BoomyBoy Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Scientists are predicting that the world's largest super-volcano in one of America's most popular national parks could erupt in the near future. Yellowstone National Park’s caldera has erupted three times in the last 2.1 million years and researchers monitoring it say we could be in for another eruption. They said that the super-volcano underneath the Wyoming Park has been rising at a record rate since 2004 - its floor has gone up three inches per year for the last three years alone, the fastest rate since records began in 1923. It would explode with a force a thousand times more powerful than the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. Spewing lava far into the sky, a cloud of plant-killing ash would fan out and dump a layer 10ft deep up to 1,000 miles away. Two-thirds of the U.S. could become uninhabitable as toxic air sweeps through it, grounding thousands of flights and forcing millions to leave their homes. But hampered by a lack of data they have stopped short of an all-out warning and they are unable to put a date on when the next disaster might take place. When the eruption finally happens it will dwarf the effect of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which erupted in April last year, causing travel chaos around the world. The University of Utah's Bob Smith, an expert in Yellowstone's volcanism told National Geographic: ‘It's an extraordinary uplift, because it covers such a large area and the rates are so high. ‘At the beginning we were concerned it could be leading up to an eruption.’ But he added: ‘Once we saw the magma was at a depth of ten kilometers, we weren't so concerned. ‘If it had been at depths of two or three kilometer we'd have been a lot more concerned.’ But due the extreme conditions it has been hard to work out what exactly is going on down below, leading researchers unable to say with certainty what will happen - or when. Since the most recent blast 640,000 years ago there have been around 30 smaller eruptions, the most recent of which was 70,000 years ago. Source: Daily Mail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glassed Silver Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Volcanos are annoying... They need to STFU and disappear.... :p Nah seriously... I mean it... Glassed Silver:mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebor Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Damn terrorists turning the planet against us ;) Yawn, its the same thing they were saying 10 years ago when they were sure it would explode in the next 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ci7 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 that is surely one badass Volcano it bet the crap out of nukes that would surely sucks a superpower getting wiped out without fair fight J/king :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Audioboxer Subscriber² Posted January 25, 2011 Subscriber² Share Posted January 25, 2011 Now only if we could gather all the idiots in America in the one place.... maybe toss in the UK government as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singh400 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Now only if we could gather all the idiots in America in the one place.... maybe toss in the UK government as well! They are already in one place, it's called America ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhearted Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Luckily for me ohio is well over 1000 miles away from there. So i have no need to worry if it ever does happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magoo Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Luckily for me ohio is well over 1000 miles away from there. So i have no need to worry if it ever does happen. yeah me too i guess living ohio isnt too bad after all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singh400 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Luckily for me ohio is well over 1000 miles away from there. So i have no need to worry if it ever does happen. No you do. The ash cloud is will generate would block out the sunlight, and the ash cloud would only increase in size for years to come ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambroos Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Hm. Sounds like a perfect contender for the set of December 2012 cataclysmic events! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakey Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 NUKE IT BEFORE IT NUKES US! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quattrone Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Hm. Sounds like a perfect contender for the set of December 2012 cataclysmic events! I have no doubt that something like this could happen at the end of 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan R. Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Old news indeed. It does make you think though, how pathetic our society is that nations fight over stupid s**t and become consumed with greed to the point where if a disaster like this occurred, it would likely create a breaking point for not only the US but the world. Seriously, for a nation of 300 million to suddenly lose over 3 million square miles of habitable land is something to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mirumir Subscriber¹ Posted January 25, 2011 Subscriber¹ Share Posted January 25, 2011 three times in the last 2.1 million years That's a pretty low probability. There are volcanoes in densely populated areas on Earth with a cycle of from a few thousand years to a hundred depending on the severity. I'm a lot more worried about Mount Vesuvius, for example. The last time it had a major eruption, it wiped a whole city of several thousand people. Nowadays, more than 2 million people live in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjoswald Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 It's only a matter of time, folks. Enjoy what you have while you have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Neo Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Luckily for me ohio is well over 1000 miles away from there. So i have no need to worry if it ever does happen. Except for the fact the entire United States will be thrown into chaos and its economy would almost completely collapse. Thinking you don't need to worry just because your hometown won't be wiped out during the initial blast is a bit simplistic. If this happens it will have a global impact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedstr3789 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 maybe I'll get a day off from work Except for the fact the entire United States will be thrown into chaos and its economy would almost completely collapse. If that's what you think then we've already been hit by a volcano. It's called Obama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qdave Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 3 times in 2 million years? There is a very very very small chance it will erupt in our lifetime. When it will erupt after my death it wont matter anymore :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomoko Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 its floor has gone up three inches per year for the last three years alone, the fastest rate since records began in 1923. Wow, since 1923! On a geological time scale that sure is a long time, I better start building my shelter! :o /fear mongering fail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeta_immersion Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 at this rate how long would it take? 500 000 years?! i think we are safe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetsam Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 The magma is 10 Km below earth's surface. I think we'll be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisp Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I guess NASA was wrong to lable the film "Volcano" as stupid then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan R. Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 at this rate how long would it take? 500 000 years?! i think we are safe Especially considering humans have only been relevant for about 10,000 or so. I guess NASA was wrong to lable the film "Volcano" as stupid then. That movie is stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Neo Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I guess NASA was wrong to lable the film "Volcano" as stupid then. Yellowstone National Park ≠ Los Angeles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyDX Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Yikes my girlfriend lives near there.... I hope this thing keeps shut for a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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