Yellowstone, a giant... Awakes?

M

Maphusio

Sonny, I Watched the Vault Bein' Built!
Many's worst fears have begun to translate to apocalyptic nightmares as the super volcano that covers nearly 90% of Yellowstone national park in Montana, USA is rocked with swarms of earthquakes.

The largest of the earthquakes was a magnitude 3.9 (revised from magnitude 3.8) at 10:15 pm MST on Dec. 27. The sequence has included nine events of magnitude 3 to 3.9 and approximately 24 of magnitude 2 to 3 at the time of this release. A total of more than 250 events large enough to be located have occurred in this swarm. Reliable depths of the larger events are up to a few miles. Visitors and National Park Service (NPS) employees in the Yellowstone Lake area reported feeling the largest of these earthquakes.
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While earthquakes are normal to occur at Yellowstone, this recent occurrence is extremely rare indeed. Also note that in the 1980's scientists discovered the caldera had been rising to the extent of displacing a lake from its normal banks.

This December 2008 earthquake sequence is the most intense in this area for some years and is centered on the east side of the Yellowstone caldera. Scientists can not identify any causative fault or other feature without further analysis. Seismologists continue to monitor and analyze the data and will issue new information if the situation warrants it.
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If the Yellowstone super volcano erupted with the intensity anticipated it would be a global killer. Some here have argued with me in the past and I'd hate to say, "I told you so." when it comes to the human race becoming a space faring one sooner rather than later.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is just a simple shift of subterranean materials or the giant rolling over in its sleep. I guess we will have to wait and see eh?

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/capital...e-earthquakes-under-supervolcano-caldera.html
 
Hmmm. Well if it does happen. I'm vapor.
I believe an occurrence like this has happened before in my short 22 years tho.

I've followed this for years now. See it on the history channel once a year during doomsday week after new years.
It's one of those things that creep in the back of my mind then am confronted by it.

I'm gonna move to the east coast so I can suffocate on ash rather then being turned to vapor.
 
I hope it erupts on New Year's Eve.
Anything's better than being home alone while everyone is out having fun.
:evil:
 
Blazerfrost said:
Is there any way humans can make this thing erupt? Like say, with a direct nuclear strike?
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Gather your friends and puff on it hard. This ought to do the trick.
 
Blazerfrost said:
Is there any way humans can make this thing erupt? Like say, with a direct nuclear strike?
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It depends on the pressures involved. Generally, what sets of a volcano is a small fracture in the dome. Think of a balloon after a pin prick.

In the end, we just don't know enough about our planet to know for sure.

Fortunately things were slightly more in tune with a normal day today; however, that unfortunately means nothing. If things stay normal for the next week, I'll be at ease... Then again, Mt. St. Helens went up with no one suspecting as much. Today the mountain rebuilds itself at over a dump drunk load of dirt per day and has been doing so for several years baffling scientists around the world.
 
I've heard about this thing. My eigth grade science teacher, who was kind of crazy and awesome, would always tell us ways the human race was going to be destroyed. This was one of them.

Also I wonder what it would be like to be on the ISS as this happened. Could you return to earth? Would it be livable before air and water etc ran out? Good for a slightly influence mind.
 
Maphusio said:
If the Yellowstone super volcano erupted with the intensity anticipated it would be a global killer. Some here have argued with me in the past and I'd hate to say, "I told you so." when it comes to the human race becoming a space faring one sooner rather than later.
l
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The thing is just ... if it really happens, what can one do about it?

I mean. Its on such a large scale, that the question is how far can one prevent it from happen seriously. Or should people start to collect food, energy resources and built a shelter for the worst case scenario? If you dont even know if it might explode next week, in 50 or 500 years ?

I mean its not the only part of the world with "potential" risks. Near the cost of africa is a island with a volcano under it. The structure of this island is that fragile that geologist claim that a eroption might cause half of the island to fall in the ocan and cause a gigantic flood wave towards the north american coast maybe 50 or even more meters high. And it would move even that fast that any kind of preparation would be almost useless in the event as it would take less then a day to reach the most major cities on the US cost.

How to prepare against such events on almost a global scale? Well. Such things happend already in the past thousands of years ago. All you can do is to hope that it does not happen in your life time and enjoy your time.

M-26-7 said:
...
Also I wonder what it would be like to be on the ISS as this happened. Could you return to earth? Would it be livable before air and water etc ran out? Good for a slightly influence mind.
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I think no. They have no way of returning to the earth without a working technology and suport available.

I have read once about scenarios during times the Mir was still in space with the inhabitants of the station as the literaly "last surviving people" after either a cosmic event like huge asteroid hit the earth or a nuclear holocaust or other events of some sort that might end almost everything ... kinda funny and creepy at the same time :mrgreen:


I think we should finally populate the Moon or Mars [it was Von Brauns the father of the US space programm imagination after all!] to make sure that humany can repopulate earth again after some heavy cosmic or similar devastating event :crazy:
 
I think we should finally populate the Moon or Mars [it was Von Brauns the father of the US space program imagination after all!] to make sure that humanity can repopulate earth again after some heavy cosmic or similar devastating event
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You mean the filthy rich populating the Moon and Mars, when it comes to it there will be no place for us on the rocket.

Perhaps we can change the coordinates in the computer and make the rocket fly in to the sun.

The knowledge in my last couple of hours of existence that the rich fat cats went ahead of me screaming in terror during their last seconds, is very comforting.
 
Crni Vuk said:
I mean its not the only part of the world with "potential" risks. Near the cost of africa is a island with a volcano under it. The structure of this island is that fragile that geologist claim that a eroption might cause half of the island to fall in the ocan and cause a gigantic flood wave towards the north american coast maybe 50 or even more meters high.
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IIRC, you're talking about the Canary Islands. Primarily known for being a holiday resort for the elderly, it also houses a volcano that's not only dangerously close to the ocean, but the ocean is actually moving in towards it. Soil erosion is weakening the walls between them. When the ocean starts pouring into the volcano... :shock:
 
The U.S. Geological Survey, University of Utah and National Park Service scientists with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory "see no evidence that another such cataclysmic eruption will occur at Yellowstone in the foreseeable future. Recurrence intervals of these events are neither regular nor predictable.

(Stolen from Wiki)

I don't know about you guys, but that doesn't do much to comfort me.

Still though, I'd like to know the exact numbers of how much magma or dust it could blow out.
 
Here's the beautiful part about events on that scale. Big problems usually big symptoms. So at least you may have some time to try to hide, say goodbye, leave your mark. Whatever.

As it has been said tho', St. Helens went with little warning.

Something on this scale tho', wouldn't it just collapse as opposed to explode?
I mean a hole in the ground that large with nothing but earth above it, wouldn't Yellowstone just simply sink?
 
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