THE CALDERA BENEATH YELLOWSTONE IS MASSIVE.
ABOVE: HOW THE U.S. WOULD BE IMPACTED BY A YELLOWSTONE ERUPTION.
3,057 EARTHQUAKES SINCE JANUARY INSIDE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK AND COUNTING (30 in the past 7 days).
The ongoing swarm is now one of the longest and largest on record. The largest swarm ever recorded was in October 1985; it lasted for three months and included more than 3,000 earthquakes. There was another large swarm in 2010, when more than 2,000 events were recorded over a month.
WHILE EARTHQUAKE SWARMS HAVE BEEN NOTED IN YELLOWSTONE SINCE MAN FIRST BEGAN RECORDING THEM, THE UPSWING SINCE JANUARY MAY BREAK ALL PREVIOUS RECORDS FOR A YEARLY COUNT.
JANUARY,2017
During January 2017, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, reports 53 earthquakes.
FEBRUARY, 2017
During February 2017, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, reports 48 earthquakes.
March 30 (Reuters) - Yellowstone National Park, which sits atop one of the world’s largest super-volcanoes, was struck on Sunday by a magnitude 4.8 earthquake, the biggest recorded there since February 1980, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported.
The latest earthquake struck at 6:34 a.m. near the Norris Geyser Basin and was felt about 23 miles (37 km) away in two small Montana towns adjacent to year-around entrances to the park - Gardiner and West Yellowstone.
Sunday’s quake occurred near the center of an area of ground uplift that geologists have been tracking for several months, University of Utah seismologists said. Elevated seismic activity was also found in the area during a previous period of uplift from 1996 to 2003.
The recent spike in earthquake activity at Yellowstone is linked to the uplift, which in turn is caused by the upward movement of molten rock beneath the Earth’s crust, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
[NOTE: March 2017, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, reports 63 earthquakes were located in the Yellowstone National Park ]
The super-volcano’s most cataclysmic eruption occurred 2 million years ago, covering half of North America with ash and killing prehistoric animals as far as away as modern-day Nebraska, according to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
APRIL, 2017
During April 2017, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, reports 61 earthquakes were located in the Yellowstone National Park (YNP) region. The largest event was a microearthquake of magnitude 2.4 that occurred on April 21, 01:35 AM MDT
MAY, 2017
During May 2017, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, reports 94 earthquakes were located in the Yellowstone National Park (YNP) region. The largest event was a microearthquake of magnitude 2.9 that occurred on May 7, 07:03 AM MDT
JUNE, 2017
During June 2017, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, reports 1171 earthquakes were located in the Yellowstone National Park (YNP) region, a light earthquake of magnitude 4.4 on June 16, at 06:48 PM MDT.
The largest quake in the JUNE swarm was recorded on June 15, a magnitude 4.5 earthquake, according to the statement issued June 19.
At that time, 464 events had been recorded since June 12.
“This is the highest number of earthquakes at Yellowstone within a single week in the past five years..."
JULY, 2017
During July 2017, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, reports 528 earthquakes were located in the Yellowstone National Park (YNP) region. The largest event was a minor earthquake of magnitude 3.6 on July 18, at 02:31 PM MDT
AUGUST, 2017
During August 2017, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, reports 1029 earthquakes were located in the Yellowstone National Park (YNP) region. The largest event was a minor earthquake of magnitude 3.3 on August 20, at 09:00 PM MDT
Uplift north of the caldera, centered near the Norris Geyser Basin, continues at a low rate (a few millimeters per month), similar to what has been occurring since late 2015.
HUNDREDS OF QUAKES IN NEARBY LINCOLN, MONTANA (56 in the past 7 days), AND OVER 260 IN JUST 9 DAYS IN/NEAR SODA SPRINGS, IDAHO.
IN THE PAST 30 DAYS, THE SODA SPRINGS AREA HAS SEEN 317 QUAKES OF MAGNITUDE 2.5 OR GREATER, ACCORDING TO THE USGS WEBSITE.
An earthquake swarm in southeastern Idaho is rattling windows across parts of the state and Wyoming and Utah. There have now been over 260 earthquakes since September 2, in the Soda Springs area and many have been over a magnitude of four or even higher on the scale.
