Caldera is not just some old Geyser!

Hiya! Almost didn’t see you there you’re eyeing those virtual technicolour doughnuts next to the coffee pot. Watch that pot! It’s volcano hot!  Did I say volcano? Could be because I was thinking about one that could have disastrous results for Planet Earth…pleasant thought for the day, eh?

I was reading about the volcano in Yellowstone National Park in the US of A – the Caldera (from the Spanish “Holy S^*t! that’s hot!)…otherwise ‘caldron’.

It is one dangerous volcano let me tell you. Not if but when it decides to blow the next time, nearly all of the US will be covered in ash. You remember how the recent eruption of the volcano in Iceland affected flights all across Europe and some in North America? Well ash from Caldera would be so thick in the atmosphere that it would block out the sun, disrupting the global climate and likely cause mass extinctions.

The last time it fully erupted was 640,000 years ago.  There were a couple big ones before that. There have also been smaller ones with the last one roughly 70,000 years ago.

So how do they know if and when an eruption is eminent? Yellowstone volcanologists keep an ear to the ground as it were. They monitor the volcano’s activity and can pick up signs of impending eruptions.

Earthquake swarms (series of quakes), ground deformation, and hydrothermal (steam) explosions can all signal impending volcanic activity. Yellowstone has them all but at the moment these are not sufficiently violent to raise concern. When you look at the size of the hot core sitting under the surface in the picture, it’s easy the see why they’d want to keep an eye on it, eh? 

Presently, the Yellowstone volcanologists don’t see any unusual activity. Unfortunately they don’t have any way to predict activity much more than weeks, possibly a month, out. Why? Earth's tectonic plates are too complex for their future to be known. So all they can do is rely on probability and what the volcano has done in the past. 

Most volcanologists agree that Caldera will have future eruptions but whether of not, or when, a big one will occur is anybody’s guess. It could still be tens of thousands of years before the next eruption. Or it could happen next month. Only Mother Nature knows for sure… Better have another doughnut just in case!

See ya!

Bob

(Picture from US National Parks Service)