The Science of
By Alex
Why? Yellowstone
Yellowstone also lays on top of a
large water aquifer that provides
the ammunition for it magnificent
geysers.
•Yellowstone is one of
the most active
geothermal areas in
the world this is due
to the large
Yellowstone hot spot.
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.
The caldera underneath
Yellowstone has never
erupted….Thank god
Krakatoa which erupted
in 1883 killed 36000
people
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
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The Secrets of Supervolcanoes. By: Bindeman, Ilya N.. Scientific American,
Jun2006, Vol. 294 Issue 6, p36
Rediscovering the New World. Scientific American, June 1999, Vol. 280 Issue
6, p24
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, p326-336, 11p
Having a Blast at Yellowstone. Current Science, 4/11/2008, Vol. 93 Issue 15,
p14-14, 1p;