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Supervolcano Concerns

LowDown

LowDown

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Yellowstone Park sits on the caldera of an enormous supervolcano capable of destroying much of the continental US if it erupts. It has done so several times through history, the last time 630,000 years ago, and it spreads a thick coat of hot ash over half of America every time it does erupt.

The caldera, which makes up much of Yellowstone Park's territory, is alive with volcanic activity, like hot springs and geysers scattered all over. Liquid magma sits a few miles below the surface, and the roof of the caldera has been bulging upward gradually for years in response to increasing pressure from below.

A recent 5.8 earthquake in Montana signals that a super-eruption is possible relatively soon, which is to say within the next few thousand years.

Natural Disaster: 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Montana, Raising Supervolcano Concerns
 
LowDown said:
Yellowstone Park sits on the caldera of an enormous supervolcano capable of destroying much of the continental US if it erupts. It has done so several times through history, the last time 630,000 years ago, and it spreads a thick coat of hot ash over half of America every time it does erupt.

The caldera, which makes up much of Yellowstone Park's territory, is alive with volcanic activity, like hot springs and geysers scattered all over. Liquid magma sits a few miles below the surface, and the roof of the caldera has been bulging upward gradually for years in response to increasing pressure from below.

A recent 5.8 earthquake in Montana signals that a super-eruption is possible relatively soon, which is to say within the next few thousand years.

Natural Disaster: 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Montana, Raising Supervolcano Concerns
Click to expand...

Harry Turtledove has a good SF series on that very topic,
https://www.goodreads.com/series/61128-supervolcano
If the thing erupts, it will be a very bad few decades!
 
LowDown said:
Yellowstone Park sits on the caldera of an enormous supervolcano capable of destroying much of the continental US if it erupts. It has done so several times through history, the last time 630,000 years ago, and it spreads a thick coat of hot ash over half of America every time it does erupt.

The caldera, which makes up much of Yellowstone Park's territory, is alive with volcanic activity, like hot springs and geysers scattered all over. Liquid magma sits a few miles below the surface, and the roof of the caldera has been bulging upward gradually for years in response to increasing pressure from below.

A recent 5.8 earthquake in Montana signals that a super-eruption is possible relatively soon, which is to say within the next few thousand years.

Natural Disaster: 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Montana, Raising Supervolcano Concerns
Click to expand...

Meh, the 5.8 earthquake doesn't signal anything and it isn't part of the recent Yellowstone "swarm". Now the 7.3 earthquake that happened at Hebgen Lake in 1959 was a different matter, that was a bad one.
 
LowDown said:
Yellowstone Park sits on the caldera of an enormous supervolcano capable of destroying much of the continental US if it erupts. It has done so several times through history, the last time 630,000 years ago, and it spreads a thick coat of hot ash over half of America every time it does erupt.

The caldera, which makes up much of Yellowstone Park's territory, is alive with volcanic activity, like hot springs and geysers scattered all over. Liquid magma sits a few miles below the surface, and the roof of the caldera has been bulging upward gradually for years in response to increasing pressure from below.

A recent 5.8 earthquake in Montana signals that a super-eruption is possible relatively soon, which is to say within the next few thousand years.

Natural Disaster: 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Montana, Raising Supervolcano Concerns
Click to expand...

It could happen soon. It's not likely, but it is possible.

I think I'll start worrying about it. Nothing that I worry about happens, so I can prevent an eruption that way.

There's really not much else that can be done to prevent it.
 
LowDown said:
Yellowstone Park sits on the caldera of an enormous supervolcano capable of destroying much of the continental US if it erupts. It has done so several times through history, the last time 630,000 years ago, and it spreads a thick coat of hot ash over half of America every time it does erupt.

The caldera, which makes up much of Yellowstone Park's territory, is alive with volcanic activity, like hot springs and geysers scattered all over. Liquid magma sits a few miles below the surface, and the roof of the caldera has been bulging upward gradually for years in response to increasing pressure from below.

A recent 5.8 earthquake in Montana signals that a super-eruption is possible relatively soon, which is to say within the next few thousand years.

Natural Disaster: 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Montana, Raising Supervolcano Concerns
Click to expand...

The Cascadia Faults are a far more concerning issue. While the Yellowstone caldera is a potential threat, it's not at a point where it could blow any time in the next couple of generations. The Cascadia faults are at a point where it's no longer if they go off in the next 50 years, but when in the next 50 years. If both "hinges" go at the same time, we basically kiss the entire West Coast good-bye, along with any communities on river valley's connected to the Pacific (in the NW, that would mean Longview, Vancouver, Portland, Salem and possibly Eugene).
 
LowDown said:
Yellowstone Park sits on the caldera of an enormous supervolcano capable of destroying much of the continental US if it erupts. It has done so several times through history, the last time 630,000 years ago, and it spreads a thick coat of hot ash over half of America every time it does erupt.

