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Some of the world’s smartest geophysicists aren’t sleeping well anymore. Perhaps their dreams are filled with nightmares—if so, it wouldn’t be surprising since what they thought they knew about volcanoes wasn’t quite right. But now they know the truth—the terrifying reality—supervolcanoes are activating and can destroy America at any time. Maybe in 100 years, or maybe as early as next week.
Forget about tumbling asteroids the size of mountains bombarding Earth…Stop worrying about nuclear war…Shrug off any concerns about the coming Ice Age…Doomsday is probably closer than you think and no matter where you live you probably aren’t safe from the effects of the aftermath. That’s the terrible reality facing scientists around the world as they scramble to revise monitoring systems to better predict the imminent destructive fury of the super volcanoes when they blow.
And changing it is—at an alarming rate. The changes in knowledge that have come rapidly the past few years now have some scientists biting their nails over the Doomsday supervolcano in Yellowstone Park. That volcano has shown all the signs of becoming active: parts of the ground have heated to just under 1,000⁰ F while the earth is bulging from a building lava dome and a lake has completely boiled away.
Just two years ago many geophysicists assured everyone, including the federal government, that there really wasn’t anything to worry about. Really. Now those same scientists have shut up. If they talk at all to curious reporters they respond only in clipped monotones and then hurry away. What are they worried about?
Originally posted by antonia
Well, as I've said before-If it blows we will be the first to know about it!
I get I should care, but why? I can't do a damn thing about it.
The first paper looked at the Ubehebe Crater (you-bee-HE-bee) at the northern end of California's Death Valley. It's about half a mile wide and 700 feet deep. It was long believed to have been caused by a volcanic eruption sometime in the past 10,000 years or so. However, researchers recently looked at beryllium in the rocks and were able to date the last series of eruptions to just 800 years ago. They say the ingredients necessary for another eruption are all still there.
That volcano has shown all the signs of becoming active: parts of the ground have heated to just under 1,000⁰ F while the earth is bulging from a building lava dome and a lake has completely boiled away.
Brilliant Dr. Margaret Mangan California's top U.S.G.S. scientist The U.S. Geological Survey scientist in charge of keeping a wary eye on volcanoes located in California for the U.S. Geological Survey is Margaret Mangan. Recently she told USA Today that "The understanding of the timing of eruptions and the timing of the building up to eruptions is changing." And changing it is—at an alarming rate. The changes in knowledge that have come rapidly the past few years now have some scientists biting their nails over the Doomsday supervolcano in Yellowstone Park. That volcano has shown all the signs of becoming active: parts of the ground have heated to just under 1,000⁰ F while the earth is bulging from a building lava dome and a lake has completely boiled away.
Two recent papers highlight the shift. One looked at a Death Valley volcano thought to be 10,000 years old and found it last erupted just 800 years ago, and is still an eruption danger. The other found that large caldera volcanoes, such as the one under Crater Lake in Oregon, can recharge in a matter of decades, rather than the thousands of years previously thought. "The understanding of the timing of eruptions and the timing of the building up to eruptions is changing," says Margaret Mangan, the scientist in charge of volcano monitoring in California for the U.S. Geological Survey. "These two papers are very nice examples of good scientific work."
The changes in knowledge that have come rapidly the past few years now have some scientists biting their nails over the Doomsday supervolcano in Yellowstone Park. That volcano has shown all the signs of becoming active: parts of the ground have heated to just under 1,000⁰ F while the earth is bulging from a building lava dome and a lake has completely boiled away.