The Science of By Alex

Why? Yellowstone Yellowstone is one of the most active geothermal areas in the world this is due to the large Yellowstone hot spot. Yellowstone also lays on top of a large water aquifer that provides the ammunition for it magnificent geysers.

Geysers Geysers form when a water supply is present between a lava chamber and the surface. Water become super hot and begins to boil. As the water get hotter and pressure builds steam appears coming out of the geysers head. Then In a moment the pressure forces a rush of boiling water out of the small crevasse sending tons of water into the air.

Caldera A caldera forms when a super massive volcano erupts, spews out all of it’s lava and subsequently collapses when there is a lack of support for the structure. What results is a type of volcano not many would recogniz,e in in fact the huge craters which form often fill with water and become lakes such as at Yellowstone. Calderas erupt when the lava chamber which once fed the volcano builds up so much that the layer of rock above can not hold it back and it erupts in a super violent explosion.

The lava chamber underneath the Yellowstone caldera is MASSIVE. In fact it makes Yellowstone the largest caldera on the earth. Lava chambers are large chasms under the surface which lava and rock from the mantle rise and fill. This is also known as a hotspot.

Super Volcano Caldera blast are among the most dangerous natural disasters in the world. Not only is ash and lava flung into the air but, thousands of tons of rock as well. Krakatoa which erupted in 1883 killed people The caldera underneath Yellowstone has never erupted….Thank god

North American… Armageddon? The Yellowstone caldera has tremendous power. If it were to erupt nearly a third of North America be destroyed in one giant Super Explosion Rocks and lava are not the only things that would be spewed form Yellowstone. Carbon Dioxide which has been building up in the lava chamber for 650,000 years would be released into the air causing a super green house effect.

No Worries, for now Scientist have gained evidence that Yellowstone’s lava chamber is very active. The ground above the caldera has steadily risen and fallen in concordance to material in the lava chamber. Over the last five years scientist have observed a steady rise of 3cm a year. Scientist have concluded this is being caused by a super massive rock about the size of L.A moving up through the mantle.

This graph shows the seismic activity of Yellowstone, and as you can see Yellowstone is a significantly active area, which is common for areas above hotspots. But in the times before the Yellowstone would erupt the Earthquakes would get significantly stronger and occur much more often. In fact there would be a much warning as to the Eruption of this super volcano.

Work Cited The Secrets of Supervolcanoes. By: Bindeman, Ilya N.. Scientific American, Jun2006, Vol. 294 Issue 6, p36The Secrets of Supervolcanoes. Rediscovering the New World. Scientific American, June 1999, Vol. 280 Issue 6, p24Rediscovering the New World. Abundance and distribution of organic mound-building ants of the Formica rufa group in Yellowstone National Park. By: Risch, A. C.; Jurgensen, M. F.; Storer, A. J.; Hyslop, M. D.; Schütz, M.. Journal of Applied Entomology, May2008, Vol. 132 Issue 4, p , 11pAbundance and distribution of organic mound-building ants of the Formica rufa group in Yellowstone National Park. Having a Blast at Yellowstone. Current Science, 4/11/2008, Vol. 93 Issue 15, p14-14, 1p;Having a Blast at Yellowstone.