Many scientists are keeping watch over the activity occurring in the Yellowstone volcano because of its potential to inflict large-scale damage in the . For example, if and when Yellowstone does erupt again, the most likely outcome would be a hydrothermal eruption, which is characterized by violent explosions that eject steam, water, mud, and rock. This eruption 2.1 million years agoamong the largest volcanic eruptions known to mancoated 5,790 square miles with ash, as far away as Missouri. The most recent volcanic activity at Yellowstone consisted of rhyolitic lava flows that erupted approximately 70,000 years ago. TheYellowstone Calderais the largestsupervolcanoon the North American continent. Stock image: An eruption of the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park. Can we survive a Yellowstone eruption? Of courseit will. Grand is predicted to erupt at 9:00pm 90 minutes on August 21, 2022. Tracking changes in Yellowstone's restless volcanic system, The Quaternary and Pliocene Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, Volcanic ash fall - a "hard rain" of abrasive particles. The authors of the Science article found that more melt was present than had previously been recognized and that it was located at shallow depths in the crustin the depth range where previous eruptions were sourced. "Having thousands of earthquakes in a short period of time (a few weeks), with many felt events, would be noteworthy, as long as it was not an aftershock sequence from a tectonic event," Poland said. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior (opens in new tab), "the surrounding states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming that are closest to Yellowstone would be affected by pyroclastic flows, while other places in the United States would be impacted by falling ash." During the three caldera-forming eruptions that occurred between 2.1 million and 640,000 years ago, tiny particles of volcanic ash covered much of the western half of North America. No significant deformation has been recorded in the area of Norris Geyser Basin since the end of last summer. Due to the magma beneath the surface, the Yellowstone region experiences many small earthquakes, ground deformation and other geological activity on a regular basis. Scientists still monitor this kind of ground movement at Yellowstone though in order to gain a better understanding of what motion fits with normal long-term trends and what may be evidence of a potential upcoming eruption. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Winds would also carry ash to Europe and the rest of the world, where it could trigger extreme weather changes. Such eruptions usually formcalderas, broad volcanic depressions created as the ground surface collapses as a result of withdrawal of partially molten rock (magma) below. But wait, theres more. The caldera inside Yellowstone National Park spreads over the three states of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana and poses a significant threat in the event of a supereruption. What are some examples of supervolcanoes? Official websites use .gov Research published in the journal Science in December 2022 found that the Yellowstone caldera holds more liquid molten rock than previously estimated. The most recent volcanic eruption at Yellowstone was a lava flow that occurred around 70,000 years ago, but scientists think it has the potential to erupt in the future, given that there is hot, fluid or semi-fluid material present beneath the ground (magma) as evidenced by the abundance of hydrothermal features and frequent seismic activity in the area. What type of eruption will Yellowstone have if it erupts again? One occurred 2.1 million years ago, one 1.3. Though we've been looking at Yellowstone for years, no one has yet identified "long-period (LP) events" commonly attributed to magma movement. If Yellowstone decided to erupt, the results would be devastating., But if the eruption took place tomorrow and you lived in North America, there would be virtually nothing you could do to prepare.. NASA warns of 3 skyscraper-sized asteroids headed toward Earth this week. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Since the most recent giant (caldera-forming) eruption 631,000 years ago, approximately 80 relatively nonexplosive eruptions have occurred. Assessing the relative threats posed by U.S. volcanoes identifies which volcanoes warrant the greatest risk-mitigation efforts by the U.S. Geological Survey and its partners. The . So should we be worried? Types of Hydrothermal Features. And the study isnt talking about a few inches it is talking possibly several or more meters. Scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory(YVO) closely monitor the Yellowstone region for such precursors. "Yellowstone is one of the biggest supervolcanos in the world," he says. However, there will be losses. Yellowstone is not overdue for an eruption. The explosion will be so powerful that huge amounts of ash will be ejected into the stratosphere. Yellowstone was not an ordinary volcano. In terms of large explosions, Yellowstone has experienced three at 2.08, 1.3, and 0.631 million years ago. Almost all earthquakes at Yellowstone are brittle-failure events caused when rocks break due to crustal stresses. According to park records, the geyser has erupted more times in the past five years than it has since the 1980s. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The third and final large volcanic eruption formed the central Yellowstone Caldera, and you can easily find it on many different Yellowstone National Park maps. The take-home message is that the magma chamber is mostly solid. Despite claims from some quarters, though, that an eruption is overdue, researchers have not detected any signs that one is imminent. "It is covered in terms of seismicity and ground deformation. What is a supereruption? Yellowstone National Park is unique beyond its overwhelming beauty, highest-elevation lake in North America, and abundant wildlife its geothermal features. Yellowstone National Park sits atop a giant supervolcano that is considered to be active, albeit currently dormant. The ash that gets caught in the stratosphere will stay suspended for months or even years. