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Mystery of the Megavolcano
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Viewing Ideas
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Before Watching
List the following volcanoes on the board: Vesuvius (79 AD, buried Pompeii and
Herculaneum); Tambora (1815, largest eruption in historic time); Krakatau
(1883, produced tsunami that killed 36,000 people); and Mount St. Helens (1980,
major U.S. volcanic eruption). For each, have students research the volcano's
location, its largest eruption, the date the eruption occurred, and the amount
of debris erupted. Have students then compare the amount of erupted debris to
the amount ejected by supervolcanoes (often at least 1,000 cubic kilometers of
magma). Organize students into four groups and assign each group one of the
following topics to track as group members watch the program: ice core
analysis, lake geography, ash and soil analysis, and sea life analysis.
After Watching
Ask students who took notes on the same topic to meet, review their
notes, and present their findings to the class. What was the role of each piece
of evidence in identifying Lake Toba as the source of climate change 75,000
years ago? How did the different pieces of evidence support one another?
Have students consider some of the different scientists in the film (Gregory
Zielinski, climatologist; Mike Rampino, geologist; John Westgate,
tephrochronologist; Craig Chesner, geologist; and Drew Shindell,
climatologist). What kind of traits would each scientist need to do his job? If
students could spend a day with one of the scientists, who would they choose?
Why?
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