Just In: Yellowstone's Ancient Supervolcano 'Lukewarm'

Science Daily ^ | August 28th, 2008

[Raineygoodyear]

The geysers of Yellowstone National Park owe their existence to the "Yellowstone hotspot"--a region of molten rock buried deep beneath Yellowstone, geologists have found... But how hot is this "hotspot," and what's causing it?

In an effort to find out, Derek Schutt of Colorado State University and Ken Dueker of the University of Wyoming took the hotspot's temperature They found that the hotspot is "only" 50 to 200 degrees Celsius hotter than its surroundings.

"Although Yellowstone sits above a plume of hot material coming up from deep with the Earth, it's a remarkably 'lukewarm' plume," said Schutt, comparing Yellowstone to other plumes.

[rosenfan]

This hypothesis appears to be a bit better researched than a “wild ass guess”. While there is not yet sufficient evidence to put any certainty on the figure, it seems to be a reasonable theory.

[count-your-change]

Nat. Geo channel had all these earnest and eminent scholars on telling me how “The Big One” was just waiting around the corner, smoking a cigarette and hoping for a chance to WIPE OUT ALL LIFE just after I made a car payment or something. No wonder they’re off the air.
But now the even more earnest and “I haven't had a hair cut since I was 7 years old” types are saying not to worry and I can go ahead and invest in stuff that lasts longer than a politician's promise. Like say ice cream around kids.
Since most of the geologists talking about super volcanoes are just a little too cool about Pittsburgh being turned into Pompey I suggest all the volcano experts relocate to Yellowstone as Park Rangers.

[SuziQ]

I'd like to think Yellowstone has become disconnected from its magma chamber, since the last map I looked at predicted I'd have a 50-50 chance if the caldera blew. :-))

On one of those many catastrophe shows about the Supervolcano at Yellowstone, one scientist said that it's unlikely it will blow in the way folks think. He thinks the magma chamber might be moving under the mountains, and it won't be able to blow out the thin crust of the caldera.

It is an amazing and beautiful place, though. We took our kids and my b-i-l out there in 2003, when they had closed parts of the park because it had gotten so hot in those places.

[colorado tanker]

I agree Yellowstone is a very special place, one of America’s crown jewels. A visit to there and the Grand Tetons is really unforgettable.

[SuziQ]

A visit to there and the Grand Tetons is really unforgettable.

Our kids loved that trip! Our two older sons were in college, and the two younger were high school age. They all had a terrific time. We even took hubby's older brother along. We stayed in a ski-in ski-out house in Big Sky Village in Montana about an hour south of Bozeman. We were about 1 hr. North of the West gate of Yellowstone. The kids enjoyed hiking in the mountains, and riding the gondola car up to Lone Peak. They would all enjoy going back, but we'd like to take them to the Rocky Mountains sometime.