1. A future eruption

2. Basic Facts  Yellowstone Volcano is in Wyoming, U.S.  Yellowstone sits on a hot spot, an area of volcanic activity on a continental plate. (O’Hanlon, Larry 2009)  Yellowstone is a geologically active area, with geysers, hot springs, and mud pots.(United States Geological Survey 2008)  There are frequent earthquakes in the area, up to 20 a day. (United States Geological Survey 2008)

3. Super Volcanoes  Yellowstone is a super volcano: ○ Super volcanoes are volcanoes that have previously erupted with a magnitude of eight on the Volcanic Explosivity Scale. (United States Geological Survey 2009)  Other super volcanoes are located in New Zealand, Indonesia, and another in California, U.S.A. (Bindeman, Ilya 2006)

4. Size of Yellowstone  The magma chamber beneath Yellowstone is 40-80 kilometres wide. (United States Geological Survey 2008)  The caldera is 1,500 square miles and was created by the previous three major eruptions. (Bindeman, Ilya 2006)

5. Previous Eruptions  The previous eruptions of Yellowstone have been very destructive  There has been 3 major eruptions (United States Geological Survey 2009) (Lowenstern, Jacob 2005) 2.1 million years ago 1.3 million years ago 640,000 years ago  The biggest eruption, 2.1million years ago spewed debris over 2,500 cubic kilometres. (Lowenstern, Jacob 2005)

6. Future eruptions?  It is likely that Yellowstone will erupt again  The estimated period between eruptions is 700,000 years (Lowenstern, Jacob 2008)  If the last eruption was 640,000 years ago, this means an eruption could be due in the next 90,000 years. (Bindeman, Ilya 2006)

7. Effects of future eruption  If Yellowstone erupted again the damage could be cataclysmic.  They estimate this because of the size of the calderas and the previous eruptions.  It would devastate most of the surrounding areas.

8. Effects of eruption: Locally  Yellowstone national park and surrounding communities obliterated. (O’Hanlon, Larry 2009)  Ash blankets sweep from pacific coast to the United States Midwest. (O’Hanlon, Larry 2009)  Death toll could be in the millions. (O’Hanlon, Larry 2009)

9. Effects: globally  Ash swept into upper atmosphere winds would spread world wide. (O’Hanlon, Larry 2009) (Bindeman, Ilya 2006)  Gases released would mix with atmosphere to deplete ozone layer. (O’Hanlon, Larry 2009)  Volcanic winter (Lowenstern, Jacob 2006) ○ gases released interacting with atmosphere to produce sulphuric acid- blocking the sun. ○ Drop in global temperatures.

10. Summary  Yellowstone is a super volcano that has been very destructive in the past.  It is located in a geologically active area.  Has the ability to erupt again, and cause widespread destruction.  Scientists can only guess when the eruption will occur.  Zenome sub-catagory- Sciences>social sciences>Geography>Cartography>UnifiledSciences>social sciences>Geography>Cartography>Unifiled

11. References Bindeman, I. (2006). The secrets of supervolcanoes. Scientific American, 294(6), 36-43. Retrieved from http://proxy2.lib.umanitoba.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost. com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=20747958&site=ehost -live">The Secrets of SUPERVOLCANOES. http://proxy2.lib.umanitoba.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost. com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&AN=20747958&site=ehost -live Lowenstern, J. (2005). Truth fiction and everything in between at yellowstone. Geotimes, 6, November/10. Retrieved from http://www.geotimes.org/june05/feature_supervolcano.html http://www.geotimes.org/june05/feature_supervolcano.html Lowenstern, J., Smith, R., & Hill, D. (2006). Monitoring super- volcanoes: Geophysical and geochemical signals at yellowstone and other large caldera systems. Philisophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences, 364, 2055-2072. Lownstern, J., & Hurwitz, S. (2008). Monitoring a supervolcano in repose: Heat and volitile flux at the yellowstone caldera. Elements, 4, 35-40.

12. References cont’d O'Hanlon, L. (2009). What's under yellowstone: Tracking the giant. Retrieved from http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/unde r_04.html http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/unde r_04.html United States Geological Survey. (2008). Questions about yellowstone research. Retrieved November/23, 2009, from http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/about/faq/faqscience.php http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/about/faq/faqscience.php United States Geological Survey. (2008). Yellowstone earthquake swarms. Retrieved November/23, 2009, from http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/publications/2004/apr04swarm.ph p http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/publications/2004/apr04swarm.ph p United States Geological Survey. (2009). Questions about future volcanic activity at yellowstone. Retrieved November/23, 2009, from http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/about/faq/faqactivity.phphttp://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/about/faq/faqactivity.php United States Geological Survey. (2009). Questions about supervolcanoes. Retrieved November/23, 2009, from : http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/about/faq/index.php http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/about/faq/index.php