Is Yellowstone's Eruption Threat Real?

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Smith emphasizes that while the recent TV docudrama exaggerates the dangers of Yellowstone, there are still significant risks, such as hydrothermal blasts that could harm tourists and toxic gas emissions from geothermal features, which have already caused fatalities among wildlife. The USGS advocates for enhanced monitoring and a 24-hour watch office to provide timely warnings and prevent potential human disasters. The discussion also touches on the broader implications of supervolcano eruptions, comparing them to catastrophic events like asteroid impacts, while acknowledging that smaller eruptions pose a more immediate threat. Participants express varying levels of concern about volcanic activity and its potential impact on civilization, with some reflecting on historical eruptions and their consequences.
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"Smith does not paint the devastating picture portrayed in a recent TV docudrama but said smaller threats exist. For example, a lower-scale hydrothermal blast could scald tourists strolling along boardwalks.
Emissions of toxic gases from the park's geothermal features also pose a threat. Five bison dropped dead last year after inhaling poisonous gases trapped near the ground due to cold, calm weather near Norris Geyser Basin.
Stepped up monitoring and a new 24-hour watch office could lead to more timely warnings and help avoid human catastrophes at Yellowstone and nationally, according to the USGS."

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7789918/

I saw some of the "docudrama" as well as a NGC pure documentary on this subject, which was very scary. It's not just a volcano, but a "supervolcano".
 
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zoobyshoe said:
"Smith does not paint the devastating picture portrayed in a recent TV docudrama but said smaller threats exist. For example, a lower-scale hydrothermal blast could scald tourists strolling along boardwalks.
Emissions of toxic gases from the park's geothermal features also pose a threat. Five bison dropped dead last year after inhaling poisonous gases trapped near the ground due to cold, calm weather near Norris Geyser Basin.
Stepped up monitoring and a new 24-hour watch office could lead to more timely warnings and help avoid human catastrophes at Yellowstone and nationally, according to the USGS."

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7789918/

I saw some of the "docudrama" as well as a NGC pure documentary on this subject, which was very scary. It's not just a volcano, but a "supervolcano".
Yeah, supervolcano's etuptions can be like a hundred miles wide. They really think it'll erupt? I knew we were over due.
 
The New Yellowstone Hiking Suit

troy-bear.gif

http://www.improb.com/news/2001/nov/troy-bear2.html
 
so..if yellostone blows up we are screwed big time right ?
 
stoned said:
so..if yellostone blows up we are screwed big time right ?
The end of civilization as we know it.
 
actually i would not mind it, because USA going to go first and maybe rest of the world would somehow cope better with this blow up..
you know, people who are less dependant on electricity, and all basic servicess.
 
Yeah I wouoldn't mind no running water for a few decades.
 
Mk said:
Yeah I wouoldn't mind no running water for a few decades.

You're on that part of guam, eh?
 
  • #10
zoobyshoe said:
"Smith does not paint the devastating picture portrayed in a recent TV docudrama but said smaller threats exist. For example, a lower-scale hydrothermal blast could scald tourists strolling along boardwalks.
Emissions of toxic gases from the park's geothermal features also pose a threat. Five bison dropped dead last year after inhaling poisonous gases trapped near the ground due to cold, calm weather near Norris Geyser Basin.
Stepped up monitoring and a new 24-hour watch office could lead to more timely warnings and help avoid human catastrophes at Yellowstone and nationally, according to the USGS."

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7789918/

I saw some of the "docudrama" as well as a NGC pure documentary on this subject, which was very scary. It's not just a volcano, but a "supervolcano".
Thanks for posting this--I saw the same article, and in view of the documentary, which I also saw, I was going to post likewise. :biggrin:
 
  • #11
actually i would not mind it, because USA going to go first and maybe rest of the world would somehow cope better with this blow up..
you know, people who are less dependant on electricity, and all basic servicess.

Jealous, eh?
 
  • #12
SOS2008 said:
Thanks for posting this--I saw the same article, and in view of the documentary, which I also saw, I was going to post likewise. :biggrin:
Yes, it is capable of ending civilization as we know it, but also capable of many less severe kinds of eruption.

The programs took me by surprise: I had no idea volcanic eruptions of the scale they talked about had ever happened. It ranks right up there with getting hit by a big asteroid, or global thermonuclear holocaust.

Mt. Ranier, as the article mentioned, is another looming threat. In Italy a huge population has grown up around Mt. Vesuvius which could blow again at any time.

In 1980 when Mt. St. Helen's blew, I was about twenty five and had grown up assuming all North American volcanos were extinct. I thought, "Huh? We have those here?" I think pretty much everyone in the country outside of geologists had no clue.
 
  • #13
zoobyshoe said:
The programs took me by surprise: I had no idea volcanic eruptions of the scale they talked about had ever happened. It ranks right up there with getting hit by a big asteroid, or global thermonuclear holocaust.

If it interests you, I reccomend you look into the Toba supervolcano, being the last one to erupt. It is suggested to have caused a severe bottleneck in the early human population.
I used to have a link to a good page on it, but I can't seem to find it anymore.
 
  • #14
Hurkyl said:
Jealous, eh?
I hate all bastards with air conditioning and running water. :biggrin:
 
  • #15
I think we are more in tune to the possible natural disasters that are closest to where we live.
Odds are a mega eruption will not occur in my life time.
I have much greater odds of being in a Tornado, so I tend to worry about them, hence learn more about them.
 
  • #16
I lived in Ohio and Minnesota for a while where I was constantly dodging tornados, so I know what that's like. Here, I had to forget tornados and get used to the earthquakes and wildfires.
 
  • #17
Incidently, Geneticists have noted that there seems to be a genetic bottleneck tracing populations back 75,000 years or so, to a point where there seem to hav ebee only 5,000 people or so left alive. That is roughly the same time period as the last super volcanic eruption.
 
  • #18
That would be the toba eruption I mentioned.
 
  • #19
matthyaouw said:
That would be the toba eruption I mentioned.
Don't worry, I noticed who was first.
 
  • #20
matthyaouw said:
That would be the toba eruption I mentioned.

Indeed you did. See, this is why i need to not be lazy and read whole threads before posting. Sorry bout that.
 
  • #21
sorry, wasn't in the best of moods yesterday.
 

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