Posted on 03/10/2007 8:19:17 AM PST by aculeus
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered what likely triggered the eruption of a "supervolcano" that coated much of the western half of the United States with ash fallout 760,000 years ago.
Using a new technique developed at Rensselaer, the team determined that there was a massive injection of hot magma underneath the surface of what is now the Long Valley Caldera in California some time within 100 years of the gigantic volcanos eruption. The findings suggest that this introduction of hot melt led to the immense eruption that formed one of the worlds largest volcanic craters or calderas.
The research, which is featured in the March 2007 edition of the journal Geology, sheds light on what causes these large-scale, explosive eruptions, and it could help geologists develop methods to predict such eruptions in the future, according to David Wark, research professor of earth and environmental sciences at Rensselaer and lead author of the paper.
The 20-mile-long Long Valley Caldera was created when the supervolcano erupted. The geologists focused their efforts on Bishop Tuff, an expanse of rock that was built up as the hot ash cooled following the eruption. The researchers studied the distribution of titanium in quartz crystals in samples taken from Bishop Tuff.
A team from Rensselaer previously discovered that trace levels of titanium can be analyzed to determine the temperature at which the quartz crystallized. By monitoring titanium, Wark and his colleagues confirmed that the outer rims of the quartz had formed at a much hotter temperature than the crystal interiors. The researchers concluded that after the interiors of the quartz crystals had grown, the magma system was "recharged" with an injection of fresh, hot melt. This caused the quartz to partly dissolve, before starting to crystallize again at a much higher temperature.
(Excerpt) Read more at redorbit.com ...
I'm not saying that the Yellowstone supervolcano will not explode again, I'm just saying that it may not be quite as bad as the last one was, because of the supposed movement of the magma chamber. Even an eruption 1/4th the size of the previous one would put a lot of people in a world of hurt for a long time!
But it makes life more exciting!
P.S. That photo doesn't look like the Bishop Tuff I've seen.
760,000 years ago.
wrong.
Even a minor eruption would take out our midwest bread basket, how much in the way of canned goods have you got stored up?
Hellava TUBA blast, yes? Reminds one of the UFO TUBA blast in the movie CLOSE ENCOUNTERS that shattered the glass in the tower on the set....
Great movie, some was filmed in my backyard:
Didn't know that about film sets/locations for CLOSE ENCOUNTERS. If you've ever actually been there at the devils tower you know how SMALL it is, and just an asphalt walkway around it. My father was born in Hulitt, WY; just a stone's throw away. There is another similar volcanic spire in the area but it isn't as prominent as the devil's tower.
I never saw that one, either; but when I found it, it looked so perfect...
supervolcano ping
He was very dubious, but my impression was that his doubts were not about the possibilities, but the likelihood that they had been developed and tested.
I retain an open mind.
Where did SecDef Cohen make those remarks about scalar weapons ?
DefSec Cohen was quoted in a newspaper article about scalar inferometer beam weapons back somewhere in the 90s. It's listed on the cheniere.org website somewhere, I remember seeing it. It's also used in weather control. It causes "carpenter's square"(L shaped)clouds. Sounds implausible until you actually LOOK at publically shown satellite photos, and THEY THEY ARE, big as life.
So maybe Tom Bearden isn't as crazy as some think he is. He may in fact be way ahead of the curve. I've seen, right in front of my nose, one version of the MEG/vacuum energy concept pulling EM power right out of the ZPE. It WORKS!
Yes, Toba was a big one left a crater 18 miles by 65 miles. Scientists think humans were reduced to 5 to 10 thousand individuals based on the DNA studies. Yellowstone has had 3 big ones and we are about due again. The last one was not the biggest. My father wrote a novel about the next big one which some day I may rework into a publishable form.
That sounds like it would be an interesting read! The whole idea is fascinating, and terrifying at the same time.
This constitutes a blantant anti-trust violation since you are the only two providers of supervolcano eruption insurance. Of course, for a little piece of the action, I could be convinced to look the other way. ;-)
Let's lobby our favorite government official, and make some real money, shall we?
Now you're talking. No better moneymaker than a legal monopoly. Isn't this what Ross Perot did?
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GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution. |
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