Yellowstone's threat: Will there be an eruption of a super volcano? Such a natural cataclysm has the potential for the complete annihilation of mankind. Yellowstone volcano: is it worth it to fear the eruption

Yellowstone is one of the largest super-volcanoes in the world. It is located in the same national park of the United States, famous for its geysers. Over the past 2 million years, there have been several powerful eruptions, so Yellowstone is considered dormant. In the 1960s and 1970s, studies by scientist Robert Christiansen from the US Geological Survey showed that the size of the caldera, a circus-like basin of the super volcano, is about 55 and 72 km, and thus it occupies one-third of the park's territory.

The activity of supervolcanoes can lead to consequences of a planetary scale. After the super-eruption, sudden temperature fluctuations can occur. Coldness even half a degree on a planetary scale leads to a very sharp redistribution of air masses, hurricanes and catastrophic precipitations are possible. For example, due to global warming in Australia, there are severe droughts, changing tornadoes and hurricanes. And this is the impact of minimal climate change.

"Undoubtedly, the danger of super-eruption on this volcano exists, because they have already happened many times. There is some periodicity of these eruptions. Well, journalists, of course, begin to calculate and say that the volcano had to explode 30,000 years ago and so on. - says Oleg Melnik, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. - In fact, firstly, there is no precise periodicity with an accuracy of up to a year for this volcano, so that the eruption can occur in a relatively near future, say, for thousands of years or tens of thousands of years. But it's obvious that there are no signs of activating Yellowstone now. This is a great geothermal system that lives its own life. "

In his turn, the professor of the geological department of Moscow State University, volcanologist Pavel Plechov is sure that "those models that now exist say that the activation of Yellowstone volcanic activity, even if it does, will not start immediately with a catastrophic eruption." "Most likely, first one or two will grow, maybe three small volcanoes, and then, maybe, this will mature before the super-eruption, and maybe it will calm down or continue in this mode," he says.

Yellowstone is located above the area where the hot molten rock of the mantle moves to the surface - the so-called hot spot. Currently, it is under the Yellowstone plateau. The observed direction of the hot spot is east-north-east. At the same time, the North American plate moves in the direction of the west-south-west over the fixed "bottom" of the hot spot. Over 17 million years, the Yellowstone hot spot produced continuous intense eruptions and less intense eruptions of basaltic lava. So from the mountainous region the eastern part of the lowlands of the Snake River was created.

According to Pavel Plechov, there were only three very large eruptions, the last - about 640 thousand years ago. But between these catastrophic super-eruptions there were many small ones. The last eruptions of Yellowstone occurred about 80-100 thousand years ago - but these were ordinary eruptions, similar to those that often occur in Kamchatka.

PhD, volcanologist at the University of Oregon in Eugene (USA) Ilya Bindemann in 2013 presented the results of his studies of Yellowstone. He studied the ability to magmatically generate this part of the continent and concluded that there were three giant eruptions in one part of this part of the continent. As a result, the magma that could have been generated in such a volume already exists, but there is no resource for the next giant eruption. That is, there can be ordinary eruptions, or a little more large-scale ones.

But in order to form a supercalder, overthrowing, it is necessary that the North American plate shifts and shifts that hot spot that is beneath Yellowstone and feeds it, giving energy to all these processes. Even if it has already shifted, if these processes occur instantaneously, it still takes some time for a new focus to form again in the new location. And then an eruption is possible. Bindemann estimates this time at about 2.5 million years. He is sure that there will be no super-eruptions in this place, and in another place it can occur at least after 1.5 million years.

Despite such forecasts, the USGS has created a powerful monitoring network not only for Yellowstone, but for all the volcanoes of the country: Alaska, Hawaii and Mariana Islands, California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming, and in Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. At the official site   USGS has an interactive map that displays the status of volcanoes online. In addition, anyone can subscribe to free notifications of volcanic activity. Of course, the USGS has a page on Facebook, and the Volcanic Observatory in Alaska also has Twitter. And you can get official data on the state of volcanoes for each day.

