Volcanoes attracted people since ancient times.They believed their gods, worshiped and offered sacrifices, including human ones.This attitude is understandable, because even now, the incredible power of these natural objects just amazing even trained researchers.
But among them there are some that stand out even less noticeable background.This, for example, Yellowstone Caldera National Park in Wyoming, USA.The power that lies dormant in the supervolcano, is such that it may contribute to the total destruction of our civilization in the event of his awakening.This is no exaggeration.Thus, Mount Pinatubo, which is several times weaker than its American "colleagues", the eruption in 1991 contributed to the fact that the average global temperature dropped to 0.5 degrees, and it lasted several years in a row.
What characterizes this natural object?
Scientists have long given this status to the object supervolcano.It is known worldwide by its megalithic proportions.During the last large-scale revival of his entire upper volcano just fell down, forming an impressive size failure.
It is situated in the middle of the North American plate, not on the border of his "colleagues" in the world, which are concentrated along the edges of the plates (the same "Ring of Fire" in the Pacific Ocean).Since the 80s of the last century, America's Geological Survey reported that the number of aftershocks, the strength of which is not more than three on the Richter scale, is increasing steadily year by year.
What does the state?
This is not fantasy.The seriousness of the allegations of scientists confirms the fact that in 2007 created an emergency meeting, which was attended by the US president and the head of the CIA, NSA, FBI.
history study
What do you think, when she was discovered by a caldera?In the early development of the American colonists?But how would not be so!They found it only in 1960, exploring the aerospace pictures ...
Of course, the current Yellowstone Park was studied long before satellites and aircraft.The first naturalist who described these places, was John Colter.He was a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition.In 1807 he described the current Wyoming.State struck its incredible geysers and many hot springs, but on his return "progressive community" did not believe him, mocking the work of the scientist having called "Hell Colter."
In 1850, a hunter and naturalist Jim Bridger visited Wyoming.Staff met him in the same way as its predecessor: the clouds of steam and boiling water fountains that erupted from under the ground.However, his stories and no one believed.
Finally, after the Civil War, a new US government still has funded full-scale study of the region.In 1871, the area studied scientific expedition under the command of Ferdinand Hayden.Just one year has been prepared by a huge colorful report with numerous illustrations and observations.Only then finally we believed that Colter and Bridger did not lied.Then it was created Yellowstone Park.
development and learning
first head object was appointed Nathaniel Langford.The situation around the park initially was not too optimistic: the head of a handful of enthusiasts and do not pay salaries, not to mention some research this area.It changes everything in a few years.When the system was introduced in the Northern Pacific Railroad in the valley flooded with tourists and people who are genuinely interested in this was a natural phenomenon.
merit management of the park and the government that they, having promoted the influx of curious, yet not turned this area into a unique tourist attraction cluttered and constantly invited to these parts of eminent scientists from around the world.
particularly attracted scholars small volcanic cones, which are in the area from time to time and continue to be formed today.Of course, the most famous national parks are not brought Yellowstone supervolcano (and then some of the words did not know), and huge, incredibly beautiful geysers.However, the beauty of nature and the richness of the animal world is also not leave people indifferent.
What supervolcano in the modern sense?
If we talk about a typical volcano, most often it is a fairly normal hill in the shape of a truncated cone on its top is the mouth, through which the hot gases and molten magma flows.Actually, the young volcano - a crack in the earth.As it implies, and molten lava hardens, it quickly forms a characteristic cone.
's just supervolcanoes such that they are not even close to resemble their "little brothers."This kind of "blisters" on the surface of the earth, under a thin "skin" that rages molten magma.On the territory of such education can often be produced more conventional volcanoes, through the vents from time to time there is an emission of accumulated products.However, even the appearance of holes there often is not: there is volcanic caldera, which many people take for a normal dip in the ground.
How many of them exist at all?
Today we know at least 20-30 such entities.Their relatively small eruption, which most often occur by the "use" of ordinary volcanic branches can be compared to the release of steam from the pressure cooker of the valve.The problem starts at the very moment when the steam pressure is too great, and he takes off into the air, "pot".It should be noted that the volcano in the United States (as well as Etna, by the way) refers specifically to the "explosive" category because of the extremely dense magma.
