Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Yellowstone is bigger

Well, I always thought that it was big, in an ill-defined sort of way.  But apparently it is even larger than that.

Yellowstone supervolcano 'even more colossal'
Rebecca Morrella, BBC News, 10 December 2013 (hat tip: NC)
The supervolcano that lies beneath Yellowstone National Park in the US is far larger than was previously thought, scientists report.
A study shows that the magma chamber is about 2.5 times bigger than earlier estimates suggested.
A team found the cavern stretches for more than 90km (55 miles) and contains 200-600 cubic km of molten rock.
I live somewhat downwind of a nuclear power plant, so I am not immune to locality based impending doom.

4 comments:

Spud said...

Wonder if any thought has been given as to the chance it has grown since last estimate....

James M Dakin said...

I wonder if Gore Warming made it bigger?

russell1200 said...

Spud: A good point. I am presuming based on the wording that they are not using new/unique data points, just reassessing the known. In either case, the bang is bigger.

russell1200 said...

James: Hot air rises, so I don't think it would influence geological process, but it might have an influence on the ozone layer.