When will the Yellowstone volcano explode? The Yellowstone Caldera volcano began to erupt in the United States. The Beginning of the Apocalypse What is the name of a supervolcano in America?

The most pessimistic scenario for the awakening of a supervolcano is this: it will be an explosion comparable to the explosion of 1000 atomic bombs. The ground part of the supervolcano will collapse into a crater with a diameter of fifty kilometers. An environmental disaster will occur on Earth. For the United States, the eruption of Yellowstone would mean the end of existence.

The saddest thing is that not only alarmists, but also experts talk about such consequences. Jacob Löwenstern from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (USA) said that during all previous eruptions of the supervolcano (there were three), more than 1 thousand km³ of magma fell out. This is enough to cover most of North America with a layer of ash up to 30 cm (at the epicenter of the disaster). Löwenstern also noted that the air temperature throughout the Earth will drop by 21 degrees, visibility for several years will become no more than half a meter. An era similar to nuclear winter will come.

Hurricane Katrina showed that the US civil defense system is not prepared for such large-scale disasters - and no country’s defense system can prepare for them.

Domestic scientists never tire of predicting the eruption of a supervolcano. Nikolai Koronovsky, head of the Department of Dynamic Geology, Faculty of Geology, Moscow State University, in an interview with Vesti, told what will happen after the eruption:

“Winds are predominantly westerly, so everything will go to the eastern United States. Will cover them. Solar radiation will decrease, which means the temperature will have to drop. The famous eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in the Sunda Strait in 1873 lowered the temperature by about 2 degrees in the equatorial region for a year and a half until the ash dissipated.”

For many centuries, humanity has been watching with interest and concern one of the most extraordinary and threatening creations of nature - volcanoes. There is a huge diversity of them all over the planet, among which there are both dormant or extinct and active specimens. For example, in the United States alone there are about 100 volcanoes of varying degrees of activity, including the largest of them, Yellowstone.

Where is

In the northwestern part of North America, in the states of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park is an international reserve that is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was created in March 1872, considered the very first national park, covering an area of ​​about 898.3 thousand hectares. It is here that the most dangerous volcano in America is located, having simply enormous dimensions (about 72 km by 55 km), while occupying almost a third of the entire area of ​​the park.

Yellowstone Caldera is an active volcanic system that is one of 20 supervolcanoes around the world. The power of the eruption of each of this list can provoke dramatic climate changes on planet Earth.

The caldera is a large pit that looks like a circus arena, is of volcanic origin, has steep walls and a flat bottom. Formed after the collapse of the crater walls during a giant ejection.

The territory of the system is located above a hot spot - a place where hot liquid mantle rock moves towards the Earth's surface; this area is covered by a plateau. Scientists' observations show that the hot spot is moving to the eastern and northeastern part of the continent, and the entire North American plate is shifting towards the west and southwest.

How it works

In the 1960-1970s, while studying satellite images of the territory of the biosphere reserve, the ruins of the Yellowstone crater were noticed. Upon further study, experts found that underneath there is a huge bubble of hot magma, and its depth is more than 8000 m. The temperature of the magma inside is 800 degrees Celsius, which allows heating thermal springs and releasing water vapor, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide from under the earth’s crust.

Here is also the largest valley of geysers in the world, one of the five largest around the globe.

The power source for the volcanic system is a huge vertical plume, which is a flow of molten solid mantle rock with a temperature of about 1600 degrees Celsius.

The melting of part of the plume into magma in the upper layers closer to the earth's crust contributes to the emergence of mud pots and geysers. The plume section is a 660 km long column with branches on the sides, which has a funnel-shaped expansion at the top.

Eruptions

Experts, while studying the activity of the largest volcano in the United States, came to the consensus that there have already been 3 global eruptions, which are striking in their scale and number of victims.

The ash that covers the entire surface of the earth after the explosion prevents the passage of light from the Sun, resulting in a period called “volcanic winter.”

First

The eruption, which occurred about 2.1 million years ago, created the Island Park caldera and the Huckleberry Ridge tuff formations. It is believed that it was so powerful that a fourth of the American continent was covered in ash from the explosion, the height of the magma ejection reached the upper layers of the stratosphere (50 km above ground level), and mountain ranges were torn apart.

Second

About 1.3 million years ago, Yellowstone ejected about 280 cubic kilometers of volcanic mixture, after which the large Henrys Fork caldera formed.

Third

It happened 640,000 years ago, experts believe that it was 2 times weaker than the first. The consequence of this disaster was the collapse of the crater top and the formation of a caldera. This huge depression has a circumference of almost 150 km. The Lava Creek tuff terrain was also formed.

