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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park was jostled by a host of small earthquakes for a third straight day Monday, and scientists watched closely to see whether the more than 250 tremors were a sign of something bigger to come. Swarms of small earthquakes happen frequently in Yellowstone, but it’s very unusual for so many earthquakes to happen over several days, said Robert Smith, a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah.
“They’re certainly not normal,” Smith said. “We haven’t had earthquakes in this energy or extent in many years.” Smith directs the Yellowstone Seismic Network, which operates seismic stations around the park. He said the quakes have ranged in strength from barely detectable to one of magnitude 3.8 that happened Saturday. A magnitude 4 quake is capable of producing moderate damage. “This is an active volcanic and tectonic area, and these are the kinds of things we have to pay attention to,” Smith said. “We might be seeing something precursory.
“Could it develop into a bigger fault or something related to hydrothermal activity? We don’t know. That’s what we’re there to do, to monitor it for public safety.” Smith said it’s difficult to say what might be causing the tremors. He pointed out that Yellowstone is the caldera of a volcano that last erupted 70,000 years ago. Yellowstone has had significant earthquakes as well as minor ones in recent decades. In 1959, a magnitude 7.5 quake near Hebgen Lake just west of the park triggered a landslide that killed 28 people.
Well maybe not doomed now… but eventually. Happy New Year!
Well, if Yellowstone blew up we wouldn’t have a global warming problem anymore. Depending on the size of the blast the global temperature could drop, agriculture would falter and billions of people would die. Happy New Year!
What a surprise… Scientist predict doom. Guess they need a well-timed crisis to secure their place in line with the banks and car companies.
Earthquake threatens millions – women, children and minorities most affected.
Calderas generally become active, very fast. This is because they are found in or near to large water tables, which accelerates the transfer of heat. An enormous explosion, think of megatons, followed by lahar, lava and ash, then a rapid decline to a pre-eruption dormant state. I live near an ancient sea level caldera lake in New Zealand, where I regularly find glassed silicates, beach sand which was turned to glass by the heat of the ancient lahar.
Bobbo, of course there is something we can do. We could build geothermal plants that would pump hot water from underground that would drive power turbines to create energy to power up pumps to pump cool water back to the magma below Yellowstone to cool it off, thus preventing an eruption. Simple!
#5–Brian==I thought of that and assume that we can’t cool the area off enough to make a difference. There is a huge moving magma pool under yellowstone. Plus, before we got all the pumps in place, Mother Nature would see it happening and take steps to intervene. She’s nasty that way.
Such monitoring would be useful to warn people to clear the area==then have fun deciding what justifies a five state evacuation plan.
We just don’t know enough and that’s too bad==or just substituting one kind of misery for another.
Paddy and Scott==can you run this thru your blissful ignorance algorithm and lets us know which way we would be better off?
Go to Costco and buy all the canned beans, spam, and corn beef you can afford. Don’t forget the manual can opener.
The fact is we don’t know what normal is. It hasn’t been a half of heart beat in geologic time that primates even existed.
I’ll just everyone a lot of time. If Yellowstone blows up it will be caused by Obama’s election, gay marriage, and socialized medicine.
However, the actual real reason is that we didn’t pay Dr. Evil the $1 million dollars he demanded since the banks and auto companies took all the spare cash.
Bobbo, just thought of another issue; if we pumped too much water we might have cooled the earth’s magma, and slow down it’s spin.
Happy New Year!
I’m sure someone will convince a portion of the population that if yellowstone erupts, it will be because of human impact on the planet and we must all buy “yellowstone offset credits” to make it all better
They’ve been predicting an eventual major event in Yellowstone for years. Could be that it’s finally happening. Volcanoes happen.
Could this be happening because God hates fags? I’d hate to think we are all going to get blown up over something as minor as fudge packing.
http://tinyurl.com/5st3qo
1. Mortgage crisis.
2. Wall Street craters.
3. Ten guys get India and Pakistan to fight.
4. Steve Jobs on last legs.
5. Supervolcano erupts in Yellowstone.
I’m going to Disneyland.
I don’t think they know the meaning of ‘unprecedented’.
It is not unprecedented to get flooded if you live in a flood plain.
#11 “we must all buy “yellowstone offset credits” to make it all better”
I’ve got some just waiting to come off my printer – be first on your block with Yellowstone offset credits
Well, there are a couple of weeks left in Bush’s administration. I’m quite scared.
Well, I’m certainly scared of Dubya, and what he might do next to help his buddies, and screw the rest of us…
The Discovery Channel has a goo hour long special on this sleeping volcano that will someday kill us all.
#9, drunner,
CORRECTION
God now works for Dr. Evil.
I love how scientists, with a speck of time worth of accurate records call something “Unprecedented”.
Typical morons.
#22–Paddy==what do you think unprecedented means? and why isn’t saying “we have no precedents for this activity” a useful bit of information? How many years of information do you think would be appropriate before scientists use the term?
I do see moronic behavior though. You are right about that.
# 23 bobbo said, “and why isn’t saying “we have no precedents for this activity” a useful bit of information?”
Given the time frame for which they are talking (a few decades) it is utterly useless.
#24 – Paddy-RAMBO
>>Given the time frame for which they are talking (a
>>few decades) it is utterly useless.
Ah, you mean like what the Energy Cabal uses when they talk about global warming?
# 25 Mister Mustard said, “Ah, you mean like what the Energy Cabal uses when they talk about global warming?”
Nope
#26 – Paddy-RAMBO
>>Nope
I see.
So you dismiss the Yellowstone issue because it’s too short a time frame, but you accept the Energy Cabal’s profit-seeking claim that’s based on an even shorter time frame.
Okay. At least you’re not ashamed.
#25, Mustard,
Given the time frame for which they are talking (a few decades) it is utterly useless.
What Cow-Paddy is refering to is the lenfth of time he has been the Temporary Associate Deputy Assistant Stockroom Helper at Radio Shack.
#21, soundwash,
i find it odd that AP is constantly showing the wrong location for the quake storm at the bottom right of the wyoming, when the swarm is located
at top left in yellowstone lake itself, -as seen
on this (clickable) US map of last 7 days..
I find it amusing that not only can’t you spell or use grammar, you can’t read the link.
All the quakes were centered beneath the northwest end of Yellowstone Lake.
The report was filed from Cheyenne WY which is why the map shows the South East part of the State.
Are you ready for the rupture?
mr. fusion… i award you the grammar-nazi troll of the year award, happy?
‘xcuse me for not proofing my post, oh great one.
the point being they should be showing where the quakes are located, -not the report location.
fwiw: the count is now above 290, with
16 more quakes happening on the jan 1.
several of those being under a minute apart in utah and yellowstone.