Natural disasters 3.1 WORLD
What volcanic event approximately 74,000 years ago caused a major genetic bottleneck in Homo sapiens due to a global volcanic winter?
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THE CORRECT ANSWER: The eruption of the Toba supervolcano
The eruption of the Toba supervolcano, located on what is now the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, occurred around 74,000 years ago and remains one of the most colossal volcanic events of the last two million years.Reaching the maximum degree of 8 on the volcanic explosivity index (VEI) scale, this titanic disaster ejected nearly 2,800 cubic kilometers of rock material and ash into the atmosphere.The released sulfur dioxide aerosols blocked sunlight, triggering a harsh volcanic winter that lowered global temperatures by several degrees for nearly a decade. This extreme global climate disruption has seriously altered ecosystems and decimated wildlife.According to a major scientific theory, this global ecological crisis caused a dramatic reduction in the human population at the time, creating a genetic bottleneck that nearly wiped humanity off the face of the Earth.