That is why they are so dangerous.The power of these natural formations such that they may be sufficient power to erase a powder of the whole continent.Pessimists believe that if the volcano in the United States still explode, die may be 97-99% of humanity.In fact, even the most optimistic forecasts do not differ too much from such a gloomy scenario.
He wakes up?
Increased activity recorded over the last decade.Many people in America are not even aware that each year is fixed from one to three underground sects.While many of them are fixed only with special equipment.Of course, the explosion is too early to say, but the number and the power of concussions gradually grow.Facts disappointing - probably underground tank is filled with lava.
general, for the first time, scientists have paid attention to a national park in 2012, when the territory began to emerge dozens of new geysers.Just two hours after visiting scholars government has banned access to the majority of national park visitors.But seismologists, geologists, biologists and other researchers was ten times more.
There are other dangerous volcanoes in the United States.In Oregon, there is still a giant caldera of Crater Lake, which is also formed as a result of volcanic activity, and it can not be less than the danger of his "colleagues" from Wyoming.However, just fifteen or twenty years ago, scientists believed that the supervolcano required centuries to wake up, so you can always advance to predict disaster.Unfortunately, they are clearly wrong.
Research Margaret Mangan
Margaret Mangan, one of the outstanding scientists of the Geological Survey of America, for a long time is close monitoring of volcanic activity around the world.Not so long ago she told the world that the researchers, seismologists completely revised their views on the timing of awakening the largest volcanoes of the planet.
And this is - very bad news.Our knowledge in recent years has expanded considerably, but the relief from this no.Thus, the largest volcano in the United States has consistently demonstrated increasing activity: there were moments when the earth beside the caldera was heated to 550 degrees Celsius, lava dome began to form in the form of a hemisphere protruding upward rocks and the lake gradually begins to boil.
Just two years ago, some seismologists are vying assured everyone that the volcanic activity over the next couple of centuries mankind is not threatened.Really?After the grand tsunami that washed away literally Fukushima to issue their forecasts, they stopped.Now they prefer to get rid of pesky journalists meaningless terms of general importance.So what do they fear?The onset of a new ice age as a result of the eruption of grand?
first disturbing forecasts
fairness it should be noted that the gradual reduction of the time lag between disasters, scientists have known before.However, given the astronomical terms, humanity is cared little.Initially, the volcanic eruption of Yellowstone in the United States was expected about 20 thousand years.But after a study of the accumulated information it turned out that this will happen in 2074.And this is a very optimistic forecast since volcanoes are extremely unpredictable and very dangerous.
researchers from the University of Utah, Robert Smith, in 2008, said that "... until the magma is at a depth of 10 kilometers from the crater (with a constant rise in its 8 centimeters per year), there is no reason to panic ... But if it risesat least three kilometers, we all nesdobrovat. "That is what is dangerous Yellowstone.US (more precisely, the scientific community of the country) is well aware of.
Meanwhile, in 2006 Ilya Bindeman and John Valley were published in the journal "Earth and Planetary Science", and the publication they did not spoil the audience comforting predictions.Data for the past three years, according to them, point to a sharp acceleration of the rise of lava, constantly open up new fissures through which comes to the surface hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide.
This is a sure sign that some serious trouble for sure will happen.Today, even the skeptics agree that this danger is real.
New signals
But why "trend" of the past year was this theme?After all, people have had enough of hysteria with the year 2012?And all because that in March there was a sharp increase in seismic activity.Increasingly they began to wake up even the geysers, considered long-slumbering.With the National Park began to migrate en masse animals and birds.But all this - the real harbingers of something very bad.
Following the bison and deer fled, quickly leave Yellowstone Plateau.During the year a third migrated livestock, which in the memory of Indian aborigines even happened once.Especially all these strange movements of animals appear in the light of the fact that the park no one hunts.However, since ancient times people already know that animals feel perfectly signals heralding major natural disasters.
Available data further reinforce the concern of the scientific world community.In March last year, seismographs recorded aftershocks force of up to four points, and this is no joke.In late March, the area noticeably shook with the force of 4.8 points.Since 1980, it is the most powerful manifestation of the seismic activity.Moreover, in contrast to the events of thirty years ago, these shocks are strictly localized.
volcano Why so dangerous?
