nationalpost:Magma chamber under Yellowstone’s supervolcano more than two times larger than previous
nationalpost:Magma chamber under Yellowstone’s supervolcano more than two times larger than previously believedThe hot molten rock beneath Yellowstone National Park is two-and-a-half times larger than previously estimated, meaning the park’s supervolcano has the potential to erupt with a force about 2,000 times the size of Mount St. Helens, according to a new study.By measuring seismic waves from earthquakes, scientists were able to map the magma chamber underneath the Yellowstone caldera as 88.5 kilometres long, lead author Jamie Farrell of the University of Utah said Monday.The chamber is 29 kilometres wide and runs at depths from 5 to 14 1/2 kilometres below the earth, he added.That means there is enough volcanic material below the surface to match the largest of the supervolcano’s three eruptions over the last 2.1 million years, Farrell said.The largest blast — the volcano’s first — was 2,000 times the size of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state. (Photo: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images File) -- source link