So with Yellowstone everything is all right, it is under constant monitoring in real time, which confirms the information on the site USGS   . About the danger everyone learns not from the yellow press, but in advance from official sources.

Usually the internal forecast appears months before the event, and the super-eruption will most likely be predicted over the years. There must be clear indications that the volcano is preparing for the eruption and is already approaching the stage of its beginning.

The population is notified for two weeks. Then it will be roughly known on what day the eruption will be. If you announce this in six months, then panic will begin and there can be bad consequences. Local services decide how to conduct evacuation. For each volcano studied, there is a volcanic hazard map showing where to go, so that people will not suffer, how the lava flow will go, what is under threat and what is not.

Julia Troitskaya

The huge super volcano lying under the Yellowstone National Park in the US can wake up much earlier than previously thought. This is evidenced by new research of specialists. In the history of mankind, such cataclysms have not happened yet, and it is difficult for scientists to predict the probable consequences. However, theoretical calculations indicate a possible approximation of a global catastrophe.

The frightening beauty

Yellowstone National Park is located in the northwestern United States in the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Known primarily geothermal activity, it attracts more than 4 million tourists annually. Its multi-colored reservoirs, powerful geysers and rocks of bizarre shapes are known to all from geographical atlases. But from the eyes of an ordinary tourist deep under the surface hidden terrible processes that can instantly turn incredible beauty into a deadly terror.

The fact is that almost the entire national park is located on the mouth of the volcano, which is called the "Yellowstone Caldera". In general, the caldera is a circus deepening of the earth's surface with steep walls and a more or less even bottom, formed as a result of the failure of the top of the volcano and in some cases of the surrounding terrain. Caldera on Earth is somewhat, but Yellowstone is one of the largest. Its dimensions are astounding 55 by 72 km! Deepening was formed during three incredibly powerful eruptions that occurred over the last 2.1 million years. They formed the picturesque landscape of the park that visitors admire today. And each of the eruptions divided 600-800 thousand years.

Considering that the last super-eruption happened in Yellowstone for more than 630 thousand years ago, a new cataclysm may not be far off.

The incomprehensible power of Mother Nature

It is difficult to realize that monstrous power that is constrained inside the Globe. Only in the rare cases, when nature in different cataclysms reveals its capabilities to mankind, we personally see all its power. But, fortunately, really large-scale events happen very infrequently.

One of the most deadly and devastating incidents caused by a volcano is the eruption of Krakatoa in modern Indonesia in 1883. Then a minimum of 36 thousand people were killed as a result of the eruption itself and the tsunami caused by it. The consequences of this catastrophe were felt all over the world. A chain of powerful explosions in one day almost completely destroyed the island of Krakatoa and many surrounding atolls. In the sky, up to 80 km up a cloud of rock, the volume of about 20 cubic kilometers. The sound of the explosion was heard at a distance of more than 4800 km, and shock waves circled the Earth seven times. In the area of ​​Krakatau, the area fell into total darkness, plunging into the night territory with a radius of more than 400 km. At a distance of 200 km, the darkness lasted 22 hours, at a distance of 80 km - 57 hours. Almost 300 settlements were completely destroyed.

However, the index of volcanic activity (an indicator of the explosive volcanic eruption) during the crash Krakatau was "only" 6 on the 8-point scale. If the "Yellowstone monster" wakes up, the force of its eruption will reach its maximum, that is, it will be 100 times more powerful than Krakatoa. Such a natural cataclysm has the potential for the complete destruction of mankind.

How the volcanic apocalypse can look like

If Yellowstone comes to life, then 1000 cubes can spew out. km of rock, which will lead to an absolute destruction of the western US states. An earthquake of colossal power will provoke volcanic eruptions all over the planet. Tsunamis of unprecedented heights will be destroyed by thousands of settlements on the coasts of all continents. From the face of the earth will be erased New York, London, St. Petersburg, Lisbon, Boston, Shanghai and other coastal cities. The streets of Las Vegas will be covered with a one-and-a-half meter layer of ash, which will fill up the fertile fields. Together with sulfuric gases, he will close the Sun and lead to a long "volcanic winter". A sharp cooling will lead to the extinction of the population and mass forced migration to the south of the inhabitants of northern countries (Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, northern Russia).

The global drop in air temperature, the layer of ash and the weakening of photosynthesis due to lack of solar radiation will lead to the collapse of agriculture on a planetary scale and, as a result, to a worldwide hunger. Particularly affected are such densely populated countries as China and India. The total human losses in the first years after the eruption will exceed 2 billion people. The lack of resources will entail numerous armed conflicts, and, probably, the disintegration of the modern world order. Situated in the temperate zone of Ukraine with its rich natural resources, it will inevitably become the object of encroachments by its neighbors.

Such apocalyptic predictions make different scientists about the possible consequences of a super volcano explosion.

What's happening in Yellowstone

The Yellowstone Super Volcano is one of the most thoroughly studied in the world. For a long time, dozens of sensors and scientists and even several satellites have been watching him. While the data say that the volcano does not pose a threat in the near future, however, the results of recent studies have been a surprise for everyone: the super volcano is rapidly preparing for a new eruption.

Researchers from the University of Arizona studied fossilized ash, formed after the last mega-eruption more than half a million years ago. They came to the conclusion that the "active regime" of the volcano could come in decades, although it was previously believed that thousands of years were needed for this. To provoke the eruption, a huge array of magma must accumulate, but scientists learned that in the case of Yellowstone, this process will end almost instantaneously (in the geological sense, of course).

Several years ago, experts established that the surface of the earth above the chamber where magma accumulates quickly rose by about 25 centimeters, which indicates a high underground activity.

"It's amazing how little time is needed for the volcanic system to move from the quiet and calm state to the verge of eruption," the co-author of the study, Hannah Shamlo, told the New York Times.

It is also troubling that since the beginning of the summer almost 2500 earthquakes of various strength have been recorded in Yellowstone. Although this region has always been seismically unstable, such a high activity is a record. For all the time of observation, more tremors in such a short time were only in 1985, when their number exceeded 3 thousand. Most earthquakes were weak and recorded only by seismographs, but the activation of underground mobility is alarming and requires in-depth study.

How to prevent the end of the world

In these terrible forecasts, a ray of light looks like NASA's proposal to "extinguish" Yellowstone. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration proposed several wells in the park with a depth of 10 km and pumping water under pressure to cool the underground rock. Despite the high price (about $ 3.5 billion), NASA believes that this plan has a fairly high chance of success. Moreover, in part to restore the investment will help build on-site wells of plants to convert cheap geothermal energy into electricity.

The opponents of this plan for the salvation of mankind use two main arguments. Firstly, such a "quenching" of a volcano can take a long time (up to several hundred years). Secondly, it can vice versa - provoke an underground pressure jump and, accordingly, a ground eruption. They argue that the numerous geysers scattered throughout the Yellowstone Park allow for a slight reduction in underground stress, and human intervention will only harm natural processes.

When to wait for a mega-explosion

The Yellowstone volcanic system has existed for at least 17 million years (and our civilization is about 6 thousand years old), and during this time 12 so-called "super-eruptions" occurred with the highest level of volcanic activity. In total, this area survived a hundred and fifty eruptions. During this long time the system stabilized itself, somewhat complicating the compilation of forecasts. Since the last eruption of the volcano occurred here 70 thousand years ago, for the launch of these processes, powerful earthquakes and changes in the geological picture are needed anew.

Almost all who are deeply involved in the study of the Yellowstone Super Volcano assure that there is no way to know exactly when the next major eruption will happen. Japanese scientists recently came to the conclusion that the probability of an explosion american super-volcano   in this century is 1: 6. The US Geological Survey, taking into account the previous history, estimates the chances that this will happen in the near future, at 1 to 730 thousand or 0.00014%. This can roughly be compared with the probability of a collision of the Earth with an asteroid, a diameter of more than 1 km, which would have had destructive consequences for humanity.

The powerful Yellowstone volcano showed a formidable character during a solar eclipse, as scientists had expected. Yellowstone shakes "not childly": the boiling of the caldera is accompanied by record indicators.

