Supervolcanoes

[The Master™]

I can't remember if I posted this on here before, certainly can't find it, but thought I'd put it out there...

Four years ago, the BBC did a documentary about a supervolcano under Yellowstone National Park:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/1999/supervolcanoes.shtml

It now seems that the BBC are going to be doing a docu-rama about the site again, shortly... Could be well worth a watch...

The Americans have always prided themselves on have the biggest and best of everything... Here is another for the scrap-books... The supervolcano under Yellowstone National Park is thought to be the biggest in the world...

If/when it blows, we are looking at an extinction level event... Most of the living organisms of the planet will die out because of the initial explosion and the nuclear winter caused by all the dust and debris thrown into the atmosphere... In addition, it is thought that the resulting explosion could shift the planet on its axis...

Scary thoughts... Oh, and one more thing - it is several hundred years late for its latest eruption...

Time to start living in the now...

 

[Foxbat]

Scary stuff!

The bit about the world being knocked off its axis reminds me of the two newspaper headlines at the end of The Day The Earth Caught Fire.

What'll it be? Earth Saved or Earth Doomed

Head for the hills folks....wait..that's no good...that's where the volcanoes are.

 

[Alexa]

Something bother me in this article. How can scientists be sure that supervolcanos have a regular eruption cycle of 600,000 years ? We are not sure about events from 3,500 years and they can predict in thousands years ? Come on !

 

[Circus Cranium]

ha ha ha ha! That's funny Alexa. Ah well, if the world is gonna blow it's gonna blow. I've been hearing for years that there's a major fault line that runs from the bottom of New England up to Canada, and it's 'past due' for a quake that's going to sends us all floating off into the sea. It's good to remember sometimes that the earth is in control, not us. Makes you focus on what's important. Now where's my Hazelnut coffee with the cinnamin sprinkles, dammit?

 

[littlemissattitude]

Personally, I worry much more about the area around Mammoth erupting - it's lots closer to where I live, and depending on which way the wind is blowing when it goes, we could have major effects from it. Not exactly as big as Yellowstone, but still worrying.

Although, living in earthquake country has given me some perspective on the whole geological catastrophe thing - there are things worth worrying about, because you can do something about them, and there are things not worth worrying about because there is nothing you can do about them anyway. Yellowstone belongs to the second category. If it's going to blow, there's not a thing anyone can do about it.

Oh, and as far as the determination of the cyclical nature of such eruptions and the timing of them...geologists can tell an awful lot about what has happened in the past from the traces those events leave behind on the landscape. But I wouldn't worry too much about an eruption of Yellowstone being "late". A few thousand years seems like a long time to us, but on a geological scale it isn't very long at all.

 

[Alexa]

Now where's my Hazelnut coffee with the cinnamin sprinkles, dammit?

I was out of stock. I just bought another box. Hmm. Smells so good !

I live on an island and I work on another one (Montreal). If Canada goes under the water, maybe in 3-4 thousands years, the future generation will talk about it like us about Atlantida. You are right. It's better to get focused on what's important in the present.

 

[Maryjane]

Gee one could make a good killing selling thermos corks for those volcanoes.

Although, living in earthquake country has given me some perspective on the whole geological catastrophe thing - there are things worth worrying about, because you can do something about them, and there are things not worth worrying about because there is nothing you can do about them anyway. Yellowstone belongs to the second category. If it's going to blow, there's not

(Right on Littlemissatitude.) I think it would be allot more constructive worrying about the environment and global warming then volcanoes, at least something can be done about that.

All of Canada? well except for Midland Ontario Alexa, right?

600,000 years even carbon dating would only give you a ball park figure at dating the past event of a previous catastrophy at such site and just how can they tell acuratly when another eruption is due untill volcano in question is already in the begining stages of reawakening. There is always the sysmic readings one can log but it could still be days, hours, weeks, months, maybe even years before the final blow up.

 

[Brian G Turner]

You are right. It's better to get focused on what's important in the present.

Actually, for some reason I've always been pretty concerned about establishing a long-term home away from places of major potential calamity.

It used to bug me as a kid as to which country would be the safest place to live in.

 

[Space Monkey]

Me too Brian; from being a kid, I've always made quiet little contingency plans for the holocaust, such as where to haul our butts off to, where the best place to loot food would be, how to hide when the fallout began.
Funny I haven't done it in a few years, but might not be such a bad idea right now planning for an apocalypse of any nature. Political, super-volcanic, extra terrestrial (yeah I wish).

