Yellowstone: New Shallow Quakes Right in the Sour Creek Dome

In the last couple of days, there have apparently been some small microquakes right in the Sour Creek resurgent dome:



www.seis.utah.edu...

The fact that there have been multiple quakes in such a short period of time, in such a critical spot as the resurgent dome- and the fact that they are very shallow- bears some notice. The SC resurgent dome is one of two known resurgent domes, thought to contain resurgent magma below. But in recent years that particular area has been subsiding, rather than inflating. And these quakes may simply be part of that subsiding process.

Unless these increase in frequency or intensity, I don't think there's anything to worry about, but just posting this as a heads up. A heads up to keep your eyes on it.

well considering all the recent activity along california inland coast, I was when Yellowstone was gonna answer,.
thanks for the heads up TA

Hmm, I just picked up another small one on real time seismos, coming from that area. Showed at B206 and at Mary Lake. Just creaks and groans.... Shh baby, go back to sleep now...ANYTHING but a swarm at the SC dome. Cause that would be unbearable...

And another thing: several of the stations are down right in that area. That means there could be even smaller activity going on that is not being detected right now. Darn it.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Forgive my ignorance on the subject TA.........but is that near the area of Old Faithful and the geysers? I don't know the area.

reply to post by StealthyKat

I was curious about that too. I found a map & they seem to be on opposite sides of the caldera.


Yellowstone Supervolcano Virtual Tour via colorado.edu

OiO

Thanks TA for keeping your eye on it!
One of my worst fears is Yellowstone Blowing......If it were to, I guess it really would be the end of the world as we know it.....

One question I have, where is the part of the park that is rising in altitude?

Yellow stone will not goto a full eruption anytime soon. There will be visible signs before that happens and one of the most visual will be the caldera rising to form a large mountain. So untill that happens nothing to see here

Originally posted by minor007
There will be visible signs before that happens and one of the most visual will be the caldera rising to form a large mountain.

Is that right? Glad you were around to witness the last super eruption. I guess that makes you, what, 640,000 years old?!

No one knows exactly what will take place before such an event. They speculate, but they don't know. And neither do you. The pressure could be so great from the huge cap on the caldera that it may not rise very much at all before the big boom. And it could come out of nowhere, with little or no warning.

Again I say, these tiny quakes appear to have come and gone, just like the rest of the seismicity at YS. I have been monitoring the park closely over the last days, and she's pretty much silent. Been that way for a while now for the most part...but if past experience with YS dictates the future any, there should be another swarm any time now. I am just hoping it doesn't take place in one of the resurgent domes.

well looking for a video to answer TA i found this . what do you think it might be.

the video i was looking for is also there.IF you goto video 14 26mins in shows you what i am talking about the volcano rising to be a mountain

Better still i put the videos here



24mins into the video

this next one shows plumes in Yellowstone taken in 2012

Originally posted by minor007
the video i was looking for is also there.IF you goto video 14 26mins in shows you what i am talking about the volcano rising to be a mountain

Just because they have some evidence that the uplift may have been extreme before the last super eruption doesn't necessarily mean it would have to be that extreme again for the same to occur. Because there HAS been uplift, it's just that no one knows how high that will go before it blows again. It's a newer patch of ground above it as the continental crust moves southwest over the fixed hotspot, so it is uncharted territory.

But the lack of extreme uplift makes a big huge eruption less likely, and the more mainstream view is that if there was an eruption at YS, it will be smaller, and probably not a Caldera Forming Eruption (CFE). We are probably more likely to see some kind of hydrothermal explosion...Problem is, at YS those can be HUGE, as the video points out.

As to the "plume" video, that is junk imo.

Seems like you could get an eruption when the lava receeds to a point where there is a gap between liquid magma and hardened or cooled magma. The gap growing as molten lava receedes until the hard magma then falls into the molten magma and releases massive amounts of gas and pressure. Even worse if a lake where to empty on top of the hot magma. Prssur egoing both up and down could initiate additonal chamber failures deeper down causing a cascading event of pressure that would have to be released.

So...I would not consider a bulge that grows and then receedes as a happy place nessasarily.

reply to post by OneisOne


Thanks One! I was just curious about that.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Hi TA,

I would have to slightly disagree with you regarding the big eruptions in that big eruptions are nearly always foreshadowed by various warnings. I believe that the historical accounts of big eruptions back this up (Vesuvius, Krakatoa, Mount St Helens, etc).

Obviously, none of these were in the scale of super eruptions but i believe this point would prove consistent. I have to qualify that by stating "believe" rather than "know" because, as you pointed out, no human is around that has witnessed a super eruption.

The simple truth i guess is that we still do not know enough about volcanoes to form any hard set ideas. For example, we know uplift occurs when volcanoes are simply "breathing". We also know, however, that uplifts occur before big eruptions.........in other words, we actually know diddly squat when you get right down to it.....

Originally posted by Flavian
........in other words, we actually know diddly squat when you get right down to it.....

Hmm, let's see...If I was Smith or Christensen, or any number of other people who have near lifetimes studying volcanic systems, I would characterize that statement as "highly exaggerated." They know A LOT about volcanic behavior, and in modern times, baseline activity has been monitored and established for years. It is reasonable to expect some kind of detectable change even in supervolcanoes before they erupt. Seismicity, water temperature and levels, gas emissions, ground deformation, and any number of other indicators exist which would provide clues.

I guess it just depends to what degree you are willing to believe that scientists have a handle on any particular volcano. And a lot of that is going to depend on to what degree it is monitored. And that varies widely. Most of the most dangerous ones are covered pretty well, but many seismic networks are aging and in need of upgrades. No money.

Also, more directly on topic of these micro quakes at the SC dome, things have not picked up any, and aside from these rogue quakes, seismically speaking it is near dead quiet at YS. In other words, so far there doesn't appear to be any kind of increased activity beyond that. Sleep my love, sleep.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Ha, yes that did across as rather dismissing vulcanology didn't it? Not really my intention there........

We do indeed seem to be learning more and more every day. However, as geological timescales start in the millenia and human timescales are far, far shorter, we do not really know anything for certain. We think we know and we can extrapolate but in reality we have been studying volcanoes / earthquakes for the blink of an eye. Technologically, it has been for an even shorter period of time.

I genuinely think humans will understand far more when we have been studying the processes involved over a much longer period - humanity in 10'000 years (provided we haven't technologically regressed due to disasters of one form or another) will have a much greater grasp of what is "normal" behaviour than we could possibly hope to achieve, purely on observational time alone.

In my view Toba and Krakatoa are two good examples.
Both are growing out of the remains of the last eruption.
A caldera is formed when the volcano collapses after a big eruption.
So i think although Yellowstone is big in size, most likely if an eruption is to happen it will be the same as in Iceland (Katla caldera)
What we cannot see is the uplift in certain places of the caldere as it is below the mýrdalsjökull icecap.
But in Yellowstone we should be able to see the deformation before an upcoming eruption.

Ive noticed there are reports that some of the older geysers that were dormant for many years have become active. wonder if this relates to the recent activity there in quakes

Originally posted by Lil Drummerboy
Ive noticed there are reports that some of the older geysers that were dormant for many years have become active. wonder if this relates to the recent activity there in quakes

Combine that with what Jake, the Director of the YVO discusses in this new video he just put out, and it'll get the questions flowing. Don't miss this thread for the YS watchers! NEW!!

www.abovetopsecret.com...