Is an Eruption Brewing at Yellowstone National Park?

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By KFBB News Team

Story Published: May 24, 2009 at 6:23 PM MDT

Story Updated: May 24, 2009 at 11:09 PM MDT

A swarm of earthquakes is one sign that an eruption may be brewing and last winter Yellowstone National Park was rocked by a rash of tremors.

"There were over a thousand earthquakes in about one week," said Park Geologist Hank Heasler. "That isn't unprecedented in the parks history, but it is unusual."

"It was one of the largest swarms in the past 20 years," said USGS Volcanologist Dr. Jake Lowenstern. "It certainly got a lot of people's attention, including ours."

The entire park that exists today is the caldera of the last major eruption 640,000 years ago and experts say that eruption was destructive on a scale like we have never seen before.

"This put out about a thousand times more volcanic material than Mount St. Helens," said Heasler. "To put that in perspective, it's the difference between spending $1,000 and $1,000,000.

That eruption in 1980 in Washington was the deadliest and most destructive volcanic event in the nation's history. 57 people lost their lives in the eruption and volcanic ash was scattered across 12 surrounding states. But experts say another major eruption at Yellowstone would be much more deadly and destructive.

But how will we know if another big eruption is brewing? Dr. Jake Lowenstern is a member of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory which is in charge of monitoring the park's supervolcano. The partnership between Yellowstone National Park, the US Geological Survey, and the University of Utah uses seismograph and ground deformation sensors to keep an eye on what is happening deep underground. Based on their research of the Yellowstone hotspot, the Observatory says another eruption is likely and may even happen in our lifetime. But fortunately for tourists and those living nearby, they say it won't be the big one.

"In a worse case scenario, the big super eruption, is very destructive and would cause a world of hurt to anybody living in the region around Yellowstone and surrounding states," said Lowenstern. "However, the big eruption is not what's most likely to happen here if we do get a volcanic eruption. Much more likely is some localized lava flows that will have an affect within the park. People will need to move out of the way. There will be fires. But people living hundreds of miles away, or even tens of miles outside the park are very unlikely to be affected."

"We have a very sophisticated monitoring system that will give us advanced warning if anything does start to occur," said Heasler. "So the best thing to do is come to the park and enjoy the beauty."

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daja simmons said on Monday, Mar 8 at 11:56 AM

i love myfriends including emaree

emaree anderson1997 said on Monday, Mar 8 at 11:55 AM

i thought that was neat i think national yellowstone park rules!

maizey said on Saturday, Jan 16 at 10:43 AM

If a big eruption does happen how will everyone and everything on this planet be effected?

David said on Tuesday, Sep 1 at 8:50 PM

Even if the eruption we're most likely to face is a small one, the fact remains that another super-volcano sized eruption is nearly inevitable from Y.S. So, what are we doing now to insure that it doesn't mean the end of civiliation?

Marc said on Tuesday, Jun 16 at 3:52 AM

What's the news here? The swarms happened in December/January and plenty of scientists have been interviewed back then. News Channel 5 might be everywhere, but apparently everywhere a little late.

Kate said on Sunday, May 31 at 10:51 AM

I find it arrogant of those who say it can't or won't happen? We live on a ball of lava (in the core) If it wants to escape....guess what? It can and will and all the talk won't stop it.

Anonymous said on Tuesday, May 26 at 9:54 AM

i feeltht it would be fun if i go

Christine said on Monday, May 25 at 10:52 AM

Don, predicting geological and meteorological events are two very different things. If a major eruption occurred at Yellowstone, the US, and even the planet, would face devastating challenges to survival, so I wouldn't worry too much about where you live. The chance of such an eruption occurring in our lifetime is very small per Dr. Lowenstern, and we don't have the ability to do anything about it anyways, so why worry? Enjoy your life!

Don said on Monday, May 25 at 8:02 AM

How can they predict a major erruption when thay can't even predict the weather on a consistent basis. Their placing us into a false sense of security so Yellowstone and its area won't lose major income during the tourist season!!!

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