Yellowstone volcano 2.5 times larger than previously thought

March 2014 – GEOLOGY – The supervolcano beneath the surface of Yellowstone National Park is 2.5 times larger than previously believed according to a study from the University of Utah. The supervolcano is part of what is known as a caldera, an underground volcano forming a shape like a cauldron. More accurate details about the caldera were discovered by measuring the seismic waves of the underground magma which is anywhere from 3 to 9 miles beneath the surface of the earth. The length of the caldera is 88.5 km (~50 miles) with a width of 29 km (~18 miles). The lead author of the study, Jamie Farrell, claims the quantity of lava in the supervolcano is enough to give rise to what would be among the top three eruptions over the past 2.1 million years. Sulfur entering the upper atmosphere would turn to sulfur dioxide, circle the globe and drop temperatures. Worldwide famine would likely ensue. So just how spectacular would the eruption be? For a comparison, let’s go back to the year 1980 when the United States Geological Survey (USGS) refused to take no for an answer any compelled the city of Mount St. Helens to close off access to the nearby volcanic mountain of the same name and evacuate the town. The volcano erupted with devastating effect which would have killed thousands of residents. Farrell is the lead author of a study presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco in December that determined the magma chamber beneath the Yellowstone caldera is 88 km long and 29 km wide, reaching depths up to 15 km. That makes it the largest imaged magma reservoir in the world. But is an eruption in the cards? No one really knows. “There may not be, but there probably will be. Of course, we don’t know when,” Farrell said. –Ecanadanow

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