The eruption of a supervolcano is considered the second most powerful and damaging global cataclysm, second only to the impact of an asteroid in terms of destruction.

Earthquakes

Every year earthquakes occur in the park, their number varies between 1000-2000 times, but they are so insignificant that visitors practically do not notice them.

Despite the danger and threat of release, thousands of tourists from all over the world come to this amazing place every year to admire the beauty and bright colors of nature, as there are simply incredible landscapes around.

New disasters and forecasts of seismologists

During the research, scientists determined the probability of new disasters in Yellowstone National Park to be 0.00014% per year. The calculations were based on two periods of time between three large-scale emissions. However, experts in geology and seismology unanimously argue that processes of this kind in the modern world are not regular, and also cannot be controlled, predicted and managed. However, every year, various information appears on the Internet and periodicals that the supervolcano is waking up. A catastrophe that could occur in the near future could deal a powerful blow to North America, destroying life and changing the climate.

The most pessimistic forecast of experts suggests that during the subsequent eruption of Yellowstone, a release of magma in a volume equal to 1000 cubic km is possible. Such a powerful burning avalanche could destroy life at a distance of 1600 km from the center of the disaster, covering a significant part of the country (2/3) with a 3 m layer of volcanic ash.

In November 2009, director Roland Emmerich presented the world with the science-fiction film “2012,” which depicts the colossal destruction caused by the Yellowstone eruption.

Scientists warn of an imminent cataclysm, which will be the largest in the history of human development. How will the eruption affect Russia? Is the country in danger of a catastrophe?

According to research from the University of Arizona, a supervolcano will erupt in less than a hundred years in Yellowstone. The Yellowstone volcano is a huge depression with a diameter of 80 by 40 km, formed as a result of several super-eruptions over millions of years. The last time the volcano erupted lava was 640 thousand years ago and it is possible that we will soon witness this event.

What will happen to humanity?

According to experts from the US Geological Survey, the consequences of a volcanic eruption will be comparable to a nuclear explosion. As a result of the ejection of hot magma to a height of 50 kilometers, the entire western American coast will be a dead zone, covered with a one and a half meter layer of ash. Within a radius of 500 km, nothing alive will remain, and 1200 kilometers from the eruption point, 90% of people and nature will die.

It is estimated that about one hundred thousand people will become victims of suffocation and hydrogen sulfide poisoning. In a day, acid rain will begin to fall in the United States, killing all vegetation. And in a month the Earth will be plunged into darkness, as the Sun will disappear behind clouds of ash and ash.

The climate will change dramatically, with a sharp cooling of 10-20 degrees. Because of this, oil and gas pipelines and railways will fail. The ozone hole will grow, killing remaining living organisms. Due to the awakening of the volcano in Yellowstone, other volcanoes will begin to erupt lava. Because of this, many tsunamis will arise, washing away cities along the way.

Which countries will be hit the hardest?

Not only the United States will be affected, but most countries as well. China, India, the Scandinavian countries and northern Russia will suffer the most. Life there will stop. The number of victims in the first year of the global catastrophe will reach two billion people. Southern Siberia will suffer the least. The period, which scientists have already called “volcanic winter,” will last four years. And humanity will have to cope with the consequences for a very long time. Over the next century, the Earth will once again return to the Middle Ages, plunging into savagery and chaos.

Is it possible to save the Earth?

The only consolation is that many serious scientists reject such a scenario and doubt that such an apocalypse is possible not only in the near future, but ever. According to the head of the laboratory of the Institute of Earth Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alexei Sobisevich, a volcanic eruption in Yellowstone is possible no earlier than in hundreds of thousands of years. And, in the end, it is not so scary, because our distant ancestors managed to survive three such super-eruptions. At the same time, scientists do not rule out that the supervolcano could wake up with the help of earthlings themselves.

An attack on a volcano is one of the methods of terror that can become the most dangerous. A volcano can be artificially detonated by detonating the lid of the magma chamber using megaton-class warheads.

Yellowstone Volcano is a volcanic caldera in Yellowstone National Park, located in the US state of Wyoming.

Yellowstone is among the 20 most famous supervolcanoes on the planet, the eruption of which could lead to climate change throughout the Earth.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone supervolcano

According to recent studies by American scientists, the Yellowstone supervolcano may erupt in the near future. As a result of this disaster, about 70% of the territory will be destroyed.

According to volcanologists, in a possible explosion, magma under high pressure will rise high into the sky, and there will be so much ash that it will cover the surface of the earth with a 3-meter layer at a distance of 1600 km.

As a result, tens of millions of people will die, and the territory will become uninhabitable due to high levels.

