Yellowstone Volcano: Supervolcano Eruption Would Last for ‘Many Months,’ Possible Even ‘Years’

An eruption of the Yellowstone National Park supervolcano could last for over a year.

The park sits on top of the world’s largest active volcano, which erupted around 640,000 years ago and sent ash across most of North America.

The two other recorded eruptions are 1.3 million and 2.1 million years ago.

While discussing the effects of an eruption, supervolcano scientist Bob Smith told NBC that an eruption could last for a long time.
“These giant eruptions in Yellowstone – the supervolcano, if you wish — probably last many, many months, maybe even years,” Smith said.

The story also discussed news that is actually six months old–that Smith and other scientists discovered that the magma pool underneath the volcano is about 2.5 times larger than previously thought.

They found that the cavern stretches for more than 55 miles. ”We’ve been working there for a long time, and we’ve always thought it would be bigger… but this finding is astounding,” Smith, who is a professor at the University of Utah, told BBC at the time.

The team used a network of seismometers to map the gigantic chamber.

“We record earthquakes in and around Yellowstone, and we measure the seismic waves as they travel through the ground,” said Dr. Jamie Farrell, also of the University of Utah.

“The waves travel slower through hot and partially molten material… with this, we can measure what’s beneath.”

One theory is that eruptions happen every 700,000 years ago, but Smith said more data is needed to back that theory up.

“If we were to have another big eruption, it would affect a large area, on the order of several states,” Smith said. “But, as I said, that probability is very, very, very, very small. In my calculations, it’s .0001 percent.”

Epoch Times
July 14, 2014