Mayan calendar, end of the world, December 21, 2012: Author says 'end of days' will happen

SAN DIEGO - On Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, some say the world as we know it will come to an end, but few have said exactly how that will happen. An author now says something scientists have been doing for years will unintentionally trigger the end.

"Phobos: Mayan Fear" is author Steve Alten's fictionalized account of factual research that he says shows how the Mayan calendar's end of days will happen and it begins with the massive Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

"As they're colliding protons at near light speed, they're also creating a byproduct which is miniature black holes," said Alten.

Alten says a mini black hole drawn to the Earth's core would grow large enough to set off the super-volcano known as Yellowstone Caldera in Yellowstone National Park.

"It will release an ash cloud that's equal to about 10,000 Mt. St. Helens volcanoes and that would lead to a 100,000 year ice age," said Alten.

San Diego geologist Pat Abbott said there is no evidence the super-volcano is about to blow, but he does agree it would have the potential to be world-altering.

"Skies would be darkened," said Abbott. "We wouldn't be getting as much sunlight."

In other words, no more sunny San Diego. Globally, temperatures would drop. By how much and for how long is not clear. That change would destroy crops and lead to famine. Meanwhile, the other danger is a volcano on one of the Canary Islands, Alten says.

"It will actually create a landslide into the Atlantic Ocean and create a mega-tsunami that's 3,000 feet high," said Alten.

Abbott just visited that volcano. He says if there were an eruption, it could create a smaller tsunami that is not 3,000 feet high. But even at 50 feet, it would devastate the East Coast of the United States, Abbott said.

"That would be a mobilization of people unlike anything we've ever experienced on Earth," said Abbott. "You would have several hours to vacate New York City. You know, it's an overwhelming scenario."

While Abbott says the second volcano also shows no signs of impending doom, he acknowledges the large Hadron Collider is breaching the unknown.

"Whenever we do large-scale engineering projects, there's almost always unintended consequences," he said.

Alten said it is not a question of if these two volcanoes will erupt, but when. Abbott said that is true. Yellowstone Caldera, for example, is due to blow sometime in the next quarter million years.