The Yellowstone “Super-Volcano” Stirs in its Sleep

 

(A cluster of earthquakes at the original National Park has seismologists watching closely)

Yellowstone National Park is more than a treasure trove of natural beauty, majestic mountain views, waterfalls and wilderness that teems with wildlife. It is also home to one of the biggest volcanic calderas in the world. An eruption there two million years ago is estimated to have been one of the three biggest in the history of earth. Parts of Yellowstone feature geysers like “Old Faithful”, boiling ponds of multi-colored mud, and streams so hot they give off steam. All these wonders are the result of geothermal activity not too far beneath the surface.

Since December 26^th, roughly 400 relatively small earthquakes, and a few larger ones, have shaken the Yellowstone region. Seismic activity is no rarity in the area. But seismologists say the quakes seldom come so close together; over such a short period of time. Are they, taken together, a harbinger of something bigger to come? “We don’t know,” says Robert Smith, professor of geophysics at the University of Utah. “They’re certainly not normal. We haven’t had earthquakes in this energy or extent in many years.” That’s why Smith and other scientists of his and related disciplines are in Yellowstone, monitoring activity, alert for signs that any kind of eruption might be in the offing.

Yellowstone is not a normal volcano such as Vesuvius, Aetna, or even Krakatoa. In fact, it’s hard to encompass in words just what it is. The major caldera measures 35 by 45 miles. It’s a giant. Thus the term “Super-Volcano.” Suffice it to say that if the Yellowstone caldera were to erupt in full force, much of North America would be blanketed in ash, which would also be blasted into the atmosphere along with volcanic gases. Together, they would change the world’s climate drastically for years. Days would be dim and cool, crops would fail, the blow to our economy can only be guessed at. Forget about emissions from your Volvo: volcanic eruptions are a force of nature second to none. Remember Mt. St. Helen’s? An eruption of Yellowstone would pack an estimated 25-hundred times the explosive force of that recent event.

And it’s not just earthquake clusters that scientists are scrutinizing. Those may or may not presage an eruption. More ominous would be the surface of the caldera bulging to any major degree. That could be an indication that magma (molten rock) and volcanic gases are looking for a way out. Yellowstone’s caldera surface has thrust upward nearly three inches a year for the past three years – the most since records started being kept in 1923.

All this is not to say that all hell is about to break loose in Wyoming and Montana. So far, volcanic experts say they see no evidence that a cataclysmic eruption will occur in the foreseeable future. It is worth noting, however, that those same scientists calculate that Yellowstone erupts on a 600-thousand year cycle, though not always with the same force. It’s been 640-thousand years since the last one. Hmmmm.

I’m not going to get into plate tectonics and the physics of volcanoes. I am neither a seismologist nor a vulcanologist and this is not a term paper. If I communicate anything here, I hope it is this: our planet has been undergoing massive changes on a more or less cyclical basis for billions of years. They make our puny, largely-useless efforts to control one of those cycles – the warming and cooling of the earth’s surface – comparable to an ant that sets out to move a mountain. Don’t get me wrong; we should strive to do as little harm to our environment as we possibly can. But we cannot hold back the forces of nature.

I don’t know what, if any, preparations have been made to get people in Wyoming and Montana, and surrounding states for that matter, to safety in the event Yellowstone should blow. I would suggest, however, that while we’re watching and monitoring to see what might happen, those preparations should start being put in place. It would be rather too late to wait until the caldera explodes skyward. Ah, nature! So beautiful…so treacherous.

I will never forget my visit to Yellowstone with my Mom when I was 12 years old. Even for a kid from the woodsy part of Connecticut it was awe-inspiring. The bubbling mud, the geysers, the pristine stands of pine, the lakes and rivers and all the wildlife: moose, antelopes, bears. And we were there when the early-summer flowers were in bloom. Gorgeous. I would like to go back and, hey, it’s not too late, take my kids with me. I pray the natural order of things allows that to happen.

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