Posted on 06/29/2017 9:50:33 AM PDT by johnk
More than 800 earthquakes have now been recorded at the Yellowstone Caldera, a long-dormant supervolcano located in Yellowstone National Park, over the last two weeks - an ominous sign that a potentially catastrophic eruption could be brewing.
However, despite earthquakes occurring at a frequency unseen during any period in the past five years, the US Geological Survey says the risk level remains in the green, unchanged from its normal levels, according to Newsweek.
The biggest earthquake in this swarm - which registered a magnitude of 4.4 took place on June 15, three days after the rumblings started. That quake was the biggest in the region since a magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck close to Norris Geyser Basin in March 2014. This magnitude 4.4 earthquake was so powerful that people felt it in Bozman Montana, about eight miles away.
A scientist from the University of Utah said the quakes have also included five in the magnitude three range, and 68 in the magnitude two range.
The swarm consists of one earthquake in the magnitude 4 range, five earthquakes in the magnitude 3 range, 68 earthquakes in the magnitude 2 range, 277 earthquakes in the magnitude 1 range, 508 earthquakes in the magnitude 0 range, and 19 earthquakes with magnitudes of less than zero, the latest report said.
An earthquake with a magnitude less than zero is a very small event that can only be detected with the extremely sensitive instruments used in earthquake monitoring.
The 'Sunset Lake' hot spring in Yellowstone National Park.
There is normally a rise in seismic activity before a volcano erupts. And scientists currently believe theres a 10% chance that a supervolcanic Category 7 eruption could take place this century, as pointed out by theoretical physicist Michio Kaku.
An eruption, Kaku said, is long overdue: The last one occurred 640,000 years ago.
To be sure, the swarm has slowed down considerably this week, and larger swarms have been recorded in the past, according to Jacob Lowenstern, the scientists in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
Yet the possibility that the volcano could be on the verge of whats called a supereruption should be enough to give the government pause. But scientists have said recently that theres some evidence to suggest the next one could occur this century.
"Grand Prismatic" Hot Spring at Yellowstone.
So how would a supervolcanic eruption at Yellowstone impact the regional ecosystem, and the US more broadly? Well, as Liberty Blogs Michael Snyder points out, it would be nothing short of catastrophic. Hundreds of cubic miles of ash, rock and lava would be blasted into the atmosphere, and this would likely plunge much of the northern hemisphere into several days of complete darkness. Virtually everything within 100 miles of Yellowstone would be immediately killed, but a much more cruel fate would befall those living in major cities outside of the immediate blast zone such as Salt Lake City and Denver.
Hot volcanic ash, rock and dust would rain down on those cities literally for weeks. In the end, it would be extremely difficult for anyone living in those communities to survive. In fact, it has been estimated that 90 percent of all people living within 600 miles of Yellowstone would be killed.
Experts project that such an eruption would dump a layer of volcanic ash that is at least 10 feet deep up to 1,000 miles away, and approximately two-thirds of the United States would suddenly become uninhabitable. The volcanic ash would severely contaminate most of our water supplies, and growing food in the middle of the country would become next to impossible.
In other words, it would be the end of our country as we know it today.
The rest of the planet, and this would especially be true for the northern hemisphere, would experience what is known as a nuclear winter. An extreme period of global cooling would take place, and temperatures around the world would fall by up to 20 degrees. Crops would fail all over the planet, and severe famine would sweep the globe.
In the end, billions could die.
So yes, this is a threat that we should take seriously.
RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!!!!
Reminding people in the heart of this article....”To be sure, the swarm has slowed down considerably this week, and larger swarms have been recorded ‘in the past’,.... according to Jacob Lowenstern, the scientists in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
And Dick Cheney will emerge from this disaster. Unscathed.
Standing next to Keith Richards.
They have no power to stop it regardless......if and when it comes then it is what it will be....or not.
Simple solution. Throw in a virgin and a case of orange Crush.
Women and minorities to be hurt the most and certainly the result of Trump dumping the Paris climate agreement. I doubt an eruption at Yellowstone would be given more than a text crawl on CNN and not interrupt the continuous spewing of Trump hate
The headline and first paragraph say “We’re all going to die ANY minute.”
The second paragraph says “Probably not.”
Here you can see the Snake River Plain hot spot trail. It traces the movement of the NA continent over the deep-seated stationary hot spot. Look dead center (left to right), and about 1/4 of the way down from the top.
We live about 35 miles east of Yellowstone Lake
If we see it start to rise well be packing up and heading west ASAP.
If you live east of Yellowstone and head west, won’t you be heading right into it?
I just ook a USA map & a protractor & made a 600 mile radius circle around Yellowstone.
Inside that circle-—OR VERY CLOSE to it:
Denver-Colorado Springs-Las Vegas-Santa Fe (NM) -—Northern 1/3 of Arizona-—ALMOST ALL of Nevada including Reno & Carson City—80 % of Oregon—80% of Washington—ALL of Idaho—All of Montana— 3/4 of N Dakota —3/4 of S Dakota— 1/2 of Nebraska—NW corner of Kansas.
Think I am kidding? Do this exercise for yourself.......
Maybe they want to take a few selfies of it exploding?
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/yellowstone_hazard_44.html
LOL. The USGS is hedging its bets on the type of lava...
Trying to get upwind of it, I would guess.
According to Dr. Sheldon Cooper: “Geologist are not real scientist!” So they brought in a physicist.
Sorry. Couldn't help myself.
Nah. The Democrats will vote for the No Eruption Bill, and it will make it's way through the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, where the SCOTUS will affirm the Bill on a 5-4 vote.
Problem solved.
That’s about how they think.
They’ll also want to impose a new tax on air pollution.
Lol!
That sucker Obama loves hot dogs.
It would be too late.
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