Yellowstone volcano: USGS scientist's warning over NASA plan to DRILL into supervolcano

NASA’s Jet Propulsions Laboratory in California came up with a bombshell idea back in 2015 to help “save the world” from a supereruption at Yellowstone. The concept, which in theory would cost around £2.7billion, would involve drilling into the hydrothermal system at Yellowstone National Park and attempting to cool the magma. However, USGS’s Scientist-in-Charge Mike Poland thinks it is “not a good idea”.

He revealed during a Facebook Live broadcast why he thought it would be a waste of time.

He said in 2018: “There is no plans to actually do this, it was just a plan in concept. 

“But there is no plan to do any drilling at Yellowstone and I can’t imagine it would ