Supervolcano?

Supervolcano?

DancingPurge (guest) 07 Jan 2011 16:08

Glad I found this site, it's made a necrophobic like me able to sleep at night.

Anyways, I keep hearing some stuff about Yellowstone or some other park and how it has a volcano underneath.
Something about how it's going to cover the atmosphere in a cloud or something, I'm not sure.

Anyways, it's one of the predictions I hear a lot, and seeing that it doesn't have a page here (that I know of), I decided to take it to the forums.

Re: Supervolcano?

TheGreatJuju 07 Jan 2011 16:19

That's the Yellowstone Caldera, and it is indeed the site of a "supervolcano." The whole Yellowstone region is monitored closely for seismic activity, and there's no evidence whatsoever that any type of major eruption is imminent or even likely over the next several thousand years.

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/publications/2005/docudrama.php

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"They tell you, but do you believe it? If so, why?"

http://www.undeadrufus.com

DancingPurge (guest) 07 Jan 2011 16:39

Thank goodness.
Nothing would ruin turning 18 more than having a supervolcano ruin all your plans.

DarthCraftus (guest) 24 Jan 2011 19:07

I just read this:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/110119-yellowstone-park-supervolcano-eruption-magma-science/
Is this good news or bad?

emmylou 24 Jan 2011 19:24

Hiya :)

I read this the other night and got really excited about it, I would say it's normal and something to watch :)

Current Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL when that changes
Current Aviation Color Code: GREEN when this goes to red

Thats when we need to watch closely ;)

Emmy.

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Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Albert Einstein

Tomy2011 24 Jan 2011 19:26

It's not good, nor is bad. It's just a report about a "breath" made by the Yellowstone Volcano.
And if you read all the article, you will find:

"But once we saw [the magma] was at a depth of ten kilometers, we weren't so concerned. If it had been at depths of two or three kilometers [one or two miles], we'd have been a lot more concerned."

Last edited on 24 Jan 2011 19:28 by Tomy2011 Show more

Astrogeek 24 Jan 2011 20:34

From the article (in addition to what Tomy2011 wrote):

Based on geologic evidence, Yellowstone has probably seen a continuous cycle of inflation and deflation over the past 15,000 years, and the cycle will likely continue, Smith said.

Surveys show, for example, that the caldera rose some 7 inches (18 centimeters) between 1976 and 1984 before dropping back about 5.5 inches (14 centimeters) over the next decade.

So what we are seeing is what is called intrusive vulcanism. This is the kind of vulcanism that forms rocks like granite, diorite, gabbro, and peridotite. The magma is squeezing out into the rock deep underground ( 10 kilometers, or about 5 miles, or about 3 1/2 miles below sea level ), and then spreading sideways, uplifting the entire region. This is not a sign of an impending eruption.

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"Do you ever think about things you do think about?" - Henry Drummond to Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind

DarthCraftus (guest) 25 Jan 2011 01:38

Thank you!
Btw, it's not so much the article that make me panic so much as it is the people in the comments.

Alene Y 25 Jan 2011 03:18

Hi DarthCraftus,
Since the article is quoting scientists whose job it is to monitor and study volcanoes in general and Yellowstone in particular, their word is much more credible than that of a bunch of random people speculating on things they know little about. You'll always see a bunch of screwball comments about an article like this.

Tomy2011 25 Jan 2011 13:01

The comments section is always saying otherwise to what the article says. They always try to link something to 2012.
So my hint is "do not read the comments".

DarthCraftus (guest) 25 Jan 2011 14:35

It's also articles like these that freak me out
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/could-the-worlds-largest-supervolcano-erupt/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1350340/Yellowstone-National-Park-s-caldera-volcano-ready-erupt.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1350123/Worlds-largest-volcano-Yellowstone-National-Park-wipe-thirds-US.html#ixzz1C3ZLrxbc%3Cbr%20/%3E

Tomy2011 25 Jan 2011 14:55

Scientists are predicting that the world's largest super-volcano in one of America's most popular national parks could erupt in the near future.

Which scientists? They don't name these scientists.

At the beginning we were concerned it could be leading up to an eruption. Once we saw the magma was at a depth of ten kilometres, we weren't so concerned. If it had been at depths of two or three kilometre we'd have been a lot more concerned.

Yes. A scientist said that.

At the breakingtravelnews.com article:

The National Park Service assures us: “There is no evidence that a catastrophic eruption at Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is imminent. Current geologic activity at Yellowstone has remained relatively constant since earth scientists first started monitoring some 30 years ago. Though another caldera-forming eruption is theoretically possible, it is very unlikely to occur in the next thousand or even 10,000 years. Scientists have also found no indication of an imminent smaller eruption of lava.

Peace!

3WMElliott 25 Jan 2011 14:59

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

There's your problem, the Daily Mail is generally the go-to paper for ridiculous attention grabbing headlines inciting some kind of fear. Read it by all means, but read the same story in another newspaper to get another (better?) view on it.

DarthCraftus (guest) 26 Jan 2011 06:12

Thank you all! Now I can sleep easy.

Tomy2011 26 Jan 2011 11:44

That's good.

DarthCraftus (guest) 27 Jan 2011 21:39

Wow! It's seems ever since the announcement was made, more articles about the caldera have been popping up every day on Google News.

Alene Y 27 Jan 2011 23:43

Yes, the media is making a huge deal of everything these days. I predict that this will continue until 2013. Oh, wow! I must be a seer…..not.

Tomy2011 27 Jan 2011 23:58

Yeah, I agree.
I always think what kind of people the doomsayers are. They are not scientist and they are not religious, obviously. Then what kind of people do predict the end of the world, and how they don't understand that future cannot be predicted.
Well, but we are different.

But the media folks are very different. They can't stop, and this is not faith. Is pure ignorance.

DarthCraftus (guest) 05 Feb 2011 21:20

*Sigh*
Yet another one http://www.islandcrisis.net/2011/02/worlds-largest-volcano-yellowstone-caldera-erupt/

Tomy2011 05 Feb 2011 21:34

"Near future" is very vague.
The eruption could be next year, within a hundred of years or never again. The scientists will be watchful, and if they are sure that the eruption will be soon, they will evacuate the country.

However, US will be rebuilt after the eruption, if it happens, and everything will back to normal. :-)

Last edited on 05 Feb 2011 21:44 by Tomy2011 Show more

DarthCraftus (guest) 05 Feb 2011 22:35

Why do these articles always make it sound like Yellowstone IS on the verge of erupting? Heck, it's in the title of this one!

Tomy2011 06 Feb 2011 00:52

If the title were "Yellowstone is normal", nobody would read it. The title is what attracts readers.

DarthCraftus (guest) 06 Feb 2011 17:34

What really bugs me is that these kind of articles always seem to come out whenever I start to feel better. It's like they're tying to destroy my optimism.

Astrogeek 07 Feb 2011 07:24

Yeah, but consider the source.

The news media has a saying, and it's a rather cynical and cruel insight into the minds of "reporters" and "news directors". It is "If it bleeds, it leads".

The fact of the matter is that the "News Media" is a filter. It pushes the horrible, the awful, and the gut-wrenching stories, because those are what sell papers and magazines and television commercials. The mundane stories aren't "news". If Joe Ordinary drives 45 minutes to work every day for 10 years with no traffic accidents, that's not news. Then one day he has an accident, and winds up killing someone, that is news.

As Tomy said above, the news story that "Yellowstone is acting entirely normally" wouldn't sell. So even though that is the gist of the story, they "sex it up" with how worried everybody is (or was until they realized it wasn't really an imminent danger).

I've become very cynical about the popular media for the most part. I've also become very cynical about press releases touting the next great scientific advance (because those are "sexed up" by the universities looking for grant donors), and I've learned that the image of the lone scientist making advances by bucking the system is pretty much a myth (at least for the most part).

