[Petronski]

So, does Ahmed think that an extraordinarily large blast on the Yellowstone caldera would trigger a cataclysmic eruption?

<LiberalArtsStudentMode> Could it? </LiberalArtsStudentMode>

[Ichneumon]

Could it?

Yes it could. However, the big question is just how "large" the blast would have to be...

If a few kilotons could do it, we'd be in big trouble (on the other hand, if Yellowstone were that unstable it'd probably go off soon by itself anyway). But if 200 megatons wasn't big enough, then we have nothing to worry about. I don't think anyone could say for sure.

[rwfromkansas]

Hey, I go to a liberal arts college.

[LayoutGuru2]

I am no expert in this area. Heck, nobody is, nobody has ever done anything like this. My degree is in computer engineering so I have some knowledge of the dynamics and physics. Personally I feel a surface blast of a large nuke would not cause a cataclysmic caldera eruption. Any hope of causing something like this would require finding the sweet spot (depth and minimum yeild of the blast) and this is not a scientific discipline that is taught or even considered anywhere. Possibly some theoretical computer modeling could assist given that it could be fed the relevant and proper data points. I doubt the jihadists have access to anything like this. At best this would be an attempt based on their whacked out prophecies. Maybe Ahmed has been watching too many disaster movies. Unless there is currently a huge amount of pressure to be released there, something like this would just result in some spectacular localized lava flows, a 'hot' site and fallout downwind. Okay, I am done speculating. BTW, is this foil hat supposed to cause orange streaking of the hair?