Earthquake Swarm at Yellowstone Supervolcano: Update (top scientist Volcano Observatory)

usnews ^ | 1/1/09 | james methokokis

[Flavius]

So what is the latest with the ongoing earthquake swarm at the Yellowstone supervolcano caldera? Here is my just-completed email chat with Dr. Jacob Lowenstern of the U.S. Geological Survey, top scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory:

How would you characterize the recent level of seismic level? Terms like "swarm" are pretty alarming. How would place this level of activity in historical context to what the USGS/YVO have tracked before?

Lowenstern: Swarm refers to seismicity when there isn't a typical mainshock/aftershock sequence. In other words, the events are more similar in size. Swarms are very common at Yellowstone. This one is clearly bigger than normal, and is the largest since 1985. There were also some large swarms in the 1970s, but the seismic network was much cruder at that time and we weren't able to locate earthquakes as well.

[Flavius]

i cant find the previous post with search button

[briarbey b]

I don’t understand the big secrecy about it all. Data disappearing...the map will say one amount of quakes the list will not reflect it. Its terrible when you have to suspicion every move made by media and gov. sigh.

[fanfan]

Ping

[Flavius]

http://www.seis.utah.edu/req2webdir/recenteqs/Maps/Yellowstone.html

i dont get this data

[TYVets]

great information, thanks for posting

[Eye of Unk]

Measure the ground rise, time the geysers, get a thermal ground survey from space, compare it to archives.

Whenever our volcanoes in Alaska have dome bulges it means the magma beneath is growing. If this is the case it would be a huge disaster in the making, then we should consider relieving the pressure by other means, even to go as far as drilling holes nearby and detonating nukes to vent the pressure.

Either that or an event a thousand times worse than Krakatoa, literally a near extinction event. An eruption of Yellowstone would decimate the north eastern US, trigger the Madrid Fault in MO, put enough ash in the air to circle the earth many times, it would create an ice age, it could conceivably reverse the magnetic polarity of the poles.

Nothing to lose sleep about, the Messiah will stop it with a snap of his fingers.

[Flavius]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlchXvrySWs

[reg45]

It’s George Bush’s fault.

[Myrddin]

The timestamps and latitude indicate a shift north of the quake activity. It started out in the lake and is moving north toward the shoreline.

[TYVets]

Same map with animation.

http://quake.utah.edu/req2webdir/recenteqs/Anim/anim_yell.html

An animated map of Yellowstone National Park ,,,,Total of 291 earthquakes on the map. 280+ quakes under the lake since Christmas Day.

[Flavius]

where does the lake come from
and whats under the lake

and yes im going to go google it but keep getting sidetracked

[upchuck]

I’m with you.

Hey dannyprimrose1, got a link to the previous post with this headline?

[Flavius]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF-RKzqNtz0

[JohnJeykis]

My expert meteorological advice is strong winds and not much harmonic.

[Myrddin]

Winds are current W at 9 MPH, gusting to 28 at Yellowstone Lake. My wife and I left the Walmart in Pocatello and a gust almost knocked us down. Wind in Pocatello is SSW 25 G 35 MPH as of 7:40 PM MST.

[Myrddin]

Nice animation. 3 more new quakes in the last hour.