For decades, during which carried at least some study of the area, for a long time, scientists have assumed that the Yellowstone Caldera is not dangerous: Volcano allegedly has long since died out.According to the new data geodesic and geophysical exploration, reservoir under caldera magma is approximately two times greater than indicated in the most pessimistic reports.
Today, it is known that the reservoir extends to as much as 80 kilometers in length and 20 - in width.Learned is Robert Smith, a geophysicist from Salt Lake City, collecting and analyzing the huge amount of seismic data.At the end of October 2013, he made a report about it in the city of Denver, at the annual scientific conference.His message was immediately replicated, the results of research are interested in almost all the leading seismological laboratory in the world.
Evaluate
To summarize their findings, the scientists had to gather statistics on more than 4,500 earthquakes of varying intensity.That's what he has determined the boundaries of what passes for Yellowstone Caldera.The data showed that the size of the "hot" area in recent years has been understated by more than half.Today it is considered that the volume of magma - within four thousand cubic meters of hot rocks.
assumed that "only" 6-8% of this amount falls on the molten magma, but it is very, very much.So Yellowstone Park - a real time bomb, which will explode someday the whole world (and it still does, unfortunately).
first phenomenon
In general, the first time the volcano clearly showed itself about 2.1 million years ago.A quarter of the whole of North America at the time turned out to be covered with a thick layer of volcanic ash.In principle, nothing more than a large-scale since then and has not happened.Scientists believe that all supervolcanoes manifest themselves once in 600,000 years.Given that the last time the Yellowstone supervolcano blew for more than 640,000 years ago, there is every reason to prepare for trouble.
And now it can be much worse, because in just the past three hundred years, the density of the planet's population has increased many times over.An indication of what happened then is the caldera of a volcano.This cyclopean crater, which has resulted in its unimaginable power of the earthquake that occurred 642,000 years ago.How then was ejected ash and gas is unknown, but this event greatly affected the climate of our planet for the next millennium.
comparison, one of the relatively recent (in geological terms) Etna eruption, which took place six thousand years ago, and that was a hundred times weaker than the release of the caldera, it caused a big tsunami.His next archaeologists found throughout the Mediterranean.It is assumed that it was the basis for the tradition of the biblical flood.It seems that our ancestors really lived through the tragic events then many hundreds of villages were simply washed away in a few moments.Residents of the settlement of Atlit Yam were more fortunate, but even their descendants continue to talk about the tremendous waves crushes everything in its path.
If you will behave badly Yellowstone, the eruption is 2.5 thousand (!) Times more powerful and ash into the atmosphere will be released 15 times more than got there after the last revival of Krakatoa, which killed about 40 thousand people.
eruption - not important
Smith himself has repeatedly stressed that eruption - it tenth.He and his colleagues, seismologists say that the main danger lies in the future then the earthquakes that are clearly more powerful than the eight on the Richter scale.On the territory of the national park and now almost every year for minor concussion.Harbingers of the future also have: in 1959 happened earthquake measuring 7.3 magnitude once.Only 28 people were killed, as others have enough time to evacuate.
Overall, Yellowstone Caldera is sure to bring many more ills.Most likely, the lava flows immediately cover an area of not less than one hundred square kilometers, and then the gas flows will suffocate all life in North America.Perhaps a big ash cloud will reach the shores of Europe for a maximum of a couple of days.
's what conceals Yellowstone Park.When a catastrophe global scale, no one knows.It is hoped that this will happen is still very long.
Approximate model catastrophe
If the volcano explodes, the effect can be compared with the detonation of a dozen powerful intercontinental missiles.The Earth's crust over hundreds of kilometers to rise by tens of meters high and has warmed up to about a hundred degrees Celsius.Chunks of rock in the form of volcanic bombs will bombard the surface of North America for several days.In the atmosphere of thousands of times to increase the content of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and other hazardous compounds.What are the other consequences of the volcanic eruption of Yellowstone?
Today it is considered that the explosion instantly burn out an area of about 1,000 km2.
