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YELLOWSTONE | Volcano Eruption

Yellowstone supervolcano due for major eruption


Sean Madden
Digital Reporter

Thursday, April 19, 2018, 5:32 PM - About 600,000 years ago, the last super eruption occurred at Yellowstone Volcano, located in its own national park in Wyoming, U.S.A.

The eruption was so large that it played a part in sending the world into the last ice age.

Data suggests that Yellowstone erupts every 600,000 to 700,000 years, meaning it is due for another eruption.

(READ MORE: Supervolcano warning times shorter than previously thought)

The volcano has an elevation of almost 3,000 metres which, to put into perspective, is about a thousand metres smaller than the city of Toyko, Japan. A super eruption from it could send rocks and ash 1600 kilometers away from its current location.

Volcanologists have come up with different theories on how large the next eruption would be, and if it even would be large enough to consider it a super eruption, which is rated as a Magnitude 4 or greater on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI).

An example of the possible distribution of ash from a month-long Yellowstone supereruption. The distribution map was generated by a new model developed by the U.S. Geological Survey using wind information from January 2001. The improved computer model, detailed in a new study published in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, finds that the hypothetical, large eruption would create a distinctive kind of ash cloud known as an umbrella, which expands evenly in all directions, sending ash across North America. Ash distribution will vary depending on cloud height, eruption duration, diameter of volcanic particles in the cloud, and wind conditions, according to the new study. Credit: USGS

According to the USGS, a super-eruption is equal to the force of 1,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs exploding every second, creating the potential for widespread destruction.

(SEE ALSO: Here's what an eruption at Yellowstone could look like)

At this time, however, it's still safe to visit Yellowstone, according to the USGS, which monitors the volcano daily and posts reports online.  Scientists have no detection of any kind of warnings of an eruption happening in the immediate future. If they do detect something, they believe  they would be able to see the activity months, or possibly a year, in advance.

While we won't be around to see the next eruption, the next one is scheduled to take place in the near future, geologically-speaking. It's forecasted to happen sometime in the next 1000 to 10,000 years. 

Source: USGS

DON'T MISS BELOW: A KALEIDOSCOPE OF COLOURS AT YELLOWSTONE 



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