Will the Supervolcano in Yellowstone Erupt in 2012?
First of all, we have to acknowledge that the word “supervolcano” sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie…! But, in fact, supervolcanos are real. And there is a HUGE one brewing under Yellowstone National Park.
More appropriately, this is known as the Yellowstone Caldera– and it is responsible for all the beautiful, spectacular geysers that Yellowstone has become famous for.
However, this beauty and magic has a darker side… It’s fueled by a SUPERVOLCANO…
A supervolcano that (you guessed it) is coming due for an eruption, according to some experts.
Now I’m sure you all know how a volcano works– Magma from the earth’s mantle pushes up on the crust until eventually the pressure gets strong enough to break through, causing an eruption.
Supervolcanos, including the Yellowstone Caldera, are pretty much the exact same thing. Calderas don’t look the same as standard volcanos because the mass of material sinks back down into the mantle– kind of like a popped bubble.
And the ground around the Yellowstone Caldera has been rising and falling at a more dramatic rate in recent years, which could suggest increased activity. I wonder if a Pole Shift or Magnetic Reversal could trigger more dramatic activity or even an eruption…
However, there is an upside to this– theoretically an eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera Supervolcano would come with some advanced warning. Increased seismic activity and maybe even smaller eruptions could signal to us that there is something much bigger coming. And at this point, it doesn’t seem to be happening at a rate that has many scientists concerned, so I doubt that it will be the cause of a 2012 Apocalypse.
HOWEVER, having advanced warning would do us little good. Check out this link where physicist Michio Kaku discusses a potential eruption at Yellowstone: All You Can Do Is Run
You see, there isn’t really anywhere for us to go. A supervolcanic eruption would have a major impact on the entire world- devastating not only the immediate area of the eruption, but also filling the atmosphere with ash and smoke that would eventually spread across the globe.
The massive eruption at Krakatoa cause the “year without a summer” in the 1800s, and that wasn’t even classified as a supervolcano. Supervoclanos, like the one at the Yellowstone Caldera are about 1000 times stronger than the eruption of Mount Saint Helens.
