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Is something getting ready? Geologists discover a new hotspot in Yellowstone, the supervolcan that kills trees in a hot corner of land the size of FOUR football fields
- Scientists have spotted more and more areas of "tree felling" where the soil seems to be hot
- It has been forming for about 20 years in the Yellowstone hinterland
- Experts say that this is not a concern and corresponds to the expected activities
A new spa area has appeared in Yellowstone National Park, further sign of the ever-changing activity of magma beneath the surface.
The satellite imagery revealed an area of about eight hectares – or the equivalent of four football fields – where the soil is warmer than the surrounding area, causing the death of the trees and vegetation of this parcel.
Scientists have just confirmed its existence, but the USGS (United States Geological Survey) estimates that it has formed over the past twenty years.
A look at images dating back to the 1990s confirmed what they suspected: a clear and growing spot in the middle of the forest. by 2006, the beginnings of a 'tree destruction zone' will become clear in the images. Now the change is undeniable
In a new ticket for the USGS weekly Caldera Chronicles, scientists have revealed the existence of a new thermal area near Lake Tern.
These areas are home to one or more thermal elements, such as hot springs or geysers, of which more than 10,000 are scattered throughout the park.
USGS explains that the thermal characteristics are grouped in about 120 different thermal zones.
In the backcountry, between the already established regions of Therma Lake Therma and West Tern Lake, scientists have noticed a growing area where trees seem unable to survive in recent years.
A look at images dating back to the 1990s confirmed what they suspected: an increasingly bright spot in the middle of the forest, signaling heat below the surface.
On the right, dark pixels represent frozen lakes in winter. Lake Tern West could thaw due to hot springs from nearby hot springs. The clear (warm) pixels between West Tern Lake and the Tern Lake Thermal Region have appeared in the last 20 years.
"The analysis of a Landsat-8 nocturnal thermal infrared image acquired in April 2017 revealed an unexpected warm zone between the western Tern Lake and the previously mapped thermal area of Lake Tern," says USGS.
In 1994, the space between the Lake Tern thermal area and Western Tern Lake was covered with trees and vegetation
"This mysterious patch of bright pixels in the thermal infrared image does not match any previously mapped thermal area."
In 1994, the space between the thermal area of Lake Tern and Lake Tern West was covered with trees and vegetation.
But from 2006, the beginnings of the "tree destruction zone" appear clearly in the images.
Now, the change is undeniable.
"The most recent image of the 2017 Tern Lake area reveals a vast area of dead trees and shiny ground, a bit like a spa," says USGS.
"Of all these satellite and aerial imagery, we conclude that a new thermal zone has emerged in the last 20 years!" Added the team.
Its appearance is not worrying. According to experts, the activity corresponds to the expectations of the Yellowstone region.
CAN YOU PREVENT SUPERVOLCANO YELLOWSTONE ERUPTION?
Recent research has revealed a small magma chamber, known as the magma reservoir of the upper crust, below the surface
NASA believes that drilling in the supervolcano below Yellowstone National Park to drill high pressure water could cool it down.
Despite the fact that the mission would cost $ 3.46 billion (2.63 billion pounds), NASA considers that it is "the most viable solution."
The use of heat as a resource is also an opportunity to pay for a plan – it could be used to create a geothermal power plant, which generates electrical energy at extremely competitive prices. about $ 0.10 (0.08 £) per kWh.
But this method of mastering a supervolcan has the potential to turn around and trigger the supervolcanic eruption that NASA is trying to prevent.
"Drilling in the top of the magma chamber" would be very risky; However, careful drilling of the lower sides could work.
This USGS graph shows how a "super eruption" of molten lava beneath Yellowstone National Park would spread ashes in the United States.
Even in addition to the potential devastating risks, the plan to cool Yellowstone by drilling is not simple.
This would be an extremely slow process that would occur at a rate of one meter per year, which means it would take tens of thousands of years to cool it down completely.
And yet, there would be no guarantee that he would succeed for at least hundreds, even thousands of years.
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