Yellowstone's Explosive Secret

CBSNEWS.com ^ | Tuesday, March 23, 2004 | Sandra Hughes

[Momaw Nadon]

(CBS) For years, CBS News Correspondent Sandra Hughes reports, scientists have tried to understand the dynamic nature of Yellowstone National Park.

"It's beautiful up here, everybody should see this at one time or another," says one appreciative observer.

Scientist Lisa Morgan may have unlocked one piece in the puzzle, deep below the park's biggest lake.

"It is kind of the last unmapped frontier in Yellowstone National Park," says Morgan.

What she found looks more like the surface of the moon. Using sonar she's identified a massive bulging dome the size of seven football fields. The only other underwater dome in Yellowstone was the site of a major explosion.

"The most extreme event, which occurred 13,800 years ago, went about as far as five miles away from source," says Morgan.

It spewed boiling water, steam and rocks, and the fear of it happening again started another explosion of sorts: this one on the Internet. Online doomsday scenarios are swirling all over chat rooms telling visitors to stay away. Yellowstone, they warn, could blow.

Yellowstone National Park sits on top of one of the most active volcanoes in the world with more than 10,000 vents, geysers and bubbling hot springs. That's part of the reason more than 3 million people come here each year.

So for Morgan it is important to clarify. She doesn't think the big dome is ready to explode, but park ranger Hank Heasler says Yellowstone is unpredictable.

"The bottom line is we still don't know all that much about what's going on at Yellowstone," says Heasler.

So he takes the job of keeping visitors safe seriously, constantly monitoring temperatures.

And that's not always easy. A trail near the Norris Geyser was closed last summer and is still boiling hot enough to burn through shoes.

"If the temperatures here gets above boiling, then we know that there's a potential for the water to just rapidly flash to steam and cause one of these hydrothermal explosions," says Heasler.

Which is exactly what Old Faithful and her companion geysers do almost daily and that's why scientists from around the world are watching this latest discovery and wondering what nature has planned next.

[Momaw Nadon]

FYI and discussion

[So Cal Rocket]

It's Bush's fault.

[Momaw Nadon]

Old Faithful Geyser erupts in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. (Photo: AP)

[SZonian]

Algore invented it

[DooDahhhh]

I knew it!

[IYAS9YAS]

And here I thought they meant beans and campfires.

[Sacajaweau]

Happened 13,800 years ago....Do they have a newspaper or something?? Was it a Thursday? Geez...

[null and void]

I'm glad they are finally giving this mainstream coverage.

Related threads:

Scientists closely monitoring Yellowstone. 200 degree ground temperatures reported.
Frequently asked questions about recent findings at Yellowstone Lake
In Yellowstone, a Subterranean Volcano Exerts Its Influence
Its Time to Cast a Worried Eye Toward Yellowstone
Earthquake felt in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone Lake Hints at Buildup to Hugh Blast.
Thermal activity closes part of Yellowstone
Alaska quake shakes Yellowstone park, too
Yellowstone More Volcanically Active than Previously Estimated
Super Volcano In Yellowstone National Park

[Truth666]

Exactly. Of course they also know that there was water in Mars ...

[kennedy]

It's Bush's fault.

Women and minorities hit hardest.

[Truth666]

But that even I found out before NASA ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1054783/posts?page=1,50

[UCANSEE2]

Real nice. They make it sound like if it blows, every one needs to back up 5 miles.

If it blows, everyone needs to back up at least half the continent.

As the links above show, the Yellowstone CALDERA is a SUPERVOLCANO and if it blows, the best bet will be to BE ON MARS.

[Don Corleone]

BOO!

[SuziQ]

This is not a new story, though it may have taken CBS this long to get to it. We took our family out to Yellowstone last summer, and there were concerns about this bulge back then! The temperature of the water in parts of Yellowstone Lake were much higher than normal. Frankly I was nervous the whole time we were there!

A HUGH part of the park sits on top of a caldera, and when that thing blows, it will be BAD NEWS for the western part of the US, and not so good news for us in the East either. The map of the park has the caldera boundaries clearly marked, and you can see the differences in vegetation from inside and outside the lines. The stuff on top of the caldera is sparse and scrubby, while outside the lines it is green and lush.

It is really a gorgeous place, and we had a great time.

[theFIRMbss]

>It's Bush's fault.
>>Women and minorities hit hardest.

