IT’S GONNA BLOW!
Yellowstone supervolcano may erupt at any time and ‘could wipe out western USA’ after researchers discover ‘abnormality’
AN ABNORMAL "river" of lava deep underneath Yellowstone's supervolcano could cause it to erupt at any time and "wipe out western America", scientists have warned.
It is feared that the Yellowstone volcano would completely wipe out from the National Park down 215 miles to Mexico and kill millions with its deadly ash cloud.
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Researchers Peter Nelson and Stephen Grand from the University of Texas published their discovery of the “anomaly” in the journal for Nature Geoscience.
They describe the river as a "single narrow, cylindrically shaped slow anomaly, approximately 350 km in diameter that we interpret as a whole-mantle plume”.
According to the two researchers, it is the “deep origin for the Yellowstone hotspot” which is “currently beyond the resolution of global tomography models”.
If the supervolcano were to erupt, the miles of lava running beneath it would cause catastrophic damage above ground.
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360,000 people would instantly be killed and millions more would die as ash clouds cover the sun.
Fears of an imminent mega-eruption were sparked last year when a “swarm” of 1,400 mini earthquakes took place at Yellowstone National Park.
At the time - when the hotbed under the volcano was estimated to be 51 miles long - scientists believed the volcano would only kill 90,000 people.
What effect could the 'anomaly' river have?
A river of lava underneath the Yellowstone supervolcano could cause catastrophic effects if it were to erupt.
The river stretches for 215 miles from Yellowstone National Park to the California-Mexico border.
Over 300,000 people in the area would be killed immediately.
Millions more would die as volcanic ash clouds cover the sun.
In 2017, 1,400 mini earthquakes occurred at Yellowstone National Park, sparking fears of an imminent eruption.
Researchers have long argued about the source of Yellowstone’s heat, but all agree that a volcanic eruption in the park would be catastrophic.
The two researchers, from Texas, believe they have now found proof the "river of lava" does exist under the supervolcano.
Seismic activity has been analysed around Yellowstone with data from the USArray network, which has listening stations positioned across North America.
Seismic waves are 'slower' in the channel where the river is believed to be, according to the scientists.
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The last time the supervolcano erupted, 630,000 years ago, there were devastating after-effects revealed by researchers at The University of California.
A smaller eruption occurred 70,000 years ago.
Many are speculating that we are due for the apocalyptic eruption to occur, but scientists have said it likely won’t happen for another one to two million years.
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