Scientists closely monitoring Yellowstone

[Anonymous]

From the December 2003 Idaho Observer:
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Scientists closely monitoring Yellowstone

Recent eruptions, 200 degree ground temperatures, bulging magma and 84 degree water temperatures prompt heightened srutiny of park's geothermal activity

BILLINGS, Mont. -- Yellowstone National Park happens to be on top of one of the largest “super volcanoes” in the world. Geologists claim the Yellowstone Park area has been on a regular eruption cycle of 600,000 years. The last eruption was 640,000 years ago making the next one long overdue. This next eruption could be 2,500 times the size of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. Volcanologists have been tracking the movement of magma under the park and have calculated that, in parts of Yellowstone, the ground has risen over seventy centimeters this century.

In July, 2003, Yellowstone Park rangers closed the entire Norris Geyser Basin because of deformation of the land and excessive high ground temperatures. There is an area that is 28 miles long by 7 miles wide that has bulged upward over five inches since 1996, and this year the ground temperature on that bulge has reached over 200 degrees (measured one inch below ground level).

There was no choice but to close off the entire area. Everything in this area is dying: The trees, flowers, grass and shrubs. A dead zone is developing and spreading outward. The animals are literally migrating out of the park.

Then during the last part of July one of the Park geologists discovered a huge bulge at the bottom of Yellowstone Lake. The bulge has already risen over 100 feet from the bottom of the lake and the water temperature at the surface of the bulge has reached 88 degrees and is still rising.

Keep in mind that Yellowstone Lake is a high mountain lake with very cold water temperatures. The Lake is now closed to the public. It is filled with dead fish floating everywhere. The same is true of the Yellowstone river and most of the other streams in the Park. Dead and dying fish are filling the water everywhere.

Many of the picnic areas in the Park have been closed and people visiting the Park usually stay but a few hours before leaving since the stench of sulfur is so strong they literally can't stand the smell.

The irony of all this is the silence by the news media and our government. Very little information is available from Yellowstone personnel or publications. What mainstream newsstories do appear underscore the likelihood of a massive volcanic eruption. Though geologists publicly admit Yellowstone is “overdue,” they have been quoted as stating another massive magma release may not occur for 100,000 or 2 million years. Others close to the story are convinced that a massive eruption is imminent. A source that has demonstrated first-hand knowledge of the park's history and recent geothermal events stated the following: “The American people are not being told that the explosion of this 'super volcano' could happen at any moment. When Yellowstone does blow, some geologists predict that every living thing within six hundred miles is likely to die. The movement of magma has been detected just three-tenths of a mile below the bulging surface of the ground in Yellowstone raising concerns that this super volcano may erupt soon.”

***

This report was taken from a series of articles, emails and official information

http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20031219.htm

[Anonymous]

Lets just hope-for the sake of many people-that this doesnt happen in our lifetime

[weatherluvr]

I for one am very surprised that there hasn't been more media attention given to this situation. Not only would there be a very large area almost instantly devastated, but a large volume of ejecta would cover most of the eastern USwith several inches of ash; not to mention the dramatic global cooling and disruption of air travel.

It's possible that since geologists have never witnessed a volcano of this type actually erupting, that they may not have a handle on exactly when it will go off.

[BEER980]

I have watched specials on this from the Discovery Channel. You don't want to be around when it goes. I think they said all farming west of the Mississippi would be destroyed from the ash.

[stormchazer]

Da#m...time to move! Scientist always seem to quote the worse case scenario type sh#t. Hope they are wrong again.

[azsnowman]

Josh had a GREAT link to the live monitoring stations there in Yellowstone, it's here in off topic somewhere, I'll try to find it, it's WAY, WAY, WAY back there somewhere, probably 50-60 pages back!

Dennis

[CaptinCrunch]

Special Update! 11-05-2003 & Predication Date
Yellowstone Super Volcano update:

"Volcanic Alert Notice"

"Yellowstone's volcano is heating up" Says Larry A. Park, of 22 years in research and development at Oregon's Solar Con Research Center, specializing in Earth Precursory Sciences who holds four US patents in this field. Larry Parks and his research team indicate that Yellowstone is showing activity for a major event.

Mr. Parks indicates that there is a direct relationship between our suns recent intense solar flare activity and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions world wide. In recent weeks the Earth has been getting hit with historic massive solar flares from the sun unlike any ever seen before in modern history, and this has been accelerating the activity in Yellowstone Park.

