Yellowstone volcano: Why did a researcher say the "time bomb" was waiting to burst | Science | New



[ad_1]

The Yellowstone Caldera is a supervolcano located below Yellowstone National Park and likely to cause considerable damage worldwide. Pinned between the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, the volcano is constantly monitored by the USGS (United States Geological Survey) for any signs of a super-eruption. The recent earthquake in California caused some anxiety among the public, who asked if the magnitude 7.1 event could trigger an eruption.

In 2017, the Smithsonian Channel has released a documentary entitled "This could be the next Mount St. Helena", in which they claimed that an eruption was late.

They said: "There is a volcano in the United States with the potential for devastation on a larger scale.

"It is 575 miles from Mount St Helens in the northwest corner of Wyoming.

"For more than a century, tens of millions of visitors have marveled at the breathtaking landscapes of Yellowstone.

"But under this spectacular beauty lies a time bomb.

"Yellowstone is one of the largest volcanic systems on Earth and scientists call it a supervolcan because of the size of the explosions of the past."

The theory behind this stems from the last three eruptions forming a caldera, which took place 2.1 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago and about 630,000 years ago.

Many believe that this proves that we can expect another supereruption in the future.

However, scientists from the USGS say that this theory could not be more wrong.

Their website reads as follows: "First of all, recurrence intervals based on only two values ​​can not be presented, this would have no statistical significance.

"But for those who insist, let's do arithmetic. The three eruptions took place there are 2.1 million, 1.3 million and 0.64 million years ago.

"The two intervals are therefore 0.8 and 0.66 million years, an average of 0.73 million years.

"Again, the last eruption occurred 0.64 million years ago, implying that we are still about 90,000 years from the time we could consider calling Yellowstone a another delay in caldera formation eruption.

"Nevertheless, we can not rule out the possibility that another eruption of this type will occur in the future, given the volcanic history of Yellowstone and the continued presence of magma beneath the Yellowstone Caldera. . "

It is also believed that signs of an upcoming eruption, such as swarms of earthquakes and rapid deformation of the soil, would be detectable for weeks, if not months, before.

The Yellowstone Park ranger, Rebecca Roland, had also previously revealed how "warning signs" would indicate that Yellowstone had arrived at the end of its volcanic cycle.

She said in 2017: "There are volcanic cycles – geysers, hot springs, these are evidence of the heat below and the end of the volcanic cycle.

"So, what would most likely happen would be something like a hydrothermal explosion rather than an eruption."

[ad_2]

Source link