Unusual Eruptions At Yellowstone’s Largest Active Geyser Baffles Scientists

The world’s largest active geyser has erupted three times in the past six weeks at Yellowstone National Park, including once this week, in a pattern that is highly unusual, according to geologists.  And scientists cannot explain what is causing the geyser to erupt.

One thing all scientists can agree on is that, as they’ve repeatedly told us before, the supervolcano churning below the serene scenery in Wyoming is not going to erupt anytime soon.  We shouldn’t be taking any of the anomalies to mean as much either.

According to Reuters, the Steamboat Geyser, which can shoot water as high as 300 feet (91 meters) into the air, erupted on March 15, April 19 and on Friday. The last time it erupted three times in a year was in 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Yellowstone Volcano Observatory said.  The last time it erupted prior to March was more than three years ago in September 2014.

As always, there’s nothing to worry about.  “There is nothing to indicate that any sort of volcanic eruption is imminent,” Michael Poland, the scientist in charge for the observatory, said in an email.

This year’s eruptions have been smaller than a usual Steamboat eruption, but the two in April were about 10 times larger than an eruption at the park’s famed Old Faithful Geyser in terms on the amount of water discharged, he said.

Geologists have not pinpointed a reason for the latest series of eruptions, but say they could indicate a thermal disturbance in the geyser basin, or that Steamboat may be having smaller eruptions instead of one large. –Reuters

Since most geysers do not erupt on a regular schedule, “it might just reflect the randomness of geysers,” Poland said. While the Steamboat eruptions are unusual, what would be far more worrying would be the water in the hydrothermal systems drying up, which could indicate that the super hot magma deep below was making its way to the surface -and an eruption could occur.

Ominous Earthquake Swarm At Yellowstone Supervolcano Now One Of Longest Ever Recorded

This report was originally published by Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge

The rumblings beneath the formerly dormant supervolcano known as the Yellowstone caldera just won’t quit. And the ongoing earthquake swarm at the Yellowstone National Park supervolcano is now one of the longest ever recorded, having started on June 12.

Over the past three and a half months, almost 2,500 earthquakes have been recorded in the western part of the national park. This is on par with the biggest swarm ever recorded, where more than 3,000 earthquakes took place over three months, Newsweek reports.

In its latest monthly update about activity at Yellowstone, the US Geological Survey said 115 earthquakes had been reported in the park during September. Of these, 78 were part of the ongoing swarm 6 miles north of West Yellowstone. The biggest event in the swarm last month was magnitude 2.3.

“This is the sort of work that will happen in the months to come, as we gather up all of the available data and start crunching numbers,” Poland says. “What we can say now is that through the of September, the University of Utah has located 2,475 earthquakes in the swarm. This puts the 2017 swarm on par with that of 1985, which lasted three months and had over 3,000 located events.

“[This is] certainly a fascinating event and one that we hope to learn more about through some post-swarm analysis,” he adds. “There’s a lot to work on this winter, for sure.”

While scientists at the USGS have brushed off the threat of a supervolcano eruption, scientists at NASA have said it represents a potentially devastating threat to the US population. These same scientists have suggested several risky strategies to prevent an eruption if one appears imminent.

Brian Wilcox, a former member of the NASA Advisory Council on Planetary Defense, and several other NASA researchers over the summer shared a report previously unseen outside the space agency about the threat Yellowstone poses, and what can be done to prevent an eruption.

According to NASA, an eruption at Yellowstone could plunge the earth into a volcanic winter and destroy crops and livestock, precipitating widespread famines. Food reserves would only last about 74 days, according to the UN, after an eruption of a super volcano, like that under Yellowstone.

With an eruption long overdue, NASA has devised a plan to drill into the caldera and try to artificially cool it – a strategy that researchers say comes with its own risks.

Scientists at the USGS say the monthslong earthquake storm at the caldera has ended; however, they played down the risks posed by the swarm shortly after it started over the summer, only for the rumbling to continue. Others maintain that an eruption is long overdue.

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Author: Tyler Durden
Views: Read by 474 people
Date: October 6th, 2017
Website: http://www.zerohedge.com/

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Yellowstone Approaches Record Levels Of Seismic Activity

By now, most are aware of the earthquake swarm under the Yellowstone super volcano.  Many people are fearing a major eruption, and those terrors aren’t calmed for some as the national park approaches a record number of earthquakes.

A cluster of earthquakes at the Yellowstone Park volcano is the most active it’s been in recent history. The earthquake count is up to 2,357 since June with the largest having a magnitude of  4.4. The majority of the earthquakes were magnitudes of 0 or 1, according to a report by Newsweek.

Yet scientists are assuring the public that a swarm of earthquakes doesn’t necessarily signal an eruption of the super volcano. But when the type of earthquakes occurring in Yellowstone deviates from the standard, it could mean that an eruption is forthcoming. A swarm of earthquakes is rather normal for Yellowstone, but the number of quakes is approaching a new record.

The current swarm is approaching the record set in 1985 when three months brought over 3,000 earthquakes. In 2010 a swarm brought over 2,000 earthquakes over a month.  Scientists still say to not worry too much. The threat of an eruption is still very slim.

The current situation doesn’t present too much of an eruption threat. The geological pressure would have to be sizable for anything to occur. “Yellowstone has had dozens of these sorts of earthquake swarms in the last 150 years it’s been visited. The last volcanic eruption within the caldera [crater] was 70,000 years ago. For magma to reach the surface, a new vent needs to be created, which requires a lot of intense geological activity,” said Jacob Lowenstern, one of the scientists managing the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. –The Epoch Times

Lowenstern went on to say that the odds are very high that Yellowstone will go centuries more without an eruption and that if one does occur, it will be minor. Should these earthquakes lead to an eruption, scientists think it would not be of much consequence. “If Yellowstone erupts, it’s most likely to be a lava flow, as occurred in nearly all the 80 eruptions since the last ‘supereruption’ 640,000 years ago. A lava flow would be a big deal at Yellowstone, but would have very little regional or continental effect,” Lowenstern explained.

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Author: Mac Slavo
Views: Read by 1 people
Date: September 3rd, 2017
Website: www.SHTFplan.com

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