Don't trust what you hear or read in the popular media. The reporter who wrote it probably doesn't understand the issue any better than you do, and if you spent an hour researching the issue you will probably know five times as much as they did when they wrote the article.

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"Do you ever think about things you do think about?" - Henry Drummond to Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind

Lindsay88 07 Feb 2011 16:14

The thing is, the news media I watch like the today show and fox and even CNN aren't saying anything on the television. It seems as if this is only online. Id be more worried if they were broadcasting it..but even then I know it's nothing to worry about

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*live*laugh*love*dance*

Tomy2011 07 Feb 2011 16:29

Good point. Both are not doing this propaganda in their websites too.

DarthCraftus (guest) 07 Mar 2011 18:09

I just found this http://www.tgdaily.com/general-sciences-features/54491-many-dormant-volcanoes-could-erupt-at-any-time

Gary (guest) 07 Mar 2011 18:38

If this stuff worries you then stop looking for it. Fear can be an addiction, you won't feel normal unless your scared. Read credible sources and quit looking for things to confirm your fears, you may think that by searching for info on supervolcanos you are trying to ease your fears, but in this day and age of conspiracy theories, lies and self proclaimed geniuses, you will find these things popping up all over.

DarthCraftus (guest) 07 Mar 2011 18:42

But how do I know what's credible? People can be very convincing.

Gary (guest) 07 Mar 2011 18:52

Ok, that's easy. If it's a direct quote from a geologist or a scientist, it's credible. If it's someone quoting a scientist or a geologist, it looses credibility as that scientist could be mis-quoted or taken out of context. If it's just some random lunatic doing the talking, it's completely non-credible. But really my best advice to you would be to just stop looking for it all together, because trust me, if a supervolcano was on the brink of eruption, it would be on every major news network in the world and you wouldn't have to look for it. Try and relax, I know it's hard with so much craziness circulating, but conspiracy theorists never give up, you just have to learn to know when someone is full of sh*t, which unfortunately seems to be a lot of people right now.

Alene Y 07 Mar 2011 22:31

You might also note all the ads. That site is definitely there to make money. They are deliberately sensationalizing their articles because that draws more people to their site, hence more sales of the loads of stuff all over the page.
Yes, dormant volcanoes can erupt again. That's why they are classified as dormant, rather than extinct. That isn't anything new and it is no more likely than it was 100 years ago.

Tomy2011 08 Mar 2011 23:04

1) You can research. If someone claim that Nibiru is real, for example, you can buy a telescope and look at the sky and quickly prove the proponent wrong. It's that simple.

2) As Gary said, read what a scientist is saying about a supervolcano or anything else, because I am sure that will be the best information you'll get. If a scientist has a different idea than another one, then you can search for more opinions and create your own, but this case is rare.

Ryanocerous 24 Mar 2011 11:58

Define credibility. In my most humble opinion there is absolutely no one on the planet with enough credibility to speak on whether or not this or any other volcano will erupt today or 10,000 years from today. Seismologists geologists have a a lot more information than the web "geniuses" I would definitely look to those with true education backed with research before the rest. BUT Will it? Won't it? Does not matter. What matters is today, right now, a flower, a sunset, a friend, a loved one. None of us is guaranteed our next breath. Which is why we can't afford to waste one single second of this one in fear of what the next will bring. There are a million ways to die, but only one to live, that is embracing each moment.
"I never think of the yesterdays. And I never think of the tomorrows. That leaves me just a small moment, the present moment — unburdened, uncluttered, clean, free." ~Osho~

3WMElliott 07 Mar 2011 19:17

By definition, every dormant volcano could erupt at any time - the whole point is that it's inactive but not completely shut off. So it's a pretty safe bet to suggest at some point, on some huge timescale, many dormant volcanoes will indeed erupt. But to suggest they'd all do so at once, or that they'd do so within our human lifetimes is pushing it a bit.