Question - when you buy a plot of land, do you own it right down to the core of the earth?

 

[Brian G Turner]

Glad I'm not the only paranoid one.

I've love to scout out Canada, but for some reason Switzerland keep looking great...

 

[erickad71]

I know someone who has you guys beat...remember Y2k? Let's just say he was very prepared...

 

[Maryjane]

Good question Space Monkey, Just how far under ones house do you own rights to. I know years back when I was living on the homstead you had mineral rights to what ever was under your land, gold, oil etc, not sure if that is still so.

Me too Brian; from being a kid, I've always made quiet little contingency plans for the holocaust, such as where to haul our butts off to, where the best place to loot food would be, how to hide when the fallout began. Me to.

 

[Alexa]

All of Canada? well except for Midland Ontario Alexa, right? QUOTE]

Are you sure Maryjane ? Not interesteed to be a legend ? All right then. Let's say only Québec will be under water and Ontario will have the ocean nearby and St-Laurent in the south. Don't forget to write all your québecoises words and the fact you met me in your journal. Who knows, maybe some day in the future, someone will find your journal and wonder where the hell was Québec and what kind of people lived there. Please forget those with "tabar---", "cr--", etc

 

[Alexa]

Actually, for some reason I've always been pretty concerned about establishing a long-term home away from places of major potential calamity.

It used to bug me as a kid as to which country would be the safest place to live in.

When your time is over, it doesn't matter where you are. I'm sure you know that Brian. I won't change Canada for any other country in the world.

For some reason, I kept the tragedy of Pompei in my memory and whenever another volcan wakes up, that tragedy haunts me. I'll always keep at distance any country with volcans and earthquakes. Nice place Florida, but not for me. I was ready to change my user name when I found out, one of those hurricane was called Alex.

 

[littlemissattitude]

600,000 years even carbon dating would only give you a ball park figure at dating the past event of a previous catastrophy at such site and just how can they tell acuratly when another eruption is due untill volcano in question is already in the begining stages of reawakening. There is always the sysmic readings one can log but it could still be days, hours, weeks, months, maybe even years before the final blow up.

Actually, radiocarbon dating will only yield results up to about 50,000 years ago, and then only if you have organic material to be dated (carbon from a fire, non-fossilized bone, plant matter, etc.). For anything older than that, and for non-organic material you would need to use other dating methods. In dating rock that has hardened from volcanic eruptions, one of the main dating methods used is potassium-argon dating, which measures how much of a radioactive isotope of potassium has decayed into argon since the molten rock solidified. I imagine this is one of the methods that would be used in studies such as the ones we've been talking about here. Potassium-argon dating is useful on material around 100,000 years old or older. Because potassium-40 has a half-life of 1.3 billion years, it can be used on material up to billions of years old.

Anyway, that's what I remember from my archaeology and geology courses.

 

[Maryjane]

Aint gona argue with that :Littlemissatitude. I did think of the rock dating part but I couldn't remember the process they used. I guess that means I rate just a mite under genious level then


Alexa I don't want to be a legend just a selebrity would do fine. And dont believe for a minute I'm going to loose site of you sister either, your like the only life preserver out ther to swim to after the ship sinks. Well we are soul sisters, hows that. And I'm all honed up on my Quebequa Ontario french and a good spatering of the Ojibway Language Good old south Hillbilly accent and Newfi Cadafi etc. If Ya believe that I got an acre of land in Ogdens swamp back behind the house here to sell ya. Welll up to the Ojibway part is right, I kind of streached it a mite after that.


And as for leaving Canada I don't think so but I have traveled all over eastern Canada and US and even lived in the Us in Florida and Tenesse both for a while but the darn cat kept coming back


Don't worry Alixa when the water receids from Quebec there will only be the aliens from Beatlguise left here on earth and they got bugs anyway ewwww.

 

[Maryjane]

PS
That's all we need is an invasion of bugy Beatleguisians. They don't even need any wepons, just lift an arm up and every living thing within a one mile perimeter will turn toes up anway. Ya guessed it I feel hi 6:00am and I feel like crankin the sterio and doin the wall boogie. Well buy everyone (((((kisses&hugs))))

 

[Alexa]

Don't worry Alixa when the water receids from Quebec there will only be the aliens from Beatlguise left here on earth and they got bugs anyway ewwww.

That day I hope I'll be on another planet or plane of existance. I'm not fond of bugs.