The Enduring Relationship Between Humanity and Volcanoes

From prehistoric supervolcanoes to contemporary Icelandic eruptions, geologist Arnaud Guérin traces the tumultuous history of the relationship between humanity and volcanoes in his latest work. It’s a scientific and philosophical exploration of forces that have shaped our world and continue to pose both threats and opportunities.

The Toba Supereruption: A Near-Extinction Event

Approximately 74,000 years ago, the Toba supervolcano in Indonesia experienced one of the largest eruptions in Earth’s history. Massive quantities of ash and gas darkened the sky globally, triggering a volcanic winter lasting several years. “This immense volcanic eruption occurred at a time when humanity was so reduced that it could very easily have become extinct forever,” recalls Arnaud Guérin, geologist, photographer, and author of Histoire de l’exploration des volcans, published by Glénat. Despite this cataclysm, archaeological discoveries in South Africa demonstrate that human groups continued to create tools and maintain hearths during the crisis.

Reconstructing the Past Through Ice Cores

How can such an event be reconstructed without witnesses? Through ice cores, explains Guérin. Particles ejected into the upper atmosphere fall onto the polar ice caps, where they are preserved as chemical layers – sulfur, fluorine, radioactive elements – allowing scientists to date and measure eruptions with remarkable precision.

Volcanoes in History and Science

From the eruption of Santorini (around 1650 BC), which may have destroyed the Minoan civilization and inspired the myth of Atlantis, to the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, volcanoes have marked human history in a brutal and decisive way. The description of the Vesuvius eruption by Pliny the Younger constitutes the first text of volcanology: “the beginning of the science of volcanism,” according to Guérin.

Haroun Tazieff stands out as a key figure in popularizing the discipline. Guérin notes that Tazieff was the first to understand “that the volcano was beautiful” and that imagery could make it a subject of popular fascination.

The Krafft couple embodies sacrifice in the service of science. They died in 1991 in Japan, swept away by a pyroclastic flow, but their risk prevention film allowed for the evacuation of thousands of people a few months later during the eruption of Pinatubo in the Philippines.

Volcanic Threats in Europe

While volcanoes are often associated with distant regions, Guérin reminds us that Europe also lives under the threat – and protection – of these geological giants. The Bay of Naples alone concentrates two major volcanic systems: Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, a supervolcano twenty kilometers in diameter. “If an eruption of this intensity were to occur today, it would cause major damage,” warns the geologist.

Closer still, Iceland constitutes our “volcanic suburb”: the eruption of 1783 may have contributed to the climatic and agricultural conditions that precipitated the French Revolution.

Volcanoes: A Source of Life

Despite being threats, volcanoes remain, for the 850 million people who live at their feet, sources of life: fertile soils, geothermal energy, and water resources. “Volcanoes enhance the taste of life,” summarizes Guérin – a formula that reflects the fascinating ambivalence of these forces of nature, both destructive and nourishing.