The Yellowstone Volcano

[HawkerHurricane]

Yellowstone a hotspot of contention

By SCOTT McMILLION Chronicle Staff Writer
The Internet news about Yellowstone National Park's volcano sure didn't look cheery.

In fact, it was ghastly.

"We are overdue for annihilation," claimed one Web site.

"There is no question that this thing is going to explode momentarily," asserted another.

And it went on from there over the past couple of months in chat rooms and e-mail messages.

One widely posted e-mail claimed the park contained a "dead zone" that was spreading outward, killing everything. Yellowstone Lake was "filled with dead fish floating everywhere."

more at

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2003/12/07/news/03whassupbzbigs.txt

[opihimoimoi]

1. This here is some real heavy Heavy shit

Forget the Terrorists, this is far worse.

Is anyone else worried bout this??

I guess not,

worried about the Dallas point spread and who bringing the beer.chips

[HawkerHurricane]

4. I'm not worried.

My Dad, who works thier every summer as a Ranger/Geologist is not worried.
Believe you me, if Dad were worried, he wouldn't go near the place.

First sign of impending eruption will be a horde of geologists and thier grad students flooding the park.
The last warning will be the same geologists and grad students fleeing the park.
"Last one out is a future archeological find!"

[sleipnir]

7. HA!

You're probably right, unless it blows without much warning. No one's had modern research on a super-volcano. Last one blew thousands of years ago, nearly caused the extinction of man at the time. The shit might be going down right now and we might not be able to detect it. The old, "You can't see the forest though the trees." There might be a few small signs but the geologists don't know exactly how to interpret them. I have a friend who's a geologist part-time (due to a Bush Economy) and he says this could be the real thing, in the next 9-12 months....

[renegade000]

24. could happen next week, could happen in 50,000 years.

the timing of these massive geological events aren't exactly precise.

whenever one of those documentaries says: "the yellowstone supervolcano erupts every 400,000 (or whatever i forget) years, and now we're 10,000 (?) years overdue!", i can't help but ask myself "yeah, with what sort of deviation do these 400k year cycles occur?"
its just one of those instances of implicit manipulation of statistics for dramatic effect.

[HawkerHurricane]

36. It could not happen at all!

We have 3 events, approxiamately 600,000 years apart. Nothing before that. It could be what we are seeing is the slow dying down of the 'hot spot' under Yellowstone.

[bearfartinthewoods]

10. the last time it exploded the entire human population of the world

was reduced to as few as 2000 individuals. humans as a species barely survived. we are overdue and the contour of the land is changing.

but really, what good would it do to worry. we are more likely to die on the way to work tomorrow.

[Snivi Yllom]

43. agreed, Terrorists are like a fly fart compared to this

Although there is NOTHING anyone can do about a world changing volcanic event.

[meow mix]

2. yeeps

someone better hurry up an toss some virgins in there!

[Gman]

5. LOL!!

That always seemed to work well to appease Vulcan!

[alfredo]

17. Yeah, but where you going to find

a virgin to sacrifice?

I am 59 years old, if it goes, I have lived a good life, no regrets.

[arcos]

3. it is not a lie...

""The volcano erupts with a near clockwork cycle of every 600,000 years," according to the Web site armageddononline.com, which notes the last big eruption was 640,000 years ago."

This is a fact, why are they suggesting it is a lie from an apocaliptic website?

"Scientists have revealed that it has been on a regular eruption cycle of 600,000 years. The last eruption was 640,000 years ago... so the next is overdue."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/1999/supervolcanoes.shtml

[sleipnir]

6. This comes up every month or so at DU, and I'll repost this helpful link!

This is a major shitstorm waiting to happen. This site may not be the most scientifically accurate (it's kinda fundie), but they seem to be the best at tracking the impending doom....with actual news clips and USGS reports.

If Yellowstone blows, it'll make the 9-11 international economic crash look like a picnic...

http://www.earthmountainview.com/yellowstone/yellowstone.htm

[regnaD kciN]

29. Hardly "fundie"...

That site falls more properly under the "New Age nutcase" designation. When the webmaster starts posting his dreams as prophecy, you know you're on pretty shaky ground.

[pansypoo53219]

8. a road melted recently in the park

happy to be in WI. anybody see that PBS thing about kracatoa causing the dark ages?

[Llewlladdwr]

13. That seems to difficult to credit.

Since the Krakatoa eruption was in 1883. Isn't the Dark Age generally considered to be the period between 500 and 1000 CE?