Yellowstone will stay
just fine if everyone goes
to see The Passion.

[JmyBryan]

Couldn't this be used for geothermal power generation. Seems to me like we have the makings of energy independency right in a national park. ??

[reagan_fanatic]

We all know that Bush is keeping the upcoming eruption a secret until election day to corner the sympathy vote and steal the election from Kerry.

I know this cause the democrats told me so.

[theFIRMbss]

>A HUGH part of the park sits on top of a caldera, and when that thing blows, it will be BAD NEWS for the western part of the US, and not so good news for us in the East either.

Sounds series. Let's hope
all the moose don't freak out and
start biting people . . .

[RightWhale]

I was nervous the whole time we were there!

Last time I was at Yellowstone there was a massive earthquake right after I left. I deny all responsibility, but I also haven't been back and don't intend to go back.

[John H K]

Real nice. They make it sound like if it blows, every one needs to back up 5 miles.
If it blows, everyone needs to back up at least half the continent.

No, like most of the clueless hypemongers that totally misunderstand this story, you fail to understand that there's a vast difference between the underwater lake dome exploding, and the caldera exploding, and have confused the two.

Calderas have a WIDE VARIETY of eruption modes. For every time an entire caldera explodes, there will be hundreds or thousands of small cinder cone eruptions, bursts in geyser activity, phreatic explosions, lava flows, etc. over tens of thousands of years.

The bulge in the lake exploding IS NOT THE ENTIRE CALDERA exploding.

If the bulge in the lake explodes it's no danger to anyone that isn't in the park near the lake. And it won't trigger the caldera exploding or really be any sort of sign the caldera might explode.

And caldera explosions are so rare on the grand scheme of geological things to worry about in the US it's very low on the list....a collapse of Mt. Rainer, the Hayward fault going in Oakland and Berkeley, a hidden thrust fault in LA going, New Madrid...those are all things that realistically could happen in someone's lifetime.

[Siegfried]

Hey the real news right now is the sudden burst of small earthquake activity around North Sister mountain in central Oregon. About 50 small quakes less than 2.0 on Tuesday and lots more today.

To recap, in 1997, scientists using satellite photo mapping and interference imaging with earlier satellite photos detected a bulge on the north face of North Sister (near Bend, OR) Over the following years the bulge has been growing.

So far, scientists have cautioned that they can't see any reason to expect anything unusual, just a bulge, that's all.

I'm waiting to hear if the scientists are beginning to change their minds given that the place is becoming seismically active.

[Fiddlstix]

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
OOPS!
Wrong thread.....
Sorry....

[Psycho_Bunny]

Is EVERYONE at CBS a twit?

How did this article get written without the word 'caldera' appearing once?

[Judith Anne]

Placeholding bump to myself.

[CommandoFrank]

Roughly 35 years ago come college kids smuggled a 3 or 4 foot piece of 12" pipe with a round wheel valve attached to one end. When Old Faithful started to erupt, they stood the pipe on the end, uncovered it and started spinning the wheel. It looked like they were turning on the water to the geyser. The Park Ranger's did not see the humor... The rest of the country laughed their butt's off...

[CommandoFrank]

come = some

[Oorang]

I've been trying to follow the "Sisters bulge" story for a while. Do you know of any sources that are following this that I can periodically check? Thanks.

[KOZ.]

a moose bit my sister once.

[Pagey]

Great, this could be this years October surprise,right? I can hear Hillary blaming George W. Bush already.

[oyez]

Maybe that is just what we need to cut California loose.

[BobS]

Well, don't just sit there, do something!

[nightdriver]

Does anyone know how deep the water is at the highest point of the dome on Yellowstone Lake's bottom? Just wondering.

[NorseWood]

Bump

[UCANSEE2]

Well, after getting past your personal attacks, I was able to continue reading your response, and now can respond.

YES, the article was about the dome in the lake, and the possibility the dome could rupture, thereby releasing the pressure, but doing so by releasing this energy through the water, creating steam. This would likely only affect a small area centered around the lake.

I UNDERSTOOD THE ARTICLE. What I was trying to point out was that the lake dome is only the tip of the iceberg. There is much more to the story.

Nothing of what I said is untrue. The LINKS provided by another poster give relevant information on the Yellowstone caldera and the potential damage it could cause.

You seem to imply that the Lake Dome will undergo a pressure release, and all will be OK.

WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK THE PRESSURE CAME FROM? WHAT DOES THE BUILDUP OF PRESSURE IN A VOLCANO USUALLY INDICATE TO THOSE WHO MONITOR IT?

Here is your statement:

If the bulge in the lake explodes it's no danger to anyone that isn't in the park near the lake. And it won't trigger the caldera exploding or really be any sort of sign the caldera might explode.

Will you guarantee the above statement? Can you factually prove the last sentence? Are you aware most scientists don't agree with you?

I seem to remember a bunch of semi-informed, half-educated human beings who repeatedly informed the press and anyone else that would listen that Mount St. Helen's wouldn't erupt either.

I wonder what they think now? Oh wait, I can't ask them, they are buried under tons of lava.

I am not a fearmonger, nor a placater. I am merely trying to help people be as informed as possible. To be prepared and have it not happen is best.

[satchmodog9]

Clarke warned Bush about this.

[Doe Eyes]

It's Bush's fault.
Women and minorities hit hardest.

Hard not to miss the Liberal Press in action. This was never mentioned while Clintoon was President.

[jimtorr]

Try the home page for the Cascades Volcano Observatory, a USGS website dedicated to the volcanoes in the Cascade Mountains range.

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/

This home page has links to a large amount of information on volcanoes and the entire USGS internet prescence. I find it quite valuable.

[T Minus Four]

Fine. I live in Northern Utah and may never sleep again. Terrorism, West Nile virus, super-volcanoes in my backyard, Hitlery as Veep, baby bunny murderers, carbohydrates ...

Where does it end?[assumes anguished expression, shakes fists heavenward in despairing gesture]

[Oorang]

Thanks very much.

[Cold Heart]

I love this stuff. FR has some of the best updates on natural science.

I remember going up the Columbia River and seeing the bulge on St Helens before she blew. After she blew Govt. told people not to go out in the falling ash. TV crews interviewed some teens driving by on I-5 asking what they were doing driving out there. There response was that this was a once in a lifetime experience and they were going to enjoy it. From some safe place, this grandpa wants to enjoy as much of that stuff as I can too.

[doug9732]

Yellowstone is a giant volcano, and the most beautiful place on the continent. If it ever blows up again there's no place on earth that will be unaffected.

[chmst]

Calm down dude. The caldera scientists I've talked to (UNM we have some of the best) think that the ground at Yellowstone is too broken up for an eruption greater than say 10 time bigger than Mt. St. Helens. The next big eruption from a ring volcano is probably going to be the Valles caldera here in New Mexico. The ring fracture is almost complete so sometime in the next 50,000yrs or so. When you see a new cinder cone forming in the middle of Valles Grande, run.

[SuziQ]

That would be VEY series, especially if our sisters were involved!

[SuziQ]

carbohydrates ...

Dang things will get you every time!

[theFIRMbss]

>Terrorism, West Nile virus, super-volcanoes in my backyard, Hitlery as Veep, baby bunny murderers, carbohydrates ... Where does it end?

There's a man goin' 'round takin' names. An' he decides who to free and who to blame. Everybody won't be treated all the same. There'll be a golden ladder reaching down. When the man comes around. The hairs on your arm will stand up. At the terror in each sip and in each sup. For you partake of that last offered cup, Or disappear into the potter's ground. When the man comes around. . . .

[null and void]

As the links above show, the Yellowstone CALDERA is a SUPERVOLCANO and if it blows, the best bet will be to BE ON MARS.

Why? Just because the møøselimbs will see it as a sign from their pig god?

(Isn't Krakatoa how so much of Indonesia ended up møøselimb?)

[null and void]

And it won't trigger the caldera exploding or really be any sort of sign the caldera might explode.

Unless, of course the lake drains into the caldera, and flashes to steam...

[null and void]

So far, scientists have cautioned that they can't see any reason to expect anything unusual, just a bulge, that's all.

North Sister - Mt. St. Helens, same diff...

[Cuttnhorse]

I've always thought the Long Valley caldera in eastern California will be the next major erruption within the CONUS. Lots of earthquake swarms, near-surface geothermal activity...the right kind of host rocks...and history. The Bishop tuff is only 700,000 years old.

Who knows? But fun to conjecture.

[null and void]

Geeee, thanks Cuttn! That's my backyard.

Don't you have gold to mine, or sumpin???