Yellowstone Volcano - Ready to Destroy

This topic has been discussed, but it is a reality that could literally "Blow" any time now. The bases of the scientific community is unsure of the exact times of eruptions in the past, as far as they can tell, approx. 700K to 800K years ago, it is now thought to be at the age of 630K since the last eruption had taken place.

Volcanic hazard
A full-scale eruption of the Yellowstone caldera could result in millions of deaths locally and catastrophic climatic effects globally, but there is little indication that such an eruption is imminent. [1] However, the system is not yet completely understood, and the study of Yellowstone is ongoing. Geologists are closely monitoring the rise and fall of the Yellowstone Plateau, which averages +/- 1.5 cm yearly, as an indication of changes in magma chamber pressure.[1][2] Major eruptions of the Yellowstone hotspot appear to occur roughly every 700,000 years. The Lava Creek Tuff eruption 630,000 years ago was the last major eruption. The Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field developed through three volcanic cycles spanning two million years that included some of the worlds largest known eruptions. ...

Here's a survey map from the USGS with colored legend of areas and places of interest.



(Hope that pic worked? )

www.nationmaster.com...

I live in the Dakotas of the USA, and they actually have an evacuation plan in hand, but the one thing that does allow fear to be instituted into the individuals that live in these areas of concern is that the warning may not be soon enough.

To put things into perspective:

Mount St. Helens explosion in 1980 lasted for nine hours and ejected about 1.2 cubic kilometers of material. Some of the ash circled the globe and stayed in the air for two weeks.
Yellowstone Caldera blew 600,000 years ago, ejecting 1,000 k3 of material and covering half of North America in two meters of debris.
The Toba event 75,000 years ago ejected 2,300 k3 of magma and ash over a two week period, causing the global temperature to drop as much as 10° C in a volcanic winter that lasted six years
The Toba supervolcano has a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) rating of 8, or "mega-colossal", topping the scale (there is no 9).

There has been a "Super Volcano" comparison and it looks as if "Toba" has won the "Biggest Kid on the block" award.

www.alphapatriot.com...

Here's a excerpt from a documentary that was done sometime back with Tom Brokaw, it doesn't really talk of when the the caldera will erupt, but it does talk about the effects it would have on the planet and the people of the world.

BBC FILMING DOCUMENTARY ON JUNE 22, 2004


EDITORS NOTE: On 7-31-05, I watched a film on the Discovery Channel with Tom Brokaw, most of which was fiction based on a future scenario but, based on real science of Yellowstone history, and using real films from Mt. St. Helens' (1980), Phillipines - Mt. Pinatubo (1991), Hawaii, and Central America. The film was very well done with real science interspersed into the fictionalized future scenario.
The scenario was based on the real 2003 heat up of the Norris Geyser at Yellowstone and the fact that it has been shown that the land is raising over time. Norris Basin itself has raised 5 inches, and the entire Caldera has raised 35 inches since 1923.
It is also known that one end of Yellowstone Lake is 100 feet higher than it used to be and flooding the land at the other end and killing the trees. Trees in various parts of the park are dying because their roots are cooking from the heat under the ground. Bison have died from gas coming out of the holes in the ground.
Water is now boiling along the trails. Some people have fallen into this water and been severely injured. Some paths are now closed.
In the film, they told people that there might be an imminent small eruption and they should prepare for 3 days of being home, and then evacuated all the people from 100 miles around the caldera.
In reality, if there is an eruption, larger than Mt. St. Helens, we would need at least a year's worth of supplies because no food could be grown, farm lands would be useless, temperatures would drop by as much as 15 degrees. Within 3 months, the entire world would be covered by clouds.
Millions of people would die - most within the surrounding 100 miles - fewer people would die from inhalation of ash as it spreads mostly east and south from the caldera in widening circles around the area. 600 miles from the caldera is not safe at all.
FEMA could not handle this big an event. The U.S. economy would come to a halt. Grocery stores would empty out, airlines, trains, buses, and roads would stop.
Though at the end of the film, during the last half hour, Tom Brokaw and workers at Yellowstone Park tried to make it seem like nothing is going to happen, it is already known that the scientists who are monitoring what is going on at Yellowstone is being withheld from the public.
The real truth is, WILL NOT BE TOLD HOW BIG OR HOW BAD AN ERUPTION CAN BE, and the last word by the Yellowstone worker was, "Come and visit Yellowstone and see how it really is."
This is probably a good idea - people 'should' go see what is going on. Don't just go there and see how pretty all the steam and water is that is shooting up out of the ground. Find out the real science of the area and how it is changing.

www.earthmountainview.com...

