Yellowstone volcano: Fears for 'thousands of lives’ after magma found TWICE size recorded
YELLOWSTONE volcano's magma chamber was found to be more than twice the size previously thought in 2013, and now researchers fear a supereruption would kill thousands of people.
Yellowstone volcano: Expert reveals size of magma chamber
The Yellowstone caldera spreads beneath the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho and gets its nickname as a supervolcano due to its ability to inflict devastation on a global level. It is constantly monitored by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for signs that a supereruption is on its way, something that has only happened three times in history, 2.1 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago and 640,000 years ago, leading some to claim a massive eruption is overdue. In 2013, a study led by Jamie Farrell of the University of Utah found that the magma chamber below Yellowstone was much bigger than thought, measuring 18 miles wide and nine miles deep.
Dr Farrell said it means there is enough volcanic material below the surface to match the largest of the supervolcano's three eruptions over the last 2.1 million years.
Researchers behind YouTube channel ‘Science Time’ recently looked into what a supereruption may look like in the future, revealing some daunting realities.
A video earlier this month revealed: “If the Yellowstone supervolcano was going to erupt tomorrow, it would release more than two billion tonnes of sulphur into the atmosphere and more than a thousand cubic kilometres of rock and volcanic ash into the sky.
“Large parts of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming would be buried in one metre of volcanic ash.
Killing countless thousands of lives in the immediate aftermath
“Besides killing countless thousands of lives in the immediate aftermath of the eruption, it would create the largest refugee crisis in human history.
“The reduction in global temperatures due to volcanic and droplets of sulphuric acid obscuring the Sun would cause a volcanic winter, lasting over a decade.
“This would cause crop failure everywhere, resulting in extremely large famines, millions – if not billions – would starve to death.”
There has been some recent activity in the vicinity of Yellowstone, which led to some fears that the volcano could erupt.
But the series went on to explain how this was unrelated, before discussing the 2013 find.
READ MORE: ‘Due an eruption!’ Scientists baffled by activity at Yellowstone volcano's Old Faithful
It added: “According to Mike Poland, the scientist in charge at Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, the recent earthquakes in Utah and Idaho are not related with Yellowstone, they are rather related to mountain building processes or tectonic extensions in the western United States.
“The analysis of earthquake data in 2013 showed the magma chamber beneath Yellowstone is 80 kilometres long and 20 kilometres wide.
“It also has 4,000 cubic kilometres underground volume, of which six to eight percent is filled with molten rock.
“This is about 2.5 times bigger than scientists had previously imaged it to be.”
However, the USGS has previously put minds at ease regarding any “overdue” claims.
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory’s Scientists-in-Charge Jacob Lowenstern said in 2014: “When you see people claiming it’s overdue, usually the numbers they come up with say the last eruption was 640,000 years ago, but it erupts every 600,000 years.
"But, in fact, if you average the eruption intervals, there’s 2.1 million to 1.3 million and then another 640,000 years ago.
“If you average those numbers you come up with something that’s over 700,000 years.
“So, in reality, even if you tried to make this argument, it wouldn’t be overdue for another 70,000 years."