The eruptions of the super-volcano under America's Yellowstone could be FAR more frequent than scientists thought

The eruptions of the super-volcano under America's Yellowstone could be FAR more frequent than scientists thought

• 'Explosive volcanism from Yellowstone more frequent than thought'
  
• Eruption unleashed 500 square miles of ash
• Darkened skies from California to Mississipi River
• Most destructive natural disasters bar asteroid impacts

By Rob Waugh

PUBLISHED: 12:08 EST, 1 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:39 EST, 1 May 2012

A 'supervolcano' eruption is the most catastrophic natural disaster that can hit our planet, short of an asteroid impact - and scientists now believe America's Yellowstone is more active than we thought.

Two million years ago, an eruption of the supervolcano darkened the skies with ash from southern California to the Mississippi River, releasing more than 500 cubic miles of ash into the sky.

Now scientists believe that it was followed by a second eruption, around 6,000 years later - leading to fears 'explosive volcanism' from Yellowstone is more common than scientists thought.

Etna erupts this year: Two million years ago, an eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano darkened the skies with ash from southern California to the Mississippi River, releasing more than 500 cubic miles of ash into the sky

Castle Geyser and sunrise Yellowstone National Park Wyoming: Researchers now believe that the huge 'supervolcano' beneath the park is far more active than previously thought

Researchers at Washington State University and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre say the biggest Yellowstone eruption, which created the 2 million year old Huckleberry Ridge deposit, was actually two different eruptions at least 6,000 years apart.

‘The Yellowstone volcano’s previous behavior is the best guide of what it will do in the future,’ says Ben Ellis, co-author and post-doctoral researcher at Washington State University’s School of the Environment.

‘This research suggests explosive volcanism from Yellowstone is more frequent than previously thought.’

The eruption of super-volcanoes dwarfs the eruptions of recent volcanoes and can trigger planetary climate change by inducing Ice Ages and other impacts.

One such event was the Huckleberry Ridge eruption of present-day Yellowstone Park about two million years ago, which was more than 2,000 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington.

Short of a meteor impact, these super-eruptions are the worst environmental hazards our planet can face.

Their results paint a new picture of a more active volcano than previously thought and can help recalibrate the likelihood of another big eruption in the future. Before the researchers split the one eruption into two, it was the fourth largest known to science.

Steaming Mud Volcano at Yellowstone National Park in winter. Researchers now believe that the supervolcano beneath the park could be more active than thought

A car tries to outrun the dust cloud from a supervolcano in a documentary about the effects of an eruption

The new ages for each Huckleberry Ridge eruption reduce the volume of the first event to 2,200 cubic kilometers, roughly 12 percent less than previously thought. A second eruption of 290 cubic kilometers took place more than 6,000 years later.

That first eruption still deserves to be called ‘super,’ as it is one of the largest known to have occurred on Earth and darkened the skies with ash from southern California to the Mississippi River. By comparison, the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens produced 1 cubic kilometer of ash.

The larger blast of Oregon’s Mount Mazama 6,850 years ago produced 116 cubic kilometers of ash.

A BBC documentary imagines what might happen were the supervolcano under Yellowstone to erupt again - the red area is the huge ash cloud unleashed by the eruption

The study, funded by the National Science Foundation and published in the June issue of the Quaternary Geochronology, used high-precision argon isotope dating to make the new calculations. The radioactive decay rate from potassium 40 to argon 40 serves as a ‘rock clock’ for dating samples and has a precision of .2 percent. Darren Mark, co-author and a post-doctoral research fellow at the SUERC, recently helped fine tune the technique and improve it by 1.2 percentâ€"a small-sounding difference that can become huge across geologic time.

‘Improved precision for greater temporal resolution is not just about adding another decimal place to a number,  says Mark. ‘It's far more exciting. It's like getting a sharper lens on a camera. It allows us to see the world more clearly.’

The project asks the question: Might super-eruptions actually be products of multiple, closely spaced eruptions through time? With improved temporal resolution, in times to come, maybe super-eruptions will be not quite so super.

 

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