Here's another read that declares the Yellowstone caldera as one of the 4 most scariest scenarios facing our planet.

Picturesque Yellowstone National Park, one of the most beautiful natural tourist destinations in the world, sits atop one of the largest super volcanoes on the planet. If it erupted, the consequences for the entire planet would be catastrophic. What are the chances it will erupt soon? Geologists say it has an eruption cycle of about 600,000 years and last erupted about 640,000 years ago… meaning, it’s well overdue. And it’s been estimated that Yellowstone’s next eruption could be 2,500 times greater than the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. According to The Discovery Channel, which broadcast a documentary about the Yellowstone volcano, “a full-scale eruption of the Yellowstone hot spot would result in a disaster of global proportions." Ash would cover the entire Western half of the United States; the park would be completely wiped out, along with any nearby towns; the plume of ash would reach 20 miles into the atmosphere, lowering global temperatures and plunging us all into a volcanic winter.

paranormal.about.com...

As for the exact time and date, there is no verifiable moment to extract from the existing knowledge of the Yellowstone caldera, all we can say for sure is that it is on the "Growth" path that the scientists have been monitoring for the past century.

Originally posted by gordonwest
reply to post by Unknown_Significance

 

I belive that a major earthquake in the 9.5 OR higher that would need to make Yellowstone Volcano erupted. No, and a big eruption as if Yellowstone Volcano would blow would not destory most-all of USA.

Gordon I think if Yellowstone went then everybody in the U.S. (even the Nothern hemisphere) would experience some very drastic lifestyle changes.
As for quakes and tremors triggering volcanoes,theres an interesting account here of how 3 Aleutian volcanoes erupted at the same time earlier this year-seemingly perplexing the scientists and vulcanologists involved.
They now think it was caused by an earthquake/faultline tremor-a once in a thousand year event::
www.abovetopsecret.com...


[edit on 02/10/08 by karl 12]

The eruption of Yellowstone does'nt bear thinking about.The effects would be felt all over the world. Here in the uk we would hear the explosion as a massive bang and the sky would actually look rather beautiful- a bit like the aurora.About a week later the ash would arrive,the sheer weight of it would collapse roofs.The world would be a very inhospitable place with all sunlight blocked out ,no crops or livestock and freezing temperatures eventually.This could well be a SIXTH EXTINCTION event although I think there will be pockets of survivors.There is absolutely zippo we can do about it apart from keeping our fingers crossed that it,s not in our lifetime.The definative documentary on yellowstone was shown a few years ago on the BBC-----HORIZON.It was the first time i'd heard of supervolcanoes and the programme blew me away!

Thanks for everyones insightful responses...
It seems Yellowstone is not as dangerous as said.

Originally posted by Unknown_Significance
Thanks for everyones insightful responses...
It seems Yellowstone is not as dangerous as said.

Oh... dont be mistaken. It is! Its not an "extintion level event" that will erradicate all living forms in the planet, but... it will change things a lot and millions will perish to that beast thats for sure.

The humanity will wake up in the next day and... it will be different from all we know today. All we took for granted before bed doesnt exist or its at least half of what it was.

At least we get some pretty skies here as the brit there mentioned before me...

But it will be something to tell your grandsons about it! If you live to tell about it.

Originally posted by MilitieTempliSalmo

Originally posted by Unknown_Significance
Thanks for everyones insightful responses...
It seems Yellowstone is not as dangerous as said.

Oh... dont be mistaken. It is! Its not an "extintion level event" that will erradicate all living forms in the planet, but... it will change things a lot and millions will perish to that beast thats for sure.

The humanity will wake up in the next day and... it will be different from all we know today. All we took for granted before bed doesnt exist or its at least half of what it was.

At least we get some pretty skies here as the brit there mentioned before me...

But it will be something to tell your grandsons about it! If you live to tell about it.

oh......... oh.......... ok
Maybe it won't happen for a while!

so idaho will be destroyed is that what im taking from this?? will alaska be fine, besides the ash?

We would basically have to revert back to what it was like in the 12th century,no electricity,no cars,no super markets etc etc alot of people who survive the initial explosion will die just from not being able to feed themselves or keep warm.

reply to post by DataWraith


Harmonic tremors continue in the Yelllowstone area particularly in the Mary Lake area. This is based on following the sesmic recorders managed by the University of Utah. Lava is still rising and there are periodic spurts of small earthquakes. This is continuous activity since mid December.

reply to post by mopusvindictus


Oh man I NEVER thought of that. It would make it explode, wouldn't it?
I never thought of that.