As of today, the lava has approached the surface of the earth's crust so close that the soil has already risen by as much as 1.5 m.

An interesting fact is that in some areas of Yellowstone you can feel the heat of magma without the help of any instruments. This once again proves that a volcanic eruption can indeed begin at any moment.

Yellowstone volcano

But how did it all start? In 2002, two new geysers with medicinal water formed in the Yellowstone Nature Reserve.

In this regard, travel companies began to invite people to visit the national park to improve their health, and at the same time enjoy the beauty.

As a result, the annual number of tourists who want to see the healing springs with their own eyes has increased to 3 million people.

At first, no one gave serious importance to the formation of natural geysers. However, after 2 years the situation began to change dramatically.

The US leadership has tightened restrictions on visiting Yellowstone Park, and entry into some areas has been banned altogether.

In addition, the number of guards, as well as scientists researching the supervolcano, has noticeably increased.

The area of ​​the reserve is 3825 km², with the caldera measuring approximately 55 km by 72 km.

Initially, volcanologists did not assume that the caldera could be such a huge size, but after careful research, this fact was confirmed.

In this regard, it became clear that the water emanating from the geysers was heated by the influence of hot lava.

In 2007, during the presidency of George W. Bush, a special scientific council was formed. The best American geophysicists and seismologists began to seriously study the Yellowstone volcano.

Even intelligence officials and the US Secretary of Defense got involved in the work. Meetings were held every month, chaired personally by the president.

As it turns out later, such measures were not taken in vain. It turned out that the gushing hot geysers were harbingers of the awakening of the Yellowstone supervolcano.

In addition, seismologists recorded a sharp rise in the soil under the reserve. During the period 2007-2011. it rose by 1.8 m. It should be noted that over the previous 20 years, the rise of the soil did not exceed 10 cm.

Over the many thousands of years of its existence, Yellowstone has erupted 3 times. According to scientists, the last eruption occurred about 600 thousand years ago.

Previously, experts thought that this supervolcano no longer poses any threat to the Earth, but after careful research, everything turned out to be completely different.

Over the past ten years, experts have noted a constant increase in soil temperature and active rise of lava.

More and more cracks were also discovered, through which hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide contained in the magma were released. Naturally, this could not but worry American scientists.

Feature of supervolcanoes

It should be said that the eruption of an ordinary volcano occurs at one specific point.

But supervolcanoes cover large areas, and can have several ordinary volcanoes on their territory.

Their danger lies in the fact that they do not erupt, but literally explode over a gigantic area.

Supervolcano explosion

Scientists were able to simulate a potential explosion of a supervolcano. The picture turned out to be downright apocalyptic.

It all starts with magma rising up under high pressure. Next, a “hump” is formed, which can reach a height of several hundred meters and be up to 20 km in diameter.

Then cracks and countless vents begin to appear around the perimeter. At one point, the central part of the hump cannot withstand the load and collapses down. As a result, the collapsed rock pushes millions of tons of magma and ash out of the depths of the earth.

Scientists suggest that the explosion power of the Yellowstone volcano will be a thousand times stronger than an atomic bomb dropped on the city.

An interesting fact is that not long ago bison began to rapidly leave the Yellowstone Nature Reserve. And these, as you know, have the ability to anticipate future disasters, which is further evidence of an impending large-scale cataclysm.

Following the bison, they began to run away from the park, which alerted not only the scientists, but also the rangers. Recent studies have shown that helium accumulation and the number of mini-earthquakes in the Yellowstone region have increased 1,000-fold.

How will Yellowstone explode?

Volcanologists suggest that before the explosion of the Yellowstone volcano, the earth will rise another few tens of meters. At the same time, the soil temperature will heat up to 70°C.

The explosion will immediately release volcanic ash, which will rise approximately 50 km into the sky.

This will be followed by a release of magma that will cover a gigantic area. All this will be accompanied by powerful .

In the first minutes after the explosion, about 200 thousand people will die from the hot lava alone. Then people will die from subsequent and.

Ultimately, the number of deaths will reach 10 million. All this will resemble the legendary Armageddon.

It is worth noting that volcanic ash particles are so tiny that respirators cannot prevent them from entering the lungs. Once in the human body, the ash begins to harden and turn into stone.

Thus, people living even thousands of kilometers from the volcano will also be in mortal danger.

In addition, the explosion of the Yellowstone volcano will provoke the formation of, as a result of which the level of radiation will sharply increase.

The territory of North America and the southern part will turn into a scorched desert.

The explosion of Yellowstone will cause hundreds of other volcanoes across the earth to erupt. Within a few days, all living things will die from earthquakes, magma emissions and suffocation.

In a few weeks, huge masses of ash will be covered, and cosmic darkness will descend.

