Yellowstone Supervolcano May Erupt Quickly

The supervolcano lie in wait for beneath Yellowstone National Park could be getting ready to explode, an eruption that could be shattering to life on Earth. It could take as little as a human lifetime for a dormant volcano to wake up and make itself for an immense eruption, scientists say. As far as Yellowstone, such super-eruption last happened more than 600,000 years ago, after magma filled the empty chambers below the Earth’s surface some decades before it blew. Earlier it was supposed that this build up took thousands of years, but the new research suggests the timeframe was much tighter. The Yellowstone supervolcano, if it erupts, likely transforms the Earth’s weather into a volcanic winter. Even more concerning is the fact that we might not be given enough time to prepare for such a disaster. The latest findings were the result of a study carried out by a team from Arizona State University.

Researchers believed, such Yellowstone supervolcano is capable of unleashing abundant ash and rock into hundreds of cubic miles at one time into an eruption radius large enough to cover most of the united states in a thick fog and affect the environment of the entire planet. However, it’s not the only supervolcano there is. In Italy the “Campi Flegrei” is another example of one of these natural monsters that could be devastating if it were to erupt. In 1538, the Campi Flegrei, last blew, has experienced earthquakes and ground uplifting that has made room for magma to build up beneath it. The top level indicates that an eruption released 250 cubic miles of magma.

However, it is predicting a volcanic eruption is difficult, though volcanologists are trying to crack the code. This latest research, the scientists found during an analysis of material that after magma filled up the area beneath Yellowstone all those thousands of years ago, temperatures and other conditions changed quickly, over the course of just decades, leading to an eruption. Therefore, it is really shocking how little time is required to take a volcanic system from being quiet and sitting there to the edge of an eruption. Moreover in the recent times, Yellowstone has experienced ground uplifting, a major sign of activity that could possibly warn of an eruption because of the magma buildup that takes place beneath the swelling surface.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the last eruption at Yellowstone was 640,000 years ago. Yellowstone National Park doesn’t hold a classic image of a volcano, with a mountain looming high in the sky, but it is still home to a gigantic volcano structure. The most of park is within the Yellowstone caldera, the crater created when the magma from the supervolcano erupted and the Earth’s crust collapsed into the empty space it left behind. Thus, some of its main attractions, including the geyser Old Faithful and the Grand Prismatic Spring are signs of the site’s volcanic activity. However, according to new research, it would only take decades, considerably reducing the expected preparation time that we would have for the disaster.