The Yellowstone Super Volcano last erupted 640,000 years ago. What are the odds it will erupt in our lifetime? Virtually zero. But it will erupt someday.
The volcanic eruptions, as well as the continuing geothermal activity, are a result of a great cove of magma located below the caldera’s surface. The magma in this cove contains gases that are kept dissolved only by the immense pressure that the magma is under. If the pressure is released to a sufficient degree by some geological shift, then some of the gases bubble out and cause the magma to expand. This can cause a runaway reaction. If the expansion results in further relief of pressure, for example, by blowing crust material off the top of the chamber, the result is a very large gas explosion. According to the analysis of earthquake data in 2013, the magma chamber is 80 km (50 mi) long and 20 km (12 mi) wide, and is shaped like 4,000 km3 (960 cu mi) underground mass, of which 6–8% is filled with molten rock. This is about 2.5 times bigger than scientists had previously imagined it to be.
The last full-scale eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano, the Lava Creek eruption which happened nearly 640,000 years ago, ejected approximately 240 cubic miles (1,000 km3) of rock, dust and volcanic ash into the sky.Geologists are closely monitoring the rise and fall of the Yellowstone Plateau, which measures on average 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) yearly, as an indication of changes in magma chamber pressure. The upward movement of the Yellowstone caldera floor between 2004 and 2008 — almost 3 inches (7.6 cm) each year — was more than three times greater than ever observed since such measurements began in 1923. From mid-summer 2004 through mid-summer 2008, the land surface within the caldera moved upward as much as 8 inches (20 cm) at the White Lake GPS station.
Supervolcanoes represent the second most globally cataclysmic event – next to an asteroid strike – and they have been responsible in the past for mass extinctions, long-term changes to the climate and shorter-term “volcanic winters” caused by volcanic ash cutting out the sunlight. The last known supervolcanic eruption was believed to have occurred about 70,000 years ago at the site today of Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia. It caused a volcanic winter that blocked out the sun for between six to eight years, and resulted in a period of global cooling lasting a thousand years.
So the good news is that a Yellowstone super volcano eruption would solve our global warming problem. The bad news is we would no longer have comments from Wyoming Mike. If the pressure keeps building I suggest exiting stage left.
Scientists dismiss claims that Yellowstone volcano about to erupt
By Laura Zuckerman
(Reuters) – Yellowstone National Park assured guests and the public on Thursday that a super-volcano under the park was not expected to erupt anytime soon, despite an alarmist video that claimed bison had been seen fleeing to avoid such a calamity.
Yellowstone officials, who fielded dozens of calls and emails since the video went viral this week following an earthquake in the park, said the video actually shows bison galloping down a paved road that leads deeper into the park. (To see the video, click here)
“It was a spring-like day and they were frisky. Contrary to online reports, it’s a natural occurrence and not the end of the world,” park spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said.
Assurances by Yellowstone officials and government geologists that the ancient super-volcano beneath the park is not due to explode for eons have apparently done little to quell fears among the thousands who have viewed recent video postings of the thundering herd.
Commentary with one of the clips by a self-described survivalist wearing camouflage, dark sunglasses and a black watch cap suggests the wildlife exodus may be tied to “an imminent eruption here at Yellowstone.”
The 4.8 magnitude earthquake that struck early Sunday near the Norris Geyser Basin in the northwest section of Yellowstone, which spans 3,472 square miles of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, caused no injuries or damages and did not make any noticeable alterations to the landscape, geologists said.
Though benign by seismic standards, it was the largest to rattle Yellowstone since a 4.8 quake in February 1980 and it occurred near an area of ground uplift tied to the upward movement of molten rock in the super-volcano, whose mouth, or caldera, is 50 miles long and 30 miles wide.
But neither the quake, the largest among hundreds that have struck near the geyser basin in the last seven months, nor the uplift suggest an eruption sooner than tens of thousands of years, said Peter Cervelli, associate director for science and technology at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Volcano Science Center in California.
“The chance of that happening in our lifetimes is exceedingly insignificant,” said Cervelli, a scientist with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
Cervelli said the area of uplift that scientists have been tracking since August is rising at a rate of between 10 centimeters (4 inches) and 15 centimeters a year. Geologists who tracked uplift in the same area from 1996 to 2003 also saw elevated seismic activity, he said.
(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Steve Orlofsky)
Was just reading all the accounts of odd animal behavior earlier this week…
Yellowstone Volcano Eruption in 2014? Are Animals Fleeing Park As ‘An Alert’?
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/593833-yellowstone-volcano-eruption-in-2014-some-believe-animals-are-fleeing-park-see-it-as-an-alert/
The Yellowstone supervolcano has bee slowly moving northeast over eons, but the periods of major eruptions have halved with each one, so we are definitely long overdue for such a catastrophe:
“Volcanism at Yellowstone is relatively recent with calderas that were created during large eruptions that took place 2.1 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago.”
