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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Yellowstone Lake about to explode? |
| 2003-08-01 |
| Edited for brevity. Beneath the serene surface of Yellowstone Lake, where death from hypothermia comes within 30 minutes, seethes a boiling underwater world. And like a pot too long on the stove, it could boil over, says U.S. Geological Survey geologist Lisa Morgan, Ph.D., of Colorado. She has found that temperatures along the inflated plain have been recorded at about 85 degrees 60 feet down, where the plain bulges up about 100 feet above the lake floor. (Park spokesman Cheryl Matthews says the lake rarely reaches more than 66 degrees at the surface by late summer, and is much colder deeper down.) The inflated plain stretches 2,100 feet - about the length of seven football fields - across. "We think this is very young," something that occurred in the last few years, Morgan said. "We’re thinking this structure could be a precursor to an hydrothermal explosive event," Morgan said last week. "But we don’t think this is a volcano." If the bulge should explode, "we think it would create a large crater." But such an explosion, smaller versions of which created Indian Pond, Duck Lake and Mary Bay itself, would probably heat up the water temporarily, create high waves, spew poison gasses and other materials into the lake for a time, and leave a rimmed underwater crater. At this point in her work, Morgan has outlined two possibilities for the plain: If the dome blows, 10-foot waves could wash the lake shore, rocks and pieces of lake floor could be tossed into the air, and "chemicals containing toxic materials" could be discharged into the lake. "There would be lots of water," Morgan said. Not the blue serenity of the present lake surface, but roiling, spewed-out hot water. "But we don’t think this is a volcano," Morgan said last week. Still, that possibility is being considered. She said what is causing the bulge is likely either carbon dioxide gas or steam. |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #10 Okay... (scratches Colo off list of potential places to move to when US economy picks up) So many things to consider when choosing a home! Not being vaporized, vulcanized, jihadized, irradiated, PC'd, or taxed to death - any others I should take into account? |
| Posted by: PD - Prez for Life - Isles of Langerhans 2003-8-1 8:10:09 PM |
| #9 Friend of mine used to be a high-ranking vulcanologist in USGS. His comment to me one evening at a stamp club meeting was "don't move to such and such a place - it's not safe." We were talking about moving to Idaho. Apparently, there's another hot spot associated with the Yellowstone area to the northwest - possibly a secondary hot spot or vent. There's also indication that the eastern Rocky Mountains are overdue for a major event, either vulcanology or earthquakes. Makes me feel so comfortable sitting here in Colorado Springs, also known as "crosshairs city". |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-8-1 4:21:43 PM |
| #8 Maybe a stupid question, but I wonder if the energy can be diverted by using this as a geothermal power source? |
| Posted by: Chemist 2003-8-1 3:13:23 PM |
| #7 Thanks for those links, Chuck. I now vaguely remember a show on Dicovery or TLC about that mentioned this about Yellowstone. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2003-8-1 2:16:22 PM |
| #6 Yellowstone is pretty much one big "shield" type volcano. That's why there's so many hot springs, geysers, etc. etc. Dangerous suckers. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-8-1 11:49:28 AM |
| #5 Frank, Long Valley / Mono Lake, in my generalization, fell into the category of Pacific Coast volcanoes. It does, however, pose as significant a threat to Los Angeles as does the San Andreas Fault. And it is due, as well. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-8-1 11:25:53 AM |
| #4 oops - found it in your volcano link. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-1 11:21:20 AM |
| #3 Chuck, you omitted the Long Valley Caldera under Mammoth Mtn in California. Carbon Monoxide seeping from the ground and volcanic byproducts as well as extensive tremors indicate the same kind of activity there |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-1 11:19:11 AM |
| #2 Yellowstone sits in the two craters of two super volcanic events, one of which may have been the biggest volcanic explosion ever. The whole park continues to tilt as the dome grows, and a new eruption is going to occur, though in the timeframe of the tens of thousands of year or so. The United States is under geologic threat from the many volcanoes along the Pacific coast that are known to be active, the New Madrid fault in the central Mississippi Valley, the San Andreas fault in California, and the Yellowstone Basin volcano. The two fault zones are both overdue, statisticly, for major earthquakes. Several of the Pacific Coast volcanoes are near to their mean eruption periods. Yellowstone is perhaps the least likely of the four for the immediate future. I believe Ms. Morgan is underestimating the force of a steam explosion, whatever else the geology is telling us. Yellowstone New Madrid San Andreas Pacific Coast Volcanoes |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-8-1 11:03:37 AM |
| #1 How large an explosion are they talking about here? A crater a couple of thousand feet in diameter sounds huge, who cares if its technically a volcano or not. |
| Posted by: Laurence of the Rats 2003-8-1 10:56:21 AM |