The earthquake swarm in Southeast Idaho looked like it might be ending or at least slowing down on Thursday and Friday. But then Saturday arrived and by the day's end, 19 quakes had struck.
Dr. David Pearson, an Idaho State University geologist who studies earthquakes, said scientists who have researched some of the faults in Southeast Idaho have concluded that the 7.0 quake is possible at some point in the region's future, but the current earthquake swarm is not necessarily an indication that it will occur anytime soon.
All 260 plus of the quakes were reported by University of Utah Seismograph Stations.
So far, the most powerful temblor in the swarm was the second quake to occur. It was a 5.3 magnitude earthquake and struck at 5:56 p.m. September 2.
Many are afraid that these swarms could trigger the Yellowstone super volcano's eruption, as the caldera lies just northeast of the Soda Springs area, a mere 170 miles away.
"When a volcano starts 'acting up' prior to an eruption, one of the typical signs is increased seismicity," research professor at University of Utah Jamie Farrell told Newsweek. Should the Yellowstone supervolcano erupt, thousands of people would die instantly from the explosion.
In the event of a full-scale eruption of Yellowstone, virtually the entire northwest United States will be completely destroyed.
Basically everything within a 100 mile radius would be immediately killed, Salt Lake City would literally be toast, and almost everyone and everything in Denver would be dead in short order.
Further away, volcanic ash would rain down continually for weeks. Those foolish enough to step outside would quickly discover that the ash turns into a substance similar to cement in the lungs, and many would die from suffocation.
The amount of volcanic ash released by Yellowstone would be almost unimaginable. In fact, it has been estimated that a full-blown eruption would dump a layer of volcanic ash at least 10 feet deep up to 1,000 miles away.
Food production in America would be almost totally wiped out, and the "volcanic winter" that would result from a Yellowstone eruption would dramatically cool the planet. Some have projected that global temperatures would decline by up to 20 degrees.
In the end, the death, famine and destruction that we would experience would be vastly greater than anything that we have ever seen in the history of western civilization.
OF COURSE THIS CAN MEAN NOTHING AT ALL, JUST RUMBLINGS OF AN IMMENSE VOLCANO.
WHAT IS MOST DISTURBING, PERHAPS, IS THAT THERE WILL BE NO ACTUAL WARNING IF/WHEN YELLOWSTONE BLOWS.
SOME SCIENTISTS SAY TO BEWARE WHEN THESE TREMORS SUDDENLY STOP, BUT MOUNT ST. HELENS DIDN'T STOP SENDING UP TREMORS IN SWARMS BEFORE IT BLEW.
OTHERS SAY THIS IS, INDEED, A WARNING OF THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ERUPTION, BUT EVEN THEN WE CAN'T POSSIBLY DETERMINE WHEN TO EXPECT AN ERUPTION BASED ON SWARMS.
WE WON'T GET A 15-MINUTE WARNING, OR EVEN A 5-MINUTE WARNING...IT WILL SIMPLY BLOW.
HOW COULD ANYONE "PREP" FOR SUCH AN EVENT?
ONE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A FOOD SUPPLY THAT WOULD SUSTAIN LIFE FOR PERHAPS YEARS AND A SOURCE OF FRESH DRINKING WATER THAT WOULDN'T BE AFFECTED BY VOLCANIC ASH.
IF THE GRID WENT DOWN OVER MOST OF AMERICA, EVEN HALF OF AMERICA, WE'D COME TO A STANDSTILL.
HOW WOULD THOSE WHO NEED MEDICINES, DOCTORS TO TREAT THEM FIND THOSE?
WITHOUT ELECTRICITY, PUMPS AT GAS STATIONS WOULDN'T WORK, ATMs WOULD BE USELESS, IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO FIND NEWS, DISASTER INSTRUCTIONS AS MANY NEWS MEDIA WOULD JUST 'GO DARK' AND HOSPITALS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO REMAIN OPEN FOR LONG.
IT WOULD BE A VERY DIFFERENT WORLD FOR THOSE NOT KILLED BY THE ERUPTION THOSE FIRST FEW DAYS.
//WW
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