Situated over a volcanic Caldera, Yellowstone National Park is famous for its hot and acidic springs and has been linked to a future catastrophic volcanic eruption. And now scientists have warned strong nearby earthquakes could result in “variations in geyser eruption patterns” and even “small steam explosions”. The warning comes after Ear Spring geyser unleashed a shock eruption last September, marking its biggest such explosion in over sixty years. The geyser spewed scalding water more than 30-feet into the air on September 15 last year.
US Geological Survey (USGS) Yellowstone Volcano Observatory scientists said: “Distant earthquakes have triggered clusters of small earthquakes at Yellowstone (like those caused by the 2002 Denali, Alaska, earthquake), and variations in geyser eruption patterns are a common consequence of local and distant strong earthquakes.
“Seismic shaking can cause hydrothermal plumbing systems to collapse, changing how Yellowstone thermal features behave and even resulting in small steam explosions.”
Below the surface of the National Park lies the fearsome Yellow Caldera, a super volcano which last erupted approximately 630,000 years ago.
Experts have previously warned it erupts roughly every million years, with some geologists claiming it is already showing signs it could be ready to blow once again.
But USGS experts argued: “Triggering an eruption of magma from Yellowstone is not easy – no eruptions have happened in the past 70,000 years despite numerous strong earthquakes in the region.
“An eruption will occur only when there is a quantity of liquid magma in the subsurface and sufficient pressure to get that magma to ascend to the surface.
“Neither condition is currently in place. As a matter of fact, there’s only 5-15percent liquid in the mostly crystalline magma storage region.”
The Yellowstone Caldera supervolcano last erupted 700,000 years ago but experts say it should blow every one million years or so.