Posted on 12/30/2008 3:42:22 PM PST by maquiladora
Any disaster fiend will tell you that Yellowstone National Park is long overdue for a monster eruption that could leave as much as half the U.S. under a blanket of ash. And there are rumblings the big one could be imminent in the wake of a series of 30-plus mini-earthquakes in the park over the past few days—too weak to be felt by humans for the most part but picked up by the seismometers at the University of Utah.
After all, the geologic record shows that the giant caldera we affectionately call Yellowstone has blown every 600,000 years or so over the past 2 million years. The last big eruption? About 640,000 years ago when the park spit out about 240 cubic miles worth of rock, dirt, magma and other stuff.
But don't panic yet. Although the earthquake swarm continues, according to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, the volcano alert level remains normal. And a slew of larger earthquakes have occurred throughout the western U.S., Alaska, Puerto Rico and even Pennsylvania in the past week without incident, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
In recent years, Yellowstone's caldera has been rising thanks to uplifting magma beneath it—leading to more cracks, hot springs and even more frequent eruptions of Steamboat Geysers. Paired with the earthquakes, such magma movement might presage an eruption—either big or small. Unfortunately, scientists can't really predict when the next such eruption will happen, and the range of possibilities is large: from later today to a million years from now.
How will we know if we should start worrying? The real warning signs will be rapid changes in the shape of the ground as well as volcanic gases leaking from the ground, neither of which have been sighted—yet.
"Eruptions are far enough apart that there is a very low probability of the next eruption happening in our lifetimes or anytime soon," Daniel Dzurisin of the USGS told me in 2006. "The flipside is: [Yellowstone] has been active for millions of years and it's going to erupt again sometime."
Cool it off by using it as a huge geothermal plant
12/21/12
Natural disasters will cease to exist under the new messiah reign
The otherwise hapless SEC should take the lead on this. Watch the geologists. When they start shorting every stock west of the Alleghenies, run.
Earthquakes, pestilences, wars and rumors of wars, 666, gosh, the Bible is one AMAZING book, isn’t it? :)
Someone tell Jonah Goldberg. He has an unhealthy fascination with volcano lancing.
Mother natures global warming engine...Volcano’s and the sun.
Indeed. But what would really be amazing is if you could identify any time since it was written when there weren't any earthquakes, pestilences, wars, or rumors of wars.
-ccm
I’m far enough away to be safe, and close enough to enjoy the glow...
Another one to watch is Mt. Rainier - I believe the problem is based on the type of volcano - Hawaii for example, has what are known as “shield” volcanos, mellow and laid back with slow eruptions. Pyroclastic volcanos are a different deal, very explosive. And lots of the Seattle area are built up on ancient mud flows called lahars. Bad deal, if it goes... The Yellowstone caldera - and Yellowstone lake proper, are the remnants “a puddle” of what used to be a huge volcano! Yikes.
The article said — “The flipside is: [Yellowstone] has been active for millions of years and it’s going to erupt again sometime.”
I saw the movie and it’s a monster eruption... :-)
Yes we ‘cano!
I’ve always taken that passage as a reference to degree & scale.
So how's life on the moon these days? :^)
A typical liberal atheistic response.
Coming all at once at the same time as the Antichrist, no, they haven’t all happened in conjunction together with that, yet. However there are foreshadowings.
“”Yellowstone supervolcano obliterates Western U.S., women and minorities hit hardest” “
And George Bush in his last defiant act, did nothing to prevent it.
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