  As noted by experts who monitor the behavior of a dangerous geyser on August 21, 2017 at the time of a total solar eclipse, there were 6 earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park, the magnitude of which was 3.2 points.

Underground shocks occurred at 3:00 UTC. Epicenter was 15 kilometers from the city of West Yellowstone. The heath lay at a depth of 9.3 kilometers. In total, since August 1, 2017, 863 earthquakes have occurred in Yellowstone, which serve as an alarm signal to something disastrous.

"Eruptions, may not be, but increased seismic activity will be, because the volcano has been affected simultaneously by two eclipses", - write the network users.

"Found a more reasonable way than undermining the super volcano. This is pumping water into it under high pressure. But this also has considerable risk, since drilling itself can provoke an eruption, "NASA's risky plans are being discussed.

A huge volcano in the US does not let sleepy NASA scientists, frightening them with new precursors of the Apocalypse. After all, experts are absolutely sure if a sleeping geyser explodes - this will lead to a nuclear winter on the whole continent.

To date, NASA experts are nurturing a "risky" rescue plan, which, in their view, will save Americans from imminent death. After all, over the past day in the Yellowstone region there were 8 earthquakes with a magnitude of 0.7-1.2 points. The focus was at a depth of 6.3 to 10.4 km.

Scientists suggest removing enough heat to reduce the temperature by 35%, thus avoiding its eruption. One possible option is to increase the volume of water in the super volcano. If you cut a hole 10 km deep and pour water in there under pressure, the circulating water will leave at a temperature of about 350 ° C and thus, day after day, remove heat from the volcano. The cost of such a project will be about $ 3.46 billion.

If you believe the experts time to sit idly by. The volcano erupts every 600 years, so the time of the next awakening has come.

Almost all of the 100 miles around Yellowstone National Park will be killed, but even more severe testing awaits residents of major cities such as Salt Lake City and Denver.

Hot volcanic ash, rocks and dust will fall on these cities in a few weeks.

Anyone who lives in these cities will find it extremely difficult to survive.

It is estimated that 90% of people living within a radius of 1,000 km from Yellowstone Park will die.

As previously reported, the government is monitoring the activity of the volcano.

Under the territory of Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming) there is a hearth a large volcano, which has now intensified.

According to experts, the volcano woke up after a recent earthquake, which triggered an increase in the number of magma eruptions. Today Yellowstone Volcano   is considered one of the most dangerous active volcanoes   on the ground.

What kind of a volcano?

The Yellowstone volcano is a super volcano. Recall that the super volcano is not strictly a scientific term, usually it is the volcanoes that formed in the hollow in the earth, which is called the caldera.

It is not only a volcano large in size and size. It is extremely dangerous, since its eruption can provoke climate change on the planet. Now, about 20 super-volcanoes are known on the planet, including Yellowstone.

Another difference between the super volcano and the usual one is that when a volcano erupts, the lava gradually accumulates in the mountain, and only then begins to come out.

In the super volcano, magma, approaching the surface, is collected in a huge underground reservoir. It melts the nearest rocks and becomes even thicker, while the pressure continues to build up.

The Yellowstone super volcano is just above the hot spot where the hot molten rock is closest to the surface.

The last day of Pompeii

Yellowstone's super volcano has long been troubling scientists, and ordinary people. About its danger began to speak back in April 2016, when the experts had the first suspicions of a possible catastrophe.

Then, in April 2016, when a series of earthquakes swept across America, many were terrified, from the news in the media: "The very dangerous volcano   woke up "," America will soar into the air "- frightened journalists.

And maybe not for nothing to scare?

Then in April the correspondent of "Ridus" talked with the professor of the geographical faculty of the Moscow State University Andrei Lukashev, who was not going to frighten anybody, but he did not feel a positive attitude either:

The consequences of the forthcoming eruption will lead to the so-called effect of nuclear winter: people will not see the Sun for several years, Lukashev said then.

Even then, scientists began to sound the alarm, pointing to a catastrophe that could occur at any time.

