Yellowstone 'Supervolcano' much larger than previously thought

Yellowstone supervolcano a ‘much larger system’ than scientists had thought



The supervolcano hidden beneath Yellowstone National Park in the US is even more enormous than had previously been thought, scientists say.

The cavern of magma lying under the famous landscape – which account for its distinctive hot springs and geysers – is actually around two and a half times the size of earlier estimates, according to new analysis.

A team from the University of Utah said the findings were “astounding” when presenting the study to the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco.

Scientists found the underground cavern stretches for more than 90km (55 miles) and contains 200-600 cubic km of molten rock, BBC News reported.

But they sought to assure the public that the supervolcano being bigger than thought doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in the probability of it erupting.

Last time that happened, the entire of North America was blanketed in ash and there was a shift in the whole planet’s climate. A great deal of research has gone into a better understanding of Yellowstone – and the forces that could lead to such a catastrophic event reoccurring.

Prof Bob Smith, from the University of Utah, told the BBC: “We’ve been working there for a long time, and we’ve always thought it would be bigger... but this finding is astounding.”

More at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/yellowstone-supervolcano-a-much-larger-system-than-scientists-had-thought-8997264.html


Lets hope it's not going to erupt any time soon then!

Oh thanks, I haven't been freaked out about this thing enough lately

I once saw someone saying that if it erupted it would only leave (maybe) the U.S. coasts still inhabited. I've been trying to find out whether that's true ever since ...

In only tangentially related, but hilarious news:

Doris McGrath bolted out of bed early Monday, waked first by an earthquake, followed by the voice of her singing Christmas tree, Mr. Everett Green.

Like a scene from a bad horror movie, Mr. Everett Green began belting out O Christmas Tree as the 3.7-magnitude earthquake hit about 10 miles north-northeast of Mineral Wells, near Perrin.

“He’s got some type of sound sensory that when you clap, he would start singing, but he hadn’t been working very well,” McGrath said Monday from her home in the Mitchell Resort and RV Park near Perrin. “When that earthquake hit though, he started singing.”

http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/12/09/5404556/overnight-quake-brings-singing.html

Oh that's just brilliant! Really made me giggle! Hope you are not anywhere near Yellowstone Ben. Went to USA many, many years ago and one of the places I wanted to go to was Yellowstone, but they had fires and asked people to stay away. I was really upset. Highlight was going to Martin Luther King's memorial. Mind you, travelled for months, from Houston up to above San Fran and then back to Houton and over to Virginia etc. Had a wonderful time.

That's cool, I'd like to see more of my own country and travel abroad as well. America's so big, you really have to pick and choose

I'm in Texas, so no telling what would happen to my home state if the Yellowstone supervolcano erupted ...

Stayed on a ranch in the Big Bend area. Tell you how long ago, Jesse Jackson was running for President!