[HereSince1628]

33. I think in the PBS show it was suggested that an earlier

eruption bigger than the 1883 eruption was involved.

Doomsdays are things we seem to love to dread.

You can watch the earth-quake activity at Yellowstone at www.usgs.gov

it is one of the most active areas in the lower 48 states.

[HawkerHurricane]

31. Dear old Dad says...

No road 'melted'. The ground got hot in one stretch, hot enough that it was temporarily off limits; but it's in the geyser basin and happens regularly.

[quaker bill]

9. It is overdue

Which means it could happen next week or at any other time during the next 5000 years or so.

[groovedaddy]

11. Help stop plate tectonics!

I saw that on a tee shirt once. Seems applicable here. Where's a good super-hero when you need one!?!

[meow mix]

12. thats me =)

i have that t-shirt!
usually i wear it after the earthquakes.
(which have been suspiciously absent for a long time)

[TreasonousBastard]

14. WHOA! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!

So we got a major possible disaster like we've never seen before that may or may not happen.

Maybe the New Madrid fault will break again.

Maybe that asteroid will hit.

Maybe I'll slip on the ice and break my ass.

This last I might have some possibility of avoiding, but the rest of it I just can't be bothered worrying about.

[Blade]

15. I'm not worried...

yes, Yellowstone does have a history of erupting every 600,000 years or so as it shows in the geologic record, but, there is no need to worry about it.

It might not happen for weeks, months, or even years. As a geology student at the University of Minnesota, Morris, I know this first-hand. No need to worry, mates. :)

[finecraft]

16. Nearly Real Time Seismograph Readings

This site has about 15 different seismograph recorders located throughout Yellowstone. They update information about every 10 minutes for each one.
http://www.seis.utah.edu/helicorder/heli/yellowstone/index.html
It is unbelievable the amount of earthquake activity that goes on there.

[short bus president]

25. I wouldn't say "unbelievable"

only because there's lots of weird geological shit happening there. Why not expect some tremor activity in a place where hot muddy ooze bubbles out of the ground and geysers emit 30' streams of boiling groundwater into the air at regular intervals?

[alfredo]

18. the good news is,

it would rob bush of a second term, end the war in the middle east, and put an end to Fox neuz.

cheer up.

[ramapo]

20. Rid us of the damn snowmobiles, too

n/t

[Cleita]

19. I hate to sound like bad news,

but there is a whole string of volcanoes on the west coast that could erupt in this century like Mt. St. Helens including Mt. Ranier.

[camero]

38. I heard Ranier could be next.

Is the snowpack starting to come back I wonder?

[bvar22]

21. I would prefer a Yellowstone eruption to....

...a republican win in '04.

[renegade000]

23. touche

;)

[MrPrax]

22. Thanks Guys...

Now I am all spooked out...jeez

I am voting for the complacent types that say don't worry, be happy...


But then again...

[NewYorkerfromMass]

26. Would this be bigger than the Jemez Wilderness Caldera in NM?

That eruption was pretty damn big. Left a caldera 14 miles across and hurled material as far away as Kansas.


You can make out the rim of the crater in this satellite shot...........The large clear area in the east/southeast quadrant is the Valle Grande- 6 miles across its largest dimension.

[opihimoimoi]

27. There is a severe shortage of VIRGINs due to the need for them in the

Middle East. All those martyrs have created a massive shortage.

The Virgin Dealers, Virgins R Us, and VirginMart, are resorting to those lifelike vinyl blowups from XXXPlaywithME, Model #64.09 costing $87.08 ea.

Sorry, no real virgins to throw into the volcano

[this_side_up]

28. I read that Yellowstone is

50 x 70 miles and that it put 6 ft high pile of
ash as far away as Nebraska.

The 3 Sisters in eastern Oregon - the south Sister
has risen at least 4 inches in the past 18-24 months.
I haven't seen any recent reports on how that
is doing.

[bearfartinthewoods]

41. more..

Mt. Sheriden has been rumbling (15+ micro-quakes) between 1:00 pm and now (9/7/03). There were three small earthquakes at Yellowstone lake between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm MT (9/7/03), which were felt at Norris Junction. There were some small quakes between Midnight and 6:00 am (9/7/03) at Norris Junction. There was a whole string of micro-quakes (25 or more) at Madison River between 6:00 am and now, which are continuing. There have been sporadic micro-quakes (32+) all day at Mammoth Hot Springs. Micro-quakes started around Noon and have continued to the present at Mirror Lake Plateau. All in all, activity is picking up from a lull for about two weeks, before which a series of small and large quakes (including a 4.4) occurred. That quake prompted the web report.

