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Yellowstone Supervolcano "Even More Colossal" Than Thought
BBC ^ | 12-10-2013 | Rebecca Morelle

Posted on 12/13/2013 6:20:25 PM PST by TroutGuy

The supervolcano that lies beneath Yellowstone National Park in the US is far larger than was previously thought, scientists report.

A study shows that the magma chamber is about 2.5 times bigger than earlier estimates suggested.

A team found the cavern stretches for more than 90km (55 miles) and contains 200-600 cubic km of molten rock.

The findings are being presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco.

Prof Bob Smith, from the University of Utah, said: “We’ve been working there for a long time, and we’ve always thought it would be bigger... but this finding is astounding."

If the Yellowstone supervolcano were to blow today, the consequences would be catastrophic.

The last major eruption, which occurred 640,000 years ago, sent ash across the whole of North America, affecting the planet’s climate.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Wyoming
KEYWORDS: booboo; caldera; catastrophism; earthquake; earthquakes; jellystone; pipsqueak; supervolcano; volcano; volcanos; wyoming; yellowstone; yellowstonecaldera; yellowstonevolcano; yogibear
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To: TroutGuy

What you really should be thinking about is what happens when all those nuclear power plant reactors and their spent fuel pools all go bang from lack of cooling. Really think about it now and tell me that they will be able to maintain cooling on dozens of these things with power out and transportation impossible. And everything buried in Ash. Look what happened to world from just one power plant in Japan. In this case there will be dozens. And it will be even far more impossible to deal with.


61 posted on 12/13/2013 8:52:54 PM PST by Revel
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To: GraceG
**** by multiculturalism, *** by multiculturalism.

I suppose Pele might not be requesting the most important Hawaiian, but rather a virgin Hawaiian. In that case, feed Pele the Hawaiian with the virgin birth certificate.

62 posted on 12/13/2013 9:27:12 PM PST by JohnBovenmyer (Obama been Liberal. Hope Change!)
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To: TroutGuy
contains 200-600 cubic km of molten rock

The NY post said it is between 125 and 185 billion cubic miles of molten rock.

63 posted on 12/13/2013 10:02:25 PM PST by Mike Darancette (Do The Math)
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To: null and void; Right Wing Assault

What a gneiss guy.


64 posted on 12/13/2013 10:19:39 PM PST by Rodamala
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To: Usagi_yo

Make steam, run steam turbines, generate electricity. WIN.


65 posted on 12/13/2013 10:21:08 PM PST by Rodamala
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To: Rodamala

I have known loess in my heart.


66 posted on 12/13/2013 10:26:39 PM PST by null and void (I'm betting on an Obama Trifecta: A Nobel Peace Prize, an Impeachment, AND a War Crimes Trial...)
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To: Mom MD
Adam and Eve were created as fully formed adults, not babies.

Yet Jesus was.

Not saying creation was exactly 6000 years ago, but God is not limited by our puny speculation

It's hardly speculation. God obviously wants us to figure out his creation. I don't think he created the effects of crustal plates moving over hot spots to deceive us. The same goes for the magnetic striping of ocean floors.

67 posted on 12/13/2013 10:29:17 PM PST by Moonman62 (The US has become a government with a country, rather than a country with a government.)
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To: TroutGuy

wow, we really need Obama’s “Affordable Care Act” in case this Yellowstone thingy blows up!!


68 posted on 12/13/2013 10:35:36 PM PST by Enchante
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To: ETL

Excellent graphic, ETL! Where did that come from? Thanks!


69 posted on 12/13/2013 10:56:29 PM PST by Hetty_Fauxvert (FUBO, and the useful idiots you rode in on!)
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To: TroutGuy

What’s interesting is Yellowstone Lake is rising. While out on a visit there a couple years ago they pointed out how once submerged boats are now on dried lands. This is caused by a growing volcanic gas pocket underneath the lake pushing the lake upwards. To get the full effect of what this super-volcano would do, one just has to look at a map of the US and see how it changed the geographic landscape west of the Mississippi.


70 posted on 12/14/2013 12:39:37 AM PST by HarleyD (...one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.)
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To: TroutGuy
I follow this fairly closely since it will be my rear end if it goes off, and the September swarm definitely got my attention.

I worked a project in Brigham City, UT a few years ago, and, like you, kept track of those swarms. If Yellowstone goes Big Time, you'll be the first to know (and go), but the rest of us (as far as the "go" part) won't be too many days/weeks/months behind.

71 posted on 12/14/2013 12:52:02 AM PST by BwanaNdege (Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. J.F. Kennedy)
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To: Mom MD
It does say in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and the earth was without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep.
Without form and void ? what would that mean then ?
A big blob on goo in the middle of our solar system ?
Besides ? one day to God is as like a 1000 years.
It could have took God 6 days but to us ? it could have been 6,000 years to do what he did in those first chapters of Geneses.
Then he could have set in place our current element of time as we know it.
So the Earth could be 12,000 years old.
Besides ? before there was light the earth could have been a blob of volcanic heated rock in the middle of our solar system.
72 posted on 12/14/2013 1:25:19 AM PST by American Constitutionalist
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To: wastedyears

This sounds like a great heat/power source like in Iceland. They could probably supply power to most of the west very cheaply at the same time reducing the risk of a Mt St Helen’s type of event


73 posted on 12/14/2013 2:35:38 AM PST by Jimmy Valentine (DemocRATS - when they speak, they lie; when they are silent, they are stealing the American Dream)
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To: Hetty_Fauxvert

You’re welcome.

It came from here:
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/yellowstone_geo_hist_52.html


74 posted on 12/14/2013 3:24:21 AM PST by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: wastedyears

Well cheer up its about 60,000 years til its due to blow up again. I plan to be playing a harp way before that. :-)


75 posted on 12/14/2013 9:08:44 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: Jimmy Valentine

How do you safely get thermal power from a volcano?


76 posted on 12/14/2013 1:16:54 PM PST by wastedyears (The Ender's Game movie was a stupendous, colossal, galactic failure to me.)
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To: wastedyears

77 posted on 12/14/2013 1:20:51 PM PST by JoeProBono (SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED;-{)
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To: JoeProBono

Thank you for that.


78 posted on 12/15/2013 2:18:08 AM PST by wastedyears (The Ender's Game movie was a stupendous, colossal, galactic failure to me.)
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