He yellowstone national park It is one of the most visited and studied places in the United States, both for its amazing landscape and for its almost 9,000 square kilometers of territory with volcanic activity. This true treasure of nature seems to be about to awaken, something that has alarmed researchers.
Despite the fact that it has not erupted for almost 70,000 years, Yellowstone has once again had movement in its volcanic caldera, about 55 x 72 kilometers in diameter. This situation, in the worst of situations, could trigger a catastrophic explosion of astonishing dimensions.
This supervolcano originated more than 16.5 million years ago, when a tectonic plate ended up settling above a hot spot of the Earth’s mantle, which generated volcanic activity throughout the landscape we know today as Yellowstone.
Concern among scientists
The magazine Nature has published a study showing the magma deposits of the supervolcano, which they could be moving towards the famous caldera of the national park. This movement would make the region a possible focus of volcanic activity in the future, according to seismologist Ninfa Bennington.
As the researchers analyzed, the lava that could awaken the entire volcanic area is found in deposits in which it moves rhyolitic meltcoming from the rhyolite rock, rich in the mineral silica.
The magma would be distributed in at least seven areas of Yellowstone, from four to 47 kilometers deep. Up to 500 cubic kilometers of lava would be found in its deposits, according to a magnetotelluric study.
Its explosion could cause thousands of deaths
If in the future Yellowstone were to erupt, the inhabitants of the nearest states they would be in grave danger. It is true that a global massacre that would lead to human extinction is not expected, but a supereruption would end the lives of thousands of people.
Although the first investigations show new activity in the surroundings of the caldera, scientists could not specify if it would finally end up erupting. and when would it originate. That is why the investigation continues its course, hand in hand with the 46 seismic stations and the 30 GPS stations that monitor Yellowstone daily.
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