Nuclear winter

After the explosion of the Yellowstone volcano, acid rain will fall for a long time, which will destroy crops and the entire animal world. Due to the lack of solar energy, the temperature on the planet will fluctuate between -20°C and -50°C.

Winter will continue for several more years, resulting in the death of all plants and a serious lack of oxygen.

According to scientists, people living in the center of Eurasia and the Eastern European part have the greatest chance of survival.

An inglorious end

If you believe such forecasts, then many questions involuntarily arise. For example, why is there so little talk about this in the press and on television?

Some sources claim that the authorities considered it inappropriate to cover this topic, since humanity is unable to prevent the impending catastrophe.

According to the leadership of the United States of America, the wisest thing to do is simply not to cover this topic, so as not to cause unnecessary panic among the population.

Yellowstone today

American scientist Howard Huxley has been studying the Yellowstone volcano for a long time. He and his like-minded people formed the Foundation for Saving Civilization.

In their opinion, after the disaster, the entire elite will go to live in, located in. Such conclusions were made based on the fact that cash injections began to flow into this country en masse.

They began to build good roads, airports and special bunkers designed for a comfortable existence for several years.

Perhaps in connection with this, American billionaires also built a “Doomsday Vault” in which the seeds of most plant varieties are stored. This structure is a huge armored safe built in Spitsbergen.

From all that has been said, the conclusion suggests itself that even if some people manage to survive the explosion of the Yellowstone volcano, their continued existence on Earth is still doomed to death.

But this is already the area of ​​​​exclusively hypotheses and assumptions.

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There have been many predictions about the end of the world, and the largest volcano in America, Yellowstone, is often cited as one of the reasons for the global catastrophe. And yes, if it erupts, it can destroy the continent.

Yellowstone volcano

The caldera of the Yellowstone volcano is so gigantic that it houses a national park (by the way, of the same name). Its dimensions are approximately 55 kilometers by 72 kilometers. Moreover, its dimensions were determined recently: in 1960-1970. And this is not just a volcano, but a supervolcano. You can walk here without even suspecting that there is a volcano under your feet.

In reality, supervolcanoes are still quite difficult today; about 20 such formations are known to the world. It is quite possible that some of them have not yet been recognized, while others are considered ordinary extinct volcanoes that appeared in ring structures as a result of a cosmic body (asteroid, meteorite or comet) falling to Earth many millions of years ago.

Yellowstone is located in a so-called hot spot: under the caldera there is a huge bubble of magma, the depth of which, according to research, is about 8 thousand meters.

The temperature inside this giant bubble, according to scientists, exceeds 800 degrees. That is why there are a huge number of thermal springs in the park, as well as a valley of geysers. By the way, it is the largest in the world (there are five such valleys on the planet).

Today this volcano poses one of the greatest dangers to the Earth. From time to time, scientists make predictions in the media that an eruption may begin, which will become a real catastrophe for humanity.

The most dangerous magma bubble

Earthquakes are a regular occurrence in Yellowstone National Park. On average, they occur from 1000 to 2000 per year, however, they are very weak, and a person does not feel them. And many tourists come here to admire the amazing scenery.

In general, supervolcanoes represent the second largest catastrophic phenomenon. Scientists put the fall of an asteroid in the first place. In the history of the planet, eruptions of such volcanoes led to mass extinctions, as well as climate change, since the ash did not allow sunlight to penetrate the Earth and a long “volcanic winter” was established on the planet.

On average, Yellowstone volcano erupts approximately every 600 thousand years: the most recent one occurred 640 thousand years ago, before that - 1.3 million years ago, and even earlier - 2.1 million years ago, so a new catastrophe is looming. The likelihood of a new eruption in the near future is quite low, but there is a risk that constant earthquakes could provoke a new tragedy on the planet.

So, in 2014, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 occurred here (usually a magnitude of no more than 3), some researchers predicted further more powerful tremors and said that America had only a couple of weeks to live. And even then, animals began to run away from the park en masse, which caused additional unrest among the population. Watch the buffaloes run, you would probably get excited too.

True, the authorities then reassured citizens and said that this was normal migration due to the onset of cold weather.

What could be the consequences

Scientists predict that the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano will release approximately a thousand cubic kilometers of magma into the environment. This is enough to kill everything within a 160 km radius and cover most of the continent with a layer of ash about 30 centimeters thick. The victims could be 100 thousand people, but it would also be a real disaster for the planet: volcanic ash would change the atmosphere and block sunlight for several years, maybe decades, and then the average annual temperature could drop by about 20 degrees.

By the way, in the disaster film “2012” the Yellowstone eruption occurs.