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A 3.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Yellowstone supervolcano. Over 140 earthquakes have been recorded under Yellowstone Lake in less than 24 hours. The USGS warned that earthquake swarms were “common” and urged the public not to be concerned.
However, some people fear the earthquakes in Yellowstone may be a sign of a supervolcano eruption beneath the park.
The USGS tweeted: “Earthquake sequences like these are common and account for about 50% of the total seismicity in the Yellowstone area.
“This swarm is similar to the one that occurred at roughly the same location in December 2020.”
Within this swarm, there were 40 earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 2 and two events with a magnitude of 3.
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Seismic activity has increased in recent weeks in this volcanic area.
USGS scientists have said June is an exceptionally active month for earthquakes.
Yellowstone recorded 445 earthquakes during the month, more than double the monthly average which ranges from 100 to 200 earthquakes.
But officials stressed that there was nothing to worry about about the recent activity.
On the reasons for the recent activity, the USGS explained, “Some swarms are driven by a slow fault slide which causes earthquakes on a few sticky areas of the fault.
“More swarms are generated when cracks filled with magma force their way through the crust.”
A Yellowstone earthquake observer, who runs the YouTube channel MrMBB333, expressed concern that “the strength of these swarms in the center of Yellowstone supervolcano lake is intensifying over time.”
He added: “Magnitude 3.1 is not an exceptionally large earthquake size, but its location is a big deal.”
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