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Residing mostly in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into parts of Montana and Idaho, Yellowstone is a sprawling national Park established in 1872. The Yellowstone supervolcano is an eight out of eight on the Volcanic Explosivity Index but has only erupted three times in the last 2.1 million years. Just because Yellowstone has produced three very large eruptions over the last 2.2 million years doesn't mean that you should expect such an eruption. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. ; Mudpots: Hot springs that are acidic enough to dissolve the surrounding rock, and typically . The term "supervolcano" implies a volcanic center that has had an eruption of magnitude 8 on the Volcano Explosivity Index (VEI), meaning that at one point in time it erupted more than 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cubic miles) of material. Ash, mudflows, and lava flows can devastate communities near volcanoes and cause havoc in areas far downwind, downstream, and downslope. Learn more: Yellowstone Eruption History The evolution of the Yellowstone Plateau Volcani Field: Past, present, and future! Chart and map of ancient eruptions of Yellowstone supervolcano. The ground rises and falls normally by 2-3 cm [0.8 to 1.2 inches] every year, and there are typically ~2000 quakes annually in the area, so it would have to rise far beyond these normal background levels.". The dashed outline of the lower magma reservoir indicates that its boundaries are uncertain. What is the biggest negative impact associated with a Yellowstone eruption? The term "supervolcano" implies a volcanic center that has had an eruption of magnitude 8 on the Volcano Explosivity Index (VEI), meaning that at one point in time it erupted more than 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cubic miles) of material. Right near the article's opening, I wrote: "To be clear, the new research does not indicate that the supervolcano that created Yellowstone's calderawhich last erupted 640,000 years ago . So where does the idea of Yellowstone being "overdue" for an eruption come from, then? Yellowstone hasn't erupted for 70,000 years, so it's going to take some impressive earthquakes and ground uplift to get things started. Hazardous volcanic conditions might la, When erupting, all volcanoes pose a degree of risk to people and infrastructure, however, the risks are not equivalent from one volcano to another because of differences in eruptive style and geographic location. The park is rich inhydrothermal featuresevidence of the magma that lies beneath the surface. Illustration by NGM Maps. Every few thousand years, a hydrothermal explosion will form a crater as much as a few hundred meters across. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Fortunately, the chances of this sort of eruption at Yellowstone are exceedingly small in the next few thousands of years. "Neither condition is in place at Yellowstone right now," he added. An example of GPS data can be found at http://www.unavco.org/instrumentation/networks/status/pbo/data/NRWY (click on Static Plots / Cleaned), The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) provides long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake activity in the Yellowstone National Park region. These eruptions occurred around 2.1 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago, and around 631,000 years ago, creating the calderamassive craters that form when a volcano erupts and collapsespresent today. (In fact, the Yellowstone supervolcano is also called the Yellowstone caldera.) The inhaled ash would form a cement-like mixture within the lungs, leading to gradual suffocation. Therefore, a key issue for eruption hazard assessment is to ascertain how much magma is below the surface and where.". "Sometimes it erupts quietly with lava flow, but once or twice every million years, it erupts very violently, forming large calderas," which are very large craters measuring tens of kilometers in diameter. Volcanologists have suggested that the ramification they are most concerned about is wind-flung ash, which could end up coating a surrounding region 500 miles (800 kilometers) across in more than 4 inches (10 centimeters) of ash. The pool of magma underneath Yellowstone is huge, and it will take days or weeks to empty. How much volcanic activity has there been at Yellowstone since the most recent giant eruption? Ever since the 4.8 earthquake that struck the park on March 30 the largest . The magmatic system at depth remains active and drives the massive hydrothermal circulation, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Reston, VA 20192, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Region 12: Pacific Islands (American Samoa, Hawaii, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), Forecasting Ashfall Impacts from a Yellowstone Supereruption. We look at overall thermal emissions from space, collect gas and water to assess chemistry over time, and track stream/river flow and chemistry.". The caldera system has had plenty of smaller . 4. 3. It was quite frankly, Earth's greatest killer. The chamber is mostly solid, with only about 5-15% melt. That was proved once again in late May, when the Steamboat Geyser - Yellowstone's tallest and most unpredictable geyser - erupted for the first time since 2003. Further research is needed to better understand the processes that cause these supervolcanoes to erupt in order to help predict such events. 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