Posted on 11/08/2007 1:47:04 PM PST by blam
Magma surge causes record rise at Yellowstone
19:00 08 November 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Catherine Brahic
The remains of the Yellowstone supervolcano in the US is huffing and puffing and rising by up to 7 centimetres a year, say researchers. They speculate this rise is caused by a mass of molten rock the size of Los Angeles being forced from the Earths mantle into the magma chamber beneath the ancient volcano.
But the researchers, led by Wu-Lung Chang of the University of Utah in the US, caution that the movement does not mean an explosion is imminent. Calderas the massive craters that are left behind when a volcano collapses all over the world go up and down over decades.
The Yellowstone caldera was formed during the huge volcano's last massive eruption 642,000 years ago, which released enough ash to cover half of the US with tens of centimetres of ash. As the magma chamber was emptied out during the eruption, the volcano collapsed, creating the massive crater.
The area remains North America's largest volcanic field, fuelled by a gigantic plume of hot, molten rock which begins at least 400 miles beneath the surface. Blobs of magma occasionally break off and bubble up, resupplying the Caldera's magma chamber. The heat generated by this chamber powers Yellowstone's famous geysers.
Fastest rate From mid-2004 to late 2006, Chang and colleagues measured deformations at the surface of the caldera using GPS stations and radar measurements made from the European satellite Envisat.
Earlier in 2007, another team used similar measurements to detect bulges in the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii, which has helped them determine where the next eruption of the volcano is likely to happen.
(Excerpt) Read more at environment.newscientist.com ...
this surge isn’t working!
It's a good thing I live 10,000 miles away in the South Pacific... Hmm, the resulting tsunami might be a problem though.
If that volcano erupts the survivors across the US will have to worry about our food supplies. Ash will cover the midwest.
Heck, I get CTV, and watch Corner Gas.
I’m very close to Yellowstone, south about 200 miles.
We recently had a small earthquake in the area, I wonder if its related?
Calvera..... in a recent thread, he had a star named for him after it was learned there were actually 8 in the group maned the magnificent 7
BTW, I'm not a seismologist or volcanologist, nor do I have any connection to the USGS or Yellowstone. :-)
Oh, it's OK as long as you don't start jumping up and down.
Oh, also, don't swim in a boiling pool or let a bear eat you. Other than that it's fine.
It might not be time to start dumping virgins and Clearasil into that thing yet, but our ability to measure such small movements is a tribute to the state of technology. We will get lots of warning before it's time to evacuate the entire eastern half of the country.
I don't know... How do bears taste? I wonder if the game "Oregon Trail" is still being used in schools to demonstrate the hardships encountered by American settlers heading west.
Aside from killing bears, deer, and anything that moved for food, your party would also run the risk of being slaughtered by Indians.
You should have stayed in San Diego. ;-)
· join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · | ||
[singing] Hey, hey magma, said the way you move, gonna make it sweat, gonna make it boom...
Thar she blows!!!
LOL!
The extreme western portion of the U.S. near the coast would fair much better then Idaho, eastern Washington, Nevada, Montana, Utah, Wyoming and just about everything else downwind, east and southeast of Yellowstone. Good luck.
I'm in Florida, so will get to starve to death in the dark.
Well I’m hoping it waits at least a few centuries more..... in 1000 years humans will likely have a far better capacity to be resilient in the face of such a disaster, that is so long as we can survive global warming.... /s
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.