Unusual Cluster of Earthquakes in Yellowstone National Park

by Stephanie Rogers · View Comments

Yellowstone National Park has been experiencing an unusual string of earthquakes lasting three days in a row, from Saturday to Monday. Although such clusters of earthquakes are fairly common in the area due to Yellowstone’s 10,000 geysers and hot springs, scientists say the recent quakes are far more intense than usual.

From LiveScience:

The largest of the earthquakes was a magnitude 3.9 at 10:15 pm MST on Dec. 27, a day after the swarm began. The sequence has included nine events of magnitude 3 to 3.9 and approximately 24 of magnitude 2 to 3 at the time of this release. A total of more than 250 events large enough to be located have occurred in this swarm.

“Scientists cannot identify any causative fault or other feature without further analysis,” according to the statement.

Most of these temblors would not be felt by humans. Earthquakes generally have to exceed magnitude 4.0 to cause light damage.

Scientists wonder if the shaking might presage a larger event. This month’s swarm is the most intense in this area for some years, scientists said. It is centered on the east side of the Yellowstone caldera, a giant basin created in a colossal eruption some 620,000 years ago.

Researchers have been predicting for decades that the Yellowstone super volcano will eventually erupt once more, blanketing more than half the country with up to three feet of ash. Yellowstone remains very geologically active, and though it is being monitored, those same researchers say there isn’t any evidence that an eruption is imminent.

If it were to blow, humanity might not survive. Geologists say an eruption of the Yellowstone super volcano would dwarf those of Mount St. Helens, Krakatoa and others that have occurred during the last few dozen millenia. Due to the effects on global climate, agriculture would be devastated and many people would starve.

It’s just another uneasy reminder of how fragile our place in the world really is.

Link [LiveScience]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Tagged as: Environment, national parks, Natural Disasters, Weather

Mickie

It is far worse than you guys are thinking. Humanity man survive, but not many. You see, the ash that would fall all over the globe will let out gases that will fry your brain and create cement when inhaled. The falling ash will be much denser than snow, and eventually roofs would colapse because of the weight. There would be no sun because ash clouds would cover it. There would be no water because the ash would turn it to mud. There would be flooding because as the mud rises, so does the water, even ocean waters. It would be difficult to live with barely any food, cold weather, and polluted air.

Kevin

lol people would survive, it's blown 3 times and doesnt seem to be a huge factor in any kind of extensions. think it'd just be a little worse than Krakatoa which caused some kind of potato famine

Bob

"If it were to blow, humanity might not survive. Geologists say an eruption of the Yellowstone super volcano would dwarf those of Mount St. Helens, Krakatoa and others that have occurred during the last few dozen millenia. Due to the effects on global climate, agriculture would be devastated and many people would starve."

So because there is no agriculture, there would be no humanity? Sounds like backward thinking that ignores over 2 million years of pre-history. People would survive, agriculture would not, that is the flaw in your thinking. Agriculture and humanity are separate, not together. People are still living a way of life that isn't agricultural, one can look at the San !Kung or the Hadza for an example, at least those who aren't being exterminated by this system that you people look towards reforming with naive ideas. Humanity will have to revert back to living a way of life that is without agriculture if it is to survive, supervolcano eruption or not. It is likely that the eruption of yellowstone would put the global climate back to where it would naturally be, and not at where agriculture (and by extension, civilization) has put it at through climate change.