Whats going on at yellowstone?

Does make sense. If the quakes are happening VERY close to the surface (which they are) then it would seem to be worse than if they're happening lower down.

Yay! good news! But yeah, things should be alright as long as they stay like this.

reply to post by spinkyboo


spinkyboo, I appreciate your intent, but really....IF the major eruption that may occur at the 'Yellowstone' location should happen, there is really nothing that modern society could do to prepare.

There would be massive starvation, not just in North America, but around the World as the dust and pumice clouds were carried by the upper winds.

This devastation would likely last for generations....not just a year or two....generations. A massive volcanic event WILL affect the entire planet, for years and years. AND, there will be a 'domino effect', as eco-systems fail, one after the other.

Point is: We are powerless, even with all of our technology, to prevent a major volcanic eruption. IF it is large enough, it will be catastrophic. It might not wipe out all life, but will likely devastate most species....including us.

Fourteen quakes eh?
Has someone alerted Questiongall?

Endless lulz

reply to post by weedwhacker


Yep your absolutely right....

But what else is there to do besides discuss it on a discussion board?

We all know this would be a devastating event, but its human nature to talk about our impending doom(s).

I really don't get the fear-mongering and angst.

ATS: OMG, we're all gonna die!
Official sources: "This sort of swarm of earthquakes is normal activity."
ATS: ... OMG we're all gonna die!

Why do people doubt the official report of this being normal? Has anyone bothered to check past swarm activity to see if this is typical?

reply to post by weedwhacker


If knowing that it was happening and NOT being in the immediate "dead zone" was your fate, if and when it happens, then you have time to hug your children and parents more before your end, you have a chance to love your fellow man and help one another before your end.

Who knows, if you happen to live around highly intelligent people of diverse genres, you might even devise a way to survive long enough for the worst to pass.

Then maybe, just maybe, you - or your descendants - could start anew

reply to post by fleabit


I'm still looking into it, but what I have found so far is that most swarm activity occurs on the edges of the caldera, not in Lake Yellowstone, and I have yet to find (so far) a swarm in the region of Lake Yellowstone that consisted of 22 quakes all withing a 2 mile radius.

So while it may still be in the records, I haven't found it yet.

But so far, this does seem to be an unusual swarm activity

reply to post by fleabit


Actually there has been no swarms in this particular section.

USGS said there were swarms in the area in the past, but looking back you can't find any for this part.. only the general park region.

If you had read full thread, this you would know.

The largest swarm was only 8-12 in a period as well, we are sitting at 21 right now.

It is an area of interest.
It is something that will eventually rear its ugly head.

Fear mongering, no.. discussing events as they happen, yes. You have to remember this is still an ongoing event.

reply to post by fleabit


I feel that even if this is normal, it's not "everyday normal". When this thing finally blows, there will probably be a swarm, so anytime it's acting up like this, it couldn't hurt to keep an eye on things. The idea of that monster shaking concerns me, even if it's happened before, and the seismograph looks like a colorful nightmare right now.

My point is --- the area is being monitored by GPS to look for significant uplift, as well as has been pointed out, seismographs.

Look --- if this thing blows, then there is NO WAY to evacuate averyone in time. Even people on the East Coast of the USA will be affected within about 48-72 hours. (this assumes the normal prevailing winds being West-to-East). The entire Planet will feel the effects within one week...

But, to re-emphasize, this may NOT even happen for another 200, or 2,000 years! We don't know, and panic is not an option.

As to the minor 'tremors' in the area....could be a good sign, showing that stresses are being relieved.....

copied from glp

23 of them so far.

