本原因。誰知道呢，也許我們甚至能通過

an agent for good by exploiting the geothermal  energy held in their giant magma reservoirs.

利用這些巨大岩漿庫的地熱能來駕馭這股破壞力行善

We’ve done this work for so many other disasters  and we are already doing things we could only  

我們已為其他許多天災付出這類心力，而且我們已經能做

have dreamed about decades ago, like sending a  probe to perform our first asteroid redirection  

在幾十年前只能想像的事情，如第一次試驗發射飛行器改變

test. With determination, humanity really  can solve anything. So while deep below us  

小行星軌道。只要有決心，人類真的可以排除萬難。所以雖然在我們地下深處

an angry hell is churning and waiting for  its moment, you can sleep well tonight.

有個憤怒的地獄在翻騰，等待著它的時機，你今晚能安穩的睡個好覺

Learning how we can get ahead of catastrophes like  climate change and supervolcanoes is interesting,  

學習我們如何能提前應對如氣候變化和超級火山等災難雖然有趣

but can also be challenging. Maybe you still  feel like you don’t really understand how  

但也可能是件困難的事情。或許你覺得自己尚未了解

most of the science behind it works. And on  your own it seems too hard to dig deeper.

這些現象背後的科學原理。光靠自己深入研究好像又太難了

To solve this, we’ve collaborated with our  friends from Brilliant to create a series of  

為了解決這道難題，我們和在Brilliant的朋友們合力製作一系列課程

lessons to build your understanding of fundamental  science — by exploring fascinating insights from  

透過探索我們熱門視頻中的有趣見解，如黑洞、生命大小

our most popular videos, on topics like black  holes, the size of life, and climate change.

氣候變化等，來建立你對基礎科學的理解

Brilliant is an interactive learning  tool that makes science accessible with  

Brilliant是個通過動手的方法使科學變得容易的

a hands-on approach. Because we know that  to really learn something, you’ve got to do  

互動學習平台。因為我們知道要真正學習某事物，你必須

it. Think of each lesson as a one-on-one  deep-dive version of a Kurzgesagt video.

自己動手做。把每個課程當作是一對一的深入版Kurzgesagt視頻

In our latest lessons, you’ll discover the  mechanisms that drive climate change and  

在我們最新的課程裡，你會發掘推動氣候變化的機制

use them to understand the impact of  supervolcanoes on our global climate.

並利用它們了解超級火山對全球氣候所帶來的影響

Beyond new Kurzgesagt lessons regularly released,  

除了這些定期發布的Kurzgesagt課程以外

Brilliant has thousands of lessons for members  to explore—from math-based topics like algebra  

Brilliant有上千堂課程，從數學方面的課題如代數和概率

and probability to the concepts behind  machine learning and quantum computing.  

到機器學習和量子計算背後的概念，任會員探索

With new releases each month, you’ll  always find something fascinating to learn.

隨著每個月的新發布，你總能找到一些有趣的東西來學習

To get hands-on with Kurzgesagt lessons now, go  to Brilliant.org/nutshell and sign up for free.  

想動手學習Kurzgesagt的課程，現在上Brilliant.org/nutshell免費註冊

And with a free trial of Brilliant Premium,  you can explore everything Brilliant has to  

通過免費試用Brilliant Premium，你能探索所有Brilliant的

offer. There’s even an extra perk for Kurzgesagt  viewers: the first 200 people to use the link  

課程。Kurzgesagt觀眾更能享受特殊優惠：首兩百位使用這個連結

get 20% off their annual membership, which  unlocks all of Brilliant’s courses in math,  

的人享有百分之二十的年度会員費折扣，並解鎖Brilliant所有

science, and computer science. We love to go down a rabbit hole  

在數學、科學及電腦科學的課程。我們喜歡透過

with our research – Brilliant will take  you by the hand to come along on the ride.

做研究進入複雜奇異且未知的世界，Brilliant將與你攜手踏上學習之旅