The caldera, which makes up much of Yellowstone Park's territory, is alive with volcanic activity, like hot springs and geysers scattered all over. Liquid magma sits a few miles below the surface, and the roof of the caldera has been bulging upward gradually for years in response to increasing pressure from below.

A recent 5.8 earthquake in Montana signals that a super-eruption is possible relatively soon, which is to say within the next few thousand years.

Natural Disaster: 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Montana, Raising Supervolcano Concerns
Click to expand...

There's one here in NM near Los Alamos called Valle Caldera. Just turned into a national park about a year ago. Had a bad fire that got to the rim of it a month or so ago and had another bad fire that got close to it as well but about a decade ago. But it's a pretty site in that area.

sts040-614-063ca.jpg
 
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Dittohead not! said:
It could happen soon. It's not likely, but it is possible.

I think I'll start worrying about it. Nothing that I worry about happens, so I can prevent an eruption that way.

There's really not much else that can be done to prevent it.
Click to expand...

Please tell my you are not worried about me hitting the lottery.
 
The whole Yellowstone thing is very interesting... If you ever watch a documentary on the park you find they always have earthquakes ( mostly small ) Areas of the lake will rise and fall ( noticeably )

And yea if it ever goes ( and goes big ) we are in big trouble... I have been there once, Hope to go back next summer.. If it's gonna blow, let me be at ground zero... What a ride....

djl
 
Dittohead not! said:
It could happen soon. It's not likely, but it is possible.

I think I'll start worrying about it. Nothing that I worry about happens, so I can prevent an eruption that way.

There's really not much else that can be done to prevent it.
Click to expand...

Could you worry about me not winning the lottery?
 
There's nothing I can do about it, so I'm not going to worry about it.
 
LowDown said:
Yellowstone Park sits on the caldera of an enormous supervolcano capable of destroying much of the continental US if it erupts. It has done so several times through history, the last time 630,000 years ago, and it spreads a thick coat of hot ash over half of America every time it does erupt.

The caldera, which makes up much of Yellowstone Park's territory, is alive with volcanic activity, like hot springs and geysers scattered all over. Liquid magma sits a few miles below the surface, and the roof of the caldera has been bulging upward gradually for years in response to increasing pressure from below.

A recent 5.8 earthquake in Montana signals that a super-eruption is possible relatively soon, which is to say within the next few thousand years.

Natural Disaster: 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Montana, Raising Supervolcano Concerns
Click to expand...

There are a bunch of super volcanoes around the world. Four in the United States alone, six in Asia, 3 in South America, one in Canada, one in New Zealand, one in Italy.

https://owlcation.com/stem/Supervolcanoes-Around-the-World

There may be more. If a super volcano erupts, it will end civilization as we know it. Now start worrying if you must.
 
Why worry about something we can do nothing about? Concern sure. It concerns me when people text and drive too.
 
Perotista said:
There are a bunch of super volcanoes around the world. Four in the United States alone, six in Asia, 3 in South America, one in Canada, one in New Zealand, one in Italy.

https://owlcation.com/stem/Supervolcanoes-Around-the-World

There may be more. If a super volcano erupts, it will end civilization as we know it. Now start worrying if you must.
Click to expand...



Not much we can do about it, is there?

Let's look on the bright side: One of them goes off, killing off all but the most intelligent and adaptable, the survivors. Those few rebuild civilization, giving humanity a huge evolutionary leap forward, and we have a truly rational civilization, one that doesn't spend most of its resources either killing each other off, or defending themselves from fellow humans. What might be accomplished then?
 
Dittohead not! said:
Not much we can do about it, is there?

Let's look on the bright side: One of them goes off, killing off all but the most intelligent and adaptable, the survivors. Those few rebuild civilization, giving humanity a huge evolutionary leap forward, and we have a truly rational civilization, one that doesn't spend most of its resources either killing each other off, or defending themselves from fellow humans. What might be accomplished then?
Click to expand...

Those that survived would probably be those who know how to take care of themselves. Those who don't rely on the government to do everything for them. Those who know how to hunt and fish, that know how to build shelter or seek the correct types of shelter, that can live off the land, pretty much a survivalist. Cities, urban and probably suburban areas will be in chaos, anarchy even if the super volcano erupted half way around the world. A little volcano in Iceland caused havoc with air travel going to and from Europe a few years ago.

Chances are depending on the size of the eruption you're looking at a decade or more of falling temperatures, an ash cloud that remains in the atmosphere for many years. Governments can go into their bunkers all set up to a nuclear war with plenty of supplies to sustain them for awhile. The average citizen will be left to fend for himself. It will be another little ice age which occurred between 1300-1850. But worst since we have ten times the population, probably more. Definitely a huge thinning.

The Siberian Steps volcano caused the extinction of 95% of all living species at the time, around 250 million years ago. Both on land and in the oceans. Could humans adapt?
 
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