MAG DATE LOCAL-TIME LAT LON DEPTH LOCATION
y/m/d h:m:s deg deg km

2.5 2008/12/28 22:30:04 44.507N 110.371W 0.8 61 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.2 2008/12/28 22:23:37 44.511N 110.369W 1.2 61 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
1.9 2008/12/28 21:29:18 44.522N 110.385W 1.0 59 km (37 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.9 2008/12/28 21:25:54 44.504N 110.364W 0.6 61 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.2 2008/12/28 16:57:57 44.509N 110.372W 0.9 61 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.0 2008/12/28 16:08:25 44.491N 110.390W 1.7 60 km (37 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
3.2 2008/12/28 12:55:17 44.499N 110.350W 0.4 63 km (39 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.6 2008/12/28 12:32:15 44.511N 110.352W 0.3 62 km (39 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.4 2008/12/28 08:37:41 44.523N 110.370W 0.4 60 km (37 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
3.2 2008/12/28 02:23:57 44.505N 110.363W 0.4 61 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.2 2008/12/28 00:15:19 44.487N 110.358W 0.4 62 km (39 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.1 2008/12/27 23:37:20 44.491N 110.383W 0.2 60 km (37 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.4 2008/12/27 22:23:54 44.490N 110.360W 1.9 62 km (39 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
3.8 2008/12/27 22:15:56 44.492N 110.365W 0.2 62 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.6 2008/12/27 17:08:50 44.493N 110.354W 0.4 62 km (39 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
3.2 2008/12/27 15:30:03 44.495N 110.367W 0.2 61 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
3.4 2008/12/27 13:26:27 44.488N 110.365W 0.3 62 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
3.5 2008/12/27 13:17:32 44.481N 110.362W 0.7 62 km (39 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.3 2008/12/27 11:56:35 44.484N 110.367W 0.5 62 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.8 2008/12/27 11:23:07 44.490N 110.369W 0.1 61 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.5 2008/12/27 10:01:07 44.484N 110.367W 0.2 62 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
2.6 2008/12/27 09:30:53 44.497N 110.368W 0.4 61 km (38 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT
0.5 2008/12/22 19:07:25 44.630N 110.995W 6.0 9 km ( 6 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT


Notice how more of them are getting progressively deeper over time and that the initial tumbler even though it only registered at 0.5 was at 6.0km in depth... It would seem to me that with these being so close to the surface we are seeing cold water from the lake seep into the cracks produced and it is slowly coming into contact with the magma or heated rock and producing deeper quakes over time.

If the initial quake was at 6.0km, it would seem that with all of the water seeping in from these shallower quakes that they would keep going until they hit that 6.0km mark so you have to ask...what is at that 6km mark? Is it a solid heated rock formation or, is it magma, if it is magma and the super cooled winter water hits it then it would seem natural that it would literally "let of a little steam".

A very interesting thing to ponder, IMO

reply to post by redhatty


good bud, find us a 22 so I can go to bed... 8 swarm best anyone has come up with yet in 2004.

edit: also, that first one claiming to be part of this swarm streak happened 5 days before, so I'm not sure it really justifies what he is saying.

22 includes only those from 12/27 on.

[edit on 29-12-2008 by TrueAmerican]

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Sorry my friend, even back in 1984 when there was a period of 100+ tremors a day, they did not have them all in one spot, nor did any one spot that they did occur in have 23.

Best I've been able to deduce is that while "swarms" are common, what they actually mean is that a bunch of individual quakes/tremors happen within a specific amount of time.

ALL of them happening in the same spot like what we are seeing happen has not been recorded, that I can find at least.

reply to post by spinkyboo


“Why do people say that? There is nothing you can do about it? What is that?
Paying attention IS doing something.
Perhaps there will be time for some people to get out -
take precaution -
alert others –“

OK, sit down with a paper bag mister. With the VEI being so large, if this is our warning sign….now would be the time to flee the area. Here is what it could deliver.

Mount St. Helens released ~1.2 km3 dense rock equivalent (DRE) of ejecta back in the 1980’s when it erupted. It was huge, ask anyone who saw it. The Yellowstone Caldera last erupted around 630,000 years ago and it released about 1,000 km3 of DRE over the continent. Imagine almost 1,000 times Helens in every way.

All life within 100 miles will die within the first 30 minutes from the center. There will be no escape for anyone within 400 miles of it. Ash will cover the area within 1-2 hours of eruption up to 20 feet deep! Chunks the size of refrigerators will rain down within 200 miles along with millions of tons of smaller boulders and ash. The weight of this ash will be 8 times heavier than snow, so all buildings will fail and collapse.

Those attempting to escape by car will suffocate; engines will not work, and automobiles will be crushed and buried on the roads. Cities as far away as 800 miles can expect 2-4 feet deep of ash over a 6 hour period. All traffic will stop. There will be no escape routes for survivors to travel; even on foot.

Eight hours into the event, the sky will darken rendering the populace in perpetual night. Those hiding in their basements last memories will be of hearing their wooden homes straining under the weight of the ash and the sound of their neighbors roofs caving in. No rescue will be possible; nor attempted for many months.

Even with several months of food and water you are likely to be crushed to death within your own basement; smothered attempting to flee the area, or starved with time.

It’s as serious as a heart attack. A world event like this would trigger the next evolution of our species. This looks a lot like the seismic activity we recorded at Mount Pinatubo in 1991. Deep quakes followed by shallow quakes. Graph the depth and cross reference the magnitudes; you will see a cascading (collapsing) pattern. Layers of rock giving way as it blisters. Why worry, there is no escaping it if you are there, there is nothing you can do now to change your situation unless you are willing to flee on the current signs and take your luck.

Otherwise, sit back and try to enjoy.