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If it happens, I’ll be one of the few that won’t have to worry about it. 🙂
Us folks in New Jersey will think the darkened skies are just emissions from the refineries.
If it erupts, CNN will have a news story for the next 40 years. That fukdick joke of a “news” station is STILL covering the missing flight.
Speaking of CuNNt ….. one of my favorite bloggers EVISCERATES the dumb fuckers …
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CNN Interrupts Flight 370 Coverage for Fort Hood Shooting
The media maxim of “if it bleeds, it leads” has just been substantiated at CNN which broke away from the ongoing blanket coverage of the missing Malaysian jetliner due to another shooting at Fort Hood in Texas.
The network, a very pathetic excuse for a news organization anymore now that it has completed the transformation to a personality driven sensationalist outlet for tabloid cheese, celebrity scandal and as is evident with their 24/7 coverage of the doomed Malaysia Air Flight 370 where speculation trumps fact and no shame is spared in milking the human element of the tragedy for maximum effect by descending like a flock of vultures on the loved ones of the missing passengers.
The news of the shooting threw the state-corporate media into a feeding frenzy and the anticipation of having yet another piece of evidence to be parlayed to the masses as proof of that great neocon lie of the Muslim war on America was thick in the air.
But alas, there was no Nidal Malik Hasan to be electronically pilloried in the national orgy of the “Two Minutes Hate” only a troubled Iraqi war veteran. The alleged shooter and the victims of this latest act of violence (which are now commonplace in The Homeland) are just the latest casualties in the goddamned endless series of illegal wars of aggression that has been forcibly shoved down the world’s collective throats by neocon swine, liars and cowards.
I don’t imagine that CNN will have to spend too much time cutting into the blanket coverage of the missing airplane – including providing a forum of legitimacy to tin-foil hatter cranks speculating about black holes – simply because this time the Fort Hood shooter isn’t one of those brown skinned Allah worshipping devils.
When the killer, a man named Ivan Lopez, a 34 year Puerto Rico native opened fire it wasn’t an act of “terrorism” as defined by the neocon agenda to wipe the Muslim world off of the face of the planet. A war veteran with known mental issues just isn’t much of a story to the bottom feeders at CNN and the rest of the now completely corrupted institution of the mainstream media – move along, nothing to see here.
The military is spinning the story of Lopez having not seen combat to spare them the egg on the face regarding those returning from the murder zones with psychological burdens that are too much to bear.
The red, white and blue bunting and military flyovers at sporting events as well as the indoctrination of war worship cover up the truly terrible toll of mental illness, alcoholism and drug abuse, violence and high rate of suicides among those sent to serve as imperial stormtroopers in the corporate wars of the New American Century.
You can bet that CNN won’t be covering that as the latest tragedy at Ft. Hood becomes a blip in their rear view mirror as the network speeds towards the next celebrity sex scandal and hourly updates on the search for the wreckage of Flight 370.
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http://carryingaflag.blogspot.com/
Wyoming mike , you will have to worry about .Who says you will die?What if you live?Then what?Remember ,God has a sick sense of humor .
It won’t be the earthquake or massive ejection of lava, rock and ash the will kill off the majority of life on earth.
It will be the “nuclear” Winter, lasting several decades, pole to pole, that will freeze us all to death and starve those who don’t freeze first.
But it’s like an asteroid hit of significant size. One of those will cause a super train wreck (anywhere between the pissant Russian one at Tunguska or the dinosaur-killer (killed 90%+ of living species) that whopped into the Gulf of Mexico just North of Yucatan some 65 million years ago.
We know it’s going to happen. We just don’t know when.
Which is why old MA thinks the most important job that the human species has is getting the fuck off this blue marble and establishing permanent and self-supporting colonies on other rocks within the solar system.
Which we, of course, won’t do. So we live our short life spans and die right here, just like all the creepy-crawlers that proceeded us. Our stellar and interstellar adventures and legacies will perish with us and the Universe abides..
MA
Good thing there is zero evidence of fracking making the ground unsafe, or causing earthquakes.
Oh wait, there are numerous studies correlating the two.
Oops.
Sorry WM.
But, living at ground zero of such a massive eruption might seem like the better option for the “survivors” trying to live without sunshine and food.
There truly are a million ways for this country to bite it.
I was kind of hoping for a caldera eruption (like Yellowstone) for several reasons. I would survive for several years, thanks to prepping. And I wouldn’t have to go to work or pay taxes anymore. I could stay home and read books, and be just like those people I admire so much (the FSA). They have the life I’d like to have, and a catastrophic disaster is my ticket to the good life.
AWD ,You complain a lot but you have skills and knowledge that will always be in demand.You will have a way to take care of yourself and family when this economic system comes apart.From where I sit I think you will have it better then millions of other people.Gratitude and thankfulness for what you do have will change your perceptions of your situation.Being greatful always helps me.
I can’t think of anything I’m less apt to spend time worrying about than a natural disaster of sufficient magnitude to wipe out the human species.
I just wouldn’t want to be the relative handful of survivors.