yellowstone supervolcano, in the United States, has been the subject of the news several times in recent years. Especially when it comes to the deadly consequences that its potential eruption will bring, which have been repeatedly said to be comparable to the consequences of the meteorite that destroyed the dinosaurs. But fatalism aside, a new scientific study has shown that the caldera, located in Yellowstone National Park contains more liquid magma than previously thought.
This confirms the work of a group of researchers, which became known earlier this month through The science. He explains that there is more molten magma in the upper reservoir of the Yellowstone supervolcano than originally thought. The results obtained showed that 16 to 20% is in the liquid statewhen the previous estimate was about 10%. But be careful, this does not mean that the amount of molten magma present in this place has increased in recent years. On the contrary, information that already existed and was inaccurate was corrected.
To come to this conclusion, scientists decided to analyze the data of the Yellowstone supervolcano for 20 years. Thus, they suggested that new tools be applied to refine previous findings and give them a better context. They recorded two decades of seismic noise from the site, created by human activity, winds and distant ocean waves, and used supercomputers to get a more accurate picture of the travel of seismic waves.
A new technique based on existing information
As the researchers explained New York Timesa new technique applied to the existing information base allowed Refuse to over-simplify traditional teaching methods. The fact is that earlier ground-based seismometers were used to identify magma deposits by monitoring earthquakes.
Because seismic waves travel more slowly when they hit deposits of partially molten magma, the time it takes to travel through them is calculated to determine how much magma is in a liquid state. The problem with this modality was that scientists did not take into account that not all seismic waves hit seismographs directly. So those who did it in other directions they were not captured and they did not appear in the final performance.
That is why it is now determined that the Yellowstone supervolcano will have twice as much liquid magma as is thought.
Is the Yellowstone supervolcano more dangerous than before?
Not necessary. Although the deposits of the Yellowstone supervolcano contain more liquid magma than previously thought, they do not pose an additional hazard of eruption. It lies in the fact that, although the chances of a boiler explosion are now closer than before, they are still far from the level of risk.
According to scientists, the Yellowstone supervolcano must have 35 to 50% of its molten magma reserves to start producing eruptions. And it’s not something that will happen right away.
We also recall that in recent years there have been periods of significant seismic activity in this place, which does not pose a danger. For example, in May 2020 alone, about 300 earthquakes were recorded in the area of the Yellowstone supervolcano, and there were no serious problems. While in 2019 it was found that some earthquakes recorded between 2017 and 2018 were actually aftershocks of the 1959 earthquake.
The Yellowstone supervolcano was formed as a result of three super eruptions. The first happened 2.1 million years ago and the last 640,000 years ago. In addition, it is assumed that the last eruption occurred in the caldera today. dated at least 70,000 years.
Source: Hiper Textual