On The Premier Radio Network Mr. Parks said, "Yellowstone is seeing a continuing trend of unrest. There is a rare and very powerful geyser called Steam Boat Geyser, one of the largest geysers in the world has had two major eruptions in the last few weeks. And the last eruption has not even hit the news and your hearing it first, hear. October 29th, (2003) is the most recent eruption, prior was October 23rd (2003). Now this makes it 6 eruptions in the last 18 months. What is significant about this is that Steam Boat Geyser is normally dormant, sometimes for decades. The last time it was this active was in the early 1980's time span when Mont Saint Helen's was active"

Mr. Parks said, "Now this is very important, what is going on now in these major eruptions of Steam Boat for the last 18 months is that there is no surface volcanic activity in the western United States such as Mount Saint Helens. So the question is, what is going on. Well the surprise to scientist that there is strong volcanic development activity that directly coincides with the major eruptions of Steam Boat activity over the last 18 months."

Mr. Parks said, "Yellowstone now has a bulging magma chamber that has bulged up nearly two and a half feet in the center of the caldera. If it erupts, the volcano would put an ash blanket of 16 inches thick a 125 miles in radius and 6 inches thick 300 miles away with a devastation radius of 75 miles. If your out in this you will need some type of a mask or cloth to breathe."

Mr. Parks went on to say in so many words that our government is not sounding the alarm bells on this because they are making decisions based on current theory from outdated knowledge of which can be a detriment to decision making.

When Mr. Parks was asked if there would be an eruption soon he replied in saying there is information that is concerning, in that there has been a rapid change in the region that has never been seen before. "One of the instrumentation stations is starting to show a dramatic change from mid September into October. We should start seeing some kind of activity in the Pacific northwest part of Yellowstone within 18 to 24 months. However, with all this energy hitting us from the coronal mass ejections solar flaring may accelerate that process." said Mr. Parks via a world telecast on November 5th, 2003.

To learn more about Mr. Parks research work visit his website where he has even put his findings in writing in the form of a book available to the public.

[CaptinCrunch]

Special Update! 12-13-2003
Yellowstone Super Volcano update:

Yellowstone is back in the news again. Yesterday (12-12-2003) in San Francisco, California at the American Geophysical Union Meeting devoted the whole day on the state of Yellowstone with at least two dozen presentations on research concerning the park.

Some scientist are now wondering if an explosion is long over due. Several different papers at the Geophysical Union Meeting focused on thermal and land defamations in Yellowstone.

Satellite radar imaging confirms that there is a large area of uplift, about 30 by 40 collimators (19 by 25 miles) centered under the north rim of Yellowstone's caldera. Geologist call that, "The North Uplift Anomaly" which began rising up in 1997 a few millimeters a year.

Writing about this bulge is THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SCIENTIST appearing before the AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION on 12-12/03, spoke is a paper called, "Stress Transfer Thermal Unrest And Implications For Seismic Hazards Associated The Norris Uplift Anomaly In Yellowstone Nation Park".

Here is an actual excerpt from that report:

"The spring and summer of 2003 has been a time of vigorous thermal unrest in the Norris Uplift Anomaly... Unrest began with the eruption of Steamboat Geyser in May 2000, and has intensified in the 2003 spring and summer with the eruption of Porkchop Geyser on July 16, which had been dormant since 1989. From April 1 through July 1, 2003, the temperature of waters in Porkshop's vent increased continuously. There has also been the formation of a 75 meter line of fumaroles just north of the Norris Geyser Basin and a general trend of increasing spring and ground temperatures there. This year, the 'Norris disturbance' began around July 11, 2003, when pronounced changes were noted, including thermal pools that were boiled to dryness, creating fumaroles. (As of December 2003) The National Park Service had to close some footpaths in the geyser basin owing do to near-boiling ground temperatures! The uplift has also led to an increase in seismic hazard potential in the area of uplift."

Other USGS research this year was conducted by geologist Lisa Morgan who took a team underwater at Mary Bay in Yellowstone Lake. Mary Bay was apparently created 13,000 years ago when a gigantic steam explosion ejected rocks and gas all around the area. Nearby at the bottom of the lake itself, there is what park geologists call a "structural dome" that is 2100 feet across and 100 feet high. Is the dome an indication of more building pressure below the lake that could blow like it did 13,000 years ago? Dr. Morgan thinks the dome is static, but in Mary Bay her diving team reported 250 thermal vents, fissures, geyser basins and 30-foot-high columns of silica that had been deposited.

So... what is happening at Yellowstone? Could all the hot temperature changes, new steam and water eruptions, and large land bulge be related? Are they precursors to a big steam, or water, or carbon dioxide gas, or lava eruption that might be coming?