Steam pressure is apparently building again, and hydrothermal fluids and steam are working their way up through fractures and vents. I do not expect anything unusual or extreme to happen in the immediate future, but if the trend continues, and the number of earthquakes gradually increase with time, more warnings from geologists will ensue.

What you should be alert to is any report that mentions increasing geyser activity, with new fumaroles and steam vents appearing near or on top of the rising dome. The dome has risen about three feet in the past few years, and magma has risen to within 3.7 km of the surface based on quake data. Earthquake loci measured to within 0.5 km under Mt. St. Helens, and people still didn't think it would erupt.

But everything has to be scaled up for Yellowstone, meaning that 3.7 km is not a safe depth. Ground temperatures in the northwestern part of the park are apparently on the rise (up to 200 dg F in some places), killing the vegetation. Large areas of the park are now closed, including areas with geysers, because their water temperature is now scalding and dangerous for visitors.

If more steam vents appear, that means a continuous pathway for pressure release has been established to the magma chamber. If that happens, the pressure in the magma chamber will continue to drop until it reaches a critical stage when the superheated water within the magma explodes. When that happens the super-volcano will blow violently, blowing out a chunk of its cap-rock and sending millions of cubic feet of ash into the atmosphere in a Pompeii-like explosion, but 100,000 times worse.

When you hear those reports, you will have about two days to "get out of Dodge" before the eruption. Unfortunately, as the steam venting subsides, there will be a false sense of security. People will think it was just another cyclical event, and the danger is over. But that will be the farthest from the truth. It will be the quiet before the storm. A major earthquake will suddenly rock their towns for hundreds of kilometers around Yellowstone, and soon thereafter 1,000+ degree pyroclastic flows will descend on them at hundreds of miles per hour, extending out to 600+ km.

That 600 km radius around the caldera will experience total devastation. The next 600 km out may receive as much as 5-10 feet of ash, depending on wind direction. The thickness of ash will decrease away from the super-volcano, but will reach the crop belt in the Midwest (Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, etc.), destroying most of the fertile croplands of the United States. California will be hit hard by falling ash, with its central wine valley severely damaged (the French will love it). Agriculture will have to shift east of the Mississippi for years. The Garden State will once again live up to its name.

In northern Idaho you will have to contend with several feet of ash and isolation. Roads will be closed. Power will be out. Phones will be out. Communication will depend on Ham radios and local stations that have generators. Rescue will take weeks or months. Some areas will never see rescue teams. The survivalists will be best prepared to make it through the difficult months following the eruption. Make new friends. Have plenty of dust masks on hand, because you cannot breath any airborne ash if you want to avoid lung disease. It's what caused mass kills of plains animals 12 million years ago, resulting in extensive bone beds beneath the ash. Drinkable water will sell at the price of gold.

To recap, I don't expect anything to happen in the near future. But with such an unpredictable event, being prepared is your best ticket to survival."

Dr. Bruce Cornet

http://www.rense.com/general41/yellowstoneupdate.htm

[NickB79]

30. Can I start using this as a pick-up line now?

"Hey baby, wanna come back to my place? The world is ending but we're just beginning."

[rman]

32. yeah. though they just found there's no mantle plume below YS

http://radio.weblogs.com/0105910/2003/12/08.html

"Viewing Inside the Earth

Last week, a study released by Princeton University said that geoscientists have captured images of the interior of the Earth by using techniques similar to body scanning by physicians. This study also revealed in-depth structures which might explain how our planet is changing -- and aging.
....
The researchers identified 32 plumes, but they got some surprises. Some of these plumes were very well correlated with known hotspots. Some others, like under Yellowstone National Park, were not found by this extensive survey."


Which isn't to say there's no super volcano under Yellowstone.

[Gin]

34. If it erupts...what areas would be affected?

gin

[HawkerHurricane]

35. IF it erupts...

Big IF to start out...

The corner of Wyoming that the park is in, of course, and the neighboring states...
AND
Places downwind would be eating ash...
IF it was big enough (second big IF)
It could cause global cooling effects due to the amount of the dirt and ash in the atmosphere OR
Global warming effects due to the amount of CO2 it kicks up!

