Some of you will remember that according to Ambrose’s views, the Toba super-eruption must have had a catastrophic impact that resulted in a “nuclear-like winter". (Do a search for the “Toba” controversy on the Forum). Well, here is another paper that puts an additional damper on the impact the eruption must have had. There is no doubt that the latter must have been pretty messy, but it seems, from what is discussed in the following paper, that Nature, in the relative vicinity of the eruption, was fairly resilient and recovered pretty quickly.
Louys, Julien. 2007. Limited effect of the Quaternary’s largest super-eruption (Toba) on land mammals from Southeast Asia. Quaternary Science Reviews
Abstract:
The effect of the Toba super-eruption at +/- 74 kyr on the mammals of Southeast Asia is examined. Although few Late Pleistocene sites from Southeast Asia have been described, an analysis of those which pre- and post-date Toba reveals relatively few species became extinct following the eruption. It is suggested that species survived in refugia immediately following the eruption, and that they repopulated vast areas following a probable short period (i.e. decades to century) of environmental devastation. This study suggests that mammals are more robust at coping with catastrophic events than previously acknowledged, and questions the perceived human monopoly in overcoming ecological adversity.
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Jacques