A December 11th. 2003 interview with Hank Heasler, Ph. D., Supervisory Geologist for Yellowstone National Park in Yellowstone who lives and works in Yellowstone Park said, "It's all related because it is caused by the heat from the Yellowstone volcano as far as this bulge and all the hydrothermal features, all the hot springs geysers, mud pots and steam vents in Yellowstone, are the result of the volcanic forces."

But what about that big bulge under the north side of the Yellowstone caldera that has been rising a few millimeters each year since 1997?

Professor Bob Smith at the University of Utah and his students reported at the American Geophysical Union meeting that they have done seismic tomographic imaging of the bulge which covers 19 x 25 miles. Their seismic velocity data suggest there is leakage of gas, maybe carbon dioxide, causing some of the ground to lift. There is a possibility that there might be some magma movement, but the seismic tomography shows magma only in small amounts under the Mallard Lake and Sour Creek resurgent domes in Yellowstone. The University of Utah data suggests that 90% of the large bulge is solidified. Another possibility for the slowly rising bulge could be superheated water moving underground. Bob Smith went on to say that Yellowstone is a very-very active volcano and that the main question is it something to be feared? "I don't think it's something to be feared, but it's something we need to be aware of and keep our finger on the pulse of." said Professor Bob Smith.

[therock1811]

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/activity.html#update
There's the link Dennis was talking about.......

[CaptinCrunch]

View to the southeast through the area affected by this summer's increased thermal output at Norris' Back Basin. The foreground shows steaming areas where boiling water and steam have approached the surface, resulting in increased ground temperatures.

[coriolis]

This all may be quite true, but I'd be a little skeptical of that Mr. Parks you mention, Chris.

There is no mechanism that I can imagine that would link solar flares with geologic activity. There isn't enough energy density to have any effect on solid or liquid matter. It sounds like he has a consulting business going (He has 4 patents?) That sounds like marketing. And the tone of his press release is a little over the top.

But anyway, I agree that something is afoot, underfoot, and bears watching.

[JQ Public]

I saw a whole special about the geothermal activity at yellowstone. Seems likes these eruptions happen often (often on a geological timescale that is)...they are covered up by debris...and then they erupt again. Supposedly they have measured the position of the lake and the land is rising so fast that the lake is engulfing trees that once used to be on land.

[CaptinCrunch]

The powerful geomagnetic storms of late October disrupted communications, caused spotty power outages and produced beautiful aurora displays even to mid latitudes.

At virtually every moment in time, there are active volcanoes producing tremors or lava flows or gas and ash emissions. Major volcanic eruptions are rarer. Their frequency is more like one per decade or even longer.

Volcanic eruptions certainly have direct, local, sometimes devastating effects and the larger ones have been shown to have an influence on the world's weather. The last major eruptions were in the early 1990s (Pinatubo and Cerro Hudson). The two biggest eruptions before that occurred about 10 years earlier (Mt. St. Helens and El Chichon). These eruptions spewed a large amount of ash, gas and aerosols into the stable, high atmosphere.

Volcanic eruptions have been observed more frequently during the declining phase of the 11 year solar cycle. A meteorological friend of mine suggested perhaps volcanic eruptions were tied to geomagnetic activity, which you may recall from the last story, peaks then.

When I did a comparison of the geomagnetic storm activity with volcanic activity, I found some empirical support for this.



As to the possible connection, Earthweek (from the San Francisco Chronicle) on November 10, 1989, reported that Russian scientists had "concluded that there was a direct link between geomagnetic storms and earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. They observed that powerful solar storms disrupt the Earth’s magnetic field by as much as a thousandfold, causing the molten interior of the planet to move in powerful circular currents. These massive currents place enormous stresses on the interplay of the tectonic plates, resulting in earthquakes and volcanic eruptions."

If you do a search on volcanoes and geomagnetic activity, you will see others have suggested or found this apparent relationship.If this "cause and effect" is real, given the powerful geomagnetic storms of the last two weeks and the possibility of more returning when the active regions return to the visible disk in a few weeks, we might expect an increased chance of a major eruption(s) or earthquake(s) somewhere across the globe.

[weatherluvr]

The 1815 eruption of Tambora occured at a time when there were sunspots big enough to be seen with the naked eye, according to records of Chinese astronomers. That was the largest eruption since the end of the last ice age, and contributed to the "Year Without A Summer" in 1816.

This also followed the 400-year Maunder (sp?) minimum, or "Little Ice Age", during which time the sun was virtually devoid of sunspots. I'd be curious to see what kind of earthquake or volcanic activity occured during that time (approx. 1300 to 1700).