[opihimoimoi]

37. Come Hawaii . Our volcanos not so dangerous

We only got hurricanes and tsunamis to worry about

If that baby blows in WY, we all gonna eat shit and die,

[sybylla]

40. It would be big

Saw a program on it on cable. Either Discovery or TLC show it about once a year. It's a bit hyperbolic concerning the consequences but sugggested it could be large enough to wipe out large parts of western states and dump several feet of ash across the rest of the US.

I'm no geologist, but I was impressed with the geological history of the area and surprised by the possiblity for future activity.

[ibegurpard]

39. Absolutely NOTHING can be done about it

So why worry?

[Snivi Yllom]

44. wait, I saw that Hillary Swank movie and they saved the world

well, San Francisco and Rome got microwaved....

[RichardRay]

42. I can see Yellowstone from here....

if I jump up in the air and look north. I'll keep an eye on it and post immediately if I see a huge plume of ash or fire.

[cprise]

45. The possibility of a chance--

What about the prospect of a massive geothermal project, at sites all over the hotspot, designed to generate hydrogen or some other fuel. This could slowly rob the crust of some of its heat and make it more stable over time.

Has anyone researched this?

[HawkerHurricane]

46. Could use the hot spot to run a geothermal project, BUT

You would destroy the hot springs, geysers, mud pots and other features that make it a unique national park.
And wouldn't do much to cool the hot spot, either.
I vote against.

[happyslug]

47. Other potential disasters are more likly:

1. How about Magnetic Field Reversal?

In about 1000 years the magnetic field will downgrade to Zero (It has been downgrading for Centuries). The question is what will happen? Most scientists think something will happen while before 1000 years as the field further weakens, for example the Magnetic Fields keep out radiation from the Sun. Exposure to that Radiation may kill of all life forms. Also, based on sea board flows in the Atlantic we know this occurs roughly every 25,000 years at the end the poles reverse. What will this have on our electronics?

http://www.psc.edu/science/Glatzmaier/glatzmaier.html

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/glossary/mag_field_reversals.html


2. What about the West Antarctic Ice Sheets (WAIS)?

Ice Sheets are truly stable when they are located within the Arctic or Antarctic Circle AND grounded above Sea level. The Three biggest ice Sheets in the world today are the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), the WAIS, and the Greenland Ice Sheet. The EAIS is the only one that is within the Arctic or Antarctic Circle AND grounded above Sea level. The WAIS is within the Antarctic Circle but is grounded BELOW sea level (so warm water do to Global warming can reach its base and undermine its groundings) and the Greenland ice sheet is grounded above Sea level, but is located BELOW the Arctic Circle (Where it is exposed to the increase heat caused by Global Warming).

http://pangea.stanford.edu/Oceans/GES206/papers/Scherer1998.pdf

http://www.glaciologia.cl/textos/vaughan.pdf

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/Impacts/Collapsing_Ice_Sheets.asp


2A - The Mad house Century - Global Warming and than an ice age:


http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/summer98/wr_sum98d.htm

http://www.imaja.com/change/environment/can/journal/madhousecentury.html

http://144.16.65.194/hpg/envis/doc97html/globalgl423.html




3. Mt Rainier, Earthquakes, Eruptions, Tsunamis

Mt Rainier exploding causes destruction of Seattle AND a Tidal Wave throughout the Pacific (it is believe this has happened several times before). I can not find anything on the net about the scenario, but it basically goes this way, Mt Rainier erupts, as part of its eruption earthquakes occur, causing tsunamis to hit throughout the Pacific (Including Hawaii, Japan, new Zealand and Indonesia) . This is what happen in

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami/Pdf/ps_tsunamis.pdf


4. Another Major Volcanos Eruption.

Volcano eruptions can cause problems word-wide for example the Year without a Summer:

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/history/1816.htm

http://www.exn.ca/volcanoes/weather.cfm

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/indonesia/tambora.html

Which is believed to have been caused by a series of Volcanos in the Pacific affecting the weather of New England (The eruption of Mt Tambora has been called the worse eruption in 10,000 years).

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/indonesia/tambora.html


Krakatau erupted in 1883 leading to Tsunamis as far away as the Arabia Peninsula (7000 miles away) were reported. It is the Second worse Volcano in recorded history, second to Tambora.

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Indonesia/description_krakatau_1883_eruption.html


Other eruptions with world wide impact:

http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~debari/309/description.html

Any other NATURAL catastrophes that people have been watching?