Is German Super-Volcano About To Erupt?
Summary
January 2, 2012: An article in the Daily Mail speculates that a super-volcano located in Germany may be due for an eruption which could devastate Europe. The volcano in question is located under the Laacher See, a tranquil lake near the city of Bonn and the article frets that it could erupt in a blast similar to the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991.
The article points to carbon dioxide bubbling to the surface of the lake as evidence of the magma chamber underneath degassing.
This monster erupts every 10 to 12,000 years and last went off 12,900 years ago, so it could blow at any time.
See Also
Source
Bibliography
2. OMG! "Is a super-volcano about to erupt?" — A skeptical piece commenting on the original article
Game and Story Use
- Okay. So the article is overstating the danger in the name of sensationalism. We can do sensationalism.
- A geologist studying the Laacher See volcano has disappeared! Has he discovered something sinister? It's up to you to find him!
- A mad scientist has invented a device to trigger Laacher See into erupting! Will he bury the EU under a cloud of ash?
- The CO2 bubbles are actually coming from a secret underwater base at the bottom of the lake. Maybe built by the same mad scientist.
- In a Post-Apocalypse setting: Laacher See has erupted, and the PCs must make their way across devastated Europe.
- In an alternate history setting, the Western Allies might have decided to trigger this during WW2 - or have triggered it accidentally whilst trying to destroy something else.
- Or Nazi agents may attempt to trigger it in May 1945, as part of the Fuhrer's desire to bring Germany crashing down around the ears of its conquerors.
- Or the wretched thing goes off quite naturally during a tense period of the Cold War - good luck persuading everyone involved that it was a natural disaster and preventing escalation.
page revision: 6, last edited: 22 Dec 2019 19:27