Some places saw the ground rise by ten inches, experts report
Brian Handwerk for National Geographic News
Published January 19, 2011Yellowstone National Park's super volcano just took a deep "breath," causing miles of ground to rise dramatically, scientists report.
The simmering volcano has produced major eruptions—each a thousand times more powerful than Mount St. Helens's 1980 eruption—three times in the past 2.1 million years. Yellowstone's caldera, which covers a 25- by 37-mile (40- by 60-kilometer) swath of Wyoming, is an ancient crater formed after the last big blast, some 640,000 years ago.
Since then, about 30 smaller eruptions—including one as recent as 70,000 years ago—have filled the caldera with lava and ash, producing the relatively flat landscape we see today.
But beginning in 2004, scientists saw the ground above the caldera rise upward at rates as high as 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) a year.
The rate slowed between 2007 and 2010 to a centimeter a year or less. Still, since the start of the swelling, ground levels over the volcano have been raised by as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) in places.,,,,,,
(Click on the title to read more from NG)
Source: USGS
Notice the latest listing on 1/26/2011, 2.2 magnitude (Richter Scale) and only 6 miles deep.
And to think we were worried about the deficit?
Oh well, make it a good day!
