Fortune: Yellowstone Supervolcano Could Erupt Sooner Than We Thought

An eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano in the western United States may occur sooner rather than the centuries once assumed, suggest researchers at Arizona State University. They examined minerals of fossilized deposits that showed changes in temperature and composition from a previous eruption, and also found that the supervolcano’s magma reservoir is large and could fill more quickly than what previous estimates suggested. The US Geological Survey operates a Yellowstone Volcano Observatory with sensors and satellites to sharpen predictions of an eruption. The last blast was more than 600,000 years ago, and the lead scientist assures that the threat is not immediate. “An eruption at Yellowstone would result in a cloud of ash more than 500 miles wide, stretching across nearly the entire western United States,” notes Grace Donnelly for Fortune. “The explosion could be so incredibly large that it could plunge the entire planet into a volcanic winter. That means it would be impossible to grow crops and current food stores would only last about 74 days, according to a 2012 estimate by the United Nations.” The world has about 20 such so-called super volcanoes, which erupt about every 100,000 years. – YaleGlobal