Destruction Area

As you know, the dangerous volcano is located in the Yellowstone National Park, in the state of Wyoming (USA), its hollow is 55 by 72 kilometers, which is about a third of the park's territory and almost twice as large as New York and Moscow.

This size and power of the volcano seriously worries not only geologists, but also ordinary people, because if the eruption starts, it will not only destroy the US, but also cause great ecological damage to the entire Earth. According to a number of researchers, the consequences of the eruption will lower the temperature on the Earth by 21 degrees, but also destroy huge populations of animals and plants, which will become a catastrophe of universal scale.

The eruption will lead to the death of at least 87,000 people, experts say.

The Yellowstone volcano shows its activity every 600 years, and now, just 600 years have passed. This is a normal action of standard volcanoes, because I do not see anything strange in it, and all geologists too - this was predicted a long time ago. In addition, it is not a fact that the eruption will occur, Peter Shebalin, a researcher at the Institute for the Theory of Earthquake Prediction and Mathematical Geophysics, told Ridus. Old Campaigner

And yet, recently the sleeping volcano begins to show more and more obvious signs of activity, which only aggravates the situation around him. So, more recently - on the night of October 3 to October 4, 2017, black smoke poured from the volcano, which frightened the inhabitants of the state in jest. It turned out that the smoke was coming from the geyser of the Old Campaign - the most famous geyser of the volcano.

Usually the volcano throws a jet of hot water from the geyser with a height of 9-storey house at intervals of 45 to 125 minutes, but here instead of water or at least steam, black smoke is thrown.

Why the black smoke comes from the volcano - it's not clear. Perhaps this is a burning organic substance that has come to the surface. But it's too early to worry, since the burning of one geyser does not say anything yet, Shebalin explained. Animals can not be fooled?

For example, before the earthquake, many owners of pets noticed that animals behaved extremely strange: dogs barked and cats rushed about the house, and so on.

In September 1927, in the Crimea, 12 hours before the onset of the tremors, the cows refused to feed and began to moo anxiously, the horses were torn from their leash, the cats and dogs clung to their masters, howled and mewed.

In Ashgabat (1948) at the stud farm, the behavior of animals before the earthquake was even more violent. The horses knocked out the gates of the stables and burst out. Two hours later the building collapsed from an earthquake.

As for Yellowstone, even there the animals behave strangely. When news of the possibility of an eruption of a super volcano began to alarm people more and more often, a video of buffaloes running away from the Yellowstone National Park appeared on the network. This caused concern already among people who decided that this could be a sign of an eruption of a super volcano soon.

And although experts say that these are just seasonal migrations of animals in search of food, the public still does not believe in such coincidences.

Should I be afraid of the United States?

From all that has been said above, it is obvious that if the eruption does begin, the fate of at least the US looks clearly unenviable. The leading state of the world is unlikely to survive a possible catastrophe. However, the danger is aggravated by the fact that only the US apocalypse will not be limited. After the eruption, the temperature on the ground will drop by 21 degrees, and because of the emissions, the visibility will not exceed one meter. The very same US territory will be completely flooded with lava.

Analysis of the molten rock of the Yellowstone super volcano showed that the eruption is possible without any external influences, so a catastrophe can occur at any time.

Yellowstone volcano in the US is considered a hot spot of the Earth, like Hawaii with its Kilauea or Eyyafyadlyayukudl in Iceland. They are, of course, very dangerous in their eruption due to their size and power, as they will throw out millions of cubic meters of magma, and ashes will be many. But we do not yet have enough data to speak about the exact or at least approximate date of its eruption, said Vasily Lavrushin, a member of the Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Just setting the date of a possible eruption and dealing with scientists. This is necessary in order to be ready for the impending catastrophe. The problem of the volcano is occupied by NASA, volcanologists from the University of Victoria, as well as New Zealand geologists.

However, not all experts believe in the fatal character of the alleged catastrophe.

Worry about the eruption of the volcano to the inhabitants of the United States, and we are with you, just not worth it. At least in the next 5 years exactly. The volume of the mass is not enough to cause an eruption of the volcano, which everyone is afraid of, says Shebalin.