Yellowstone Earthquake Swarm Puzzles Scientists

Live Science ^ | 30 December 2008

[CE2949BB]

A swarm of small earthquakes in Yellowstone National Park is the most intense measured there in years, leaving scientists puzzled.

[CE2949BB]

[xcamel]

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/yellowstone/index?tab=articles

[Puddleglum]

maybe they can drill some pressure relief holes to vent the super volcano.

[omega4179]

Think of how much toxic carbon would be put into the global climate. /s

[FreePaul]

maybe they can drill some pressure relief holes to vent the super volcano.

I hear they are looking for volunteers. Ready to sign up?

[CE2949BB]

Think of how much toxic carbon would be put into the global climate. /s

Extinction-level event.

[Puddleglum]

LOL! No, I just want to see someone try it. Put in some pressure-relief valves or something.

[LukeL]

All you need is a crew from an oil rig and an awesome monster ballad by Aerosmith

[unkus]

ping

[scottdeus12]

Bush’s Fault!!

man, you guys are slippin’....

[Dawn531]

Wasn’t there a made for TV movie with that scenario?

[Sawdring]

Looks like I'm safe, except for the low ambient light that prevents photosynthesis leading to mass starvation, cannibalism and the the eventual human divergence into the Eloi and Morlocks.

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks. That’s a neat way to keep track of threads, especially when something of interest has been happening (and showing up on FR) for days. :-)

It also reminded me to use the index for Israel to keep up with all the stories going on there now for a few days.

[xcamel]

Indeed... except when someone insists that you’re b1tch1ng about a repost..

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. I think this is informational, more pleasant.

[AGreatPer]

"Wasn’t there a made for TV movie with that scenario?"

A couple of years ago I remember something on this on the History Channel. As I recall, the explosion caused an ice age.

[ETL]

These types of volcanoes (those well inland) are especially powerful because of the type of magma involved. Continental magmas are thick and highly viscous. Thicker, more viscous (granitic) magmas tend to trap explosive gases more readily. Other types of volcanoes, like those in Hawaii and such, consist of basaltic magma. Basaltic magmas are a lot more fluid and so run out of a volcano, rather than blast. Volcanoes like Mount St. Helens, located at the boundary between continent and ocean, are a mixture of the two, and therefore intermediate in terms of their power and danger.

[ETL]

As I recall, the explosion caused an ice age.

Not an 'ice age'. At most, the ash and dust would have partially blocked sunlight for only a year or so, dropping global temps by a few degrees.

[xcamel]

“mentos into a bottle of warm coke” kind of explosive power... on a planetary scale.

[CE2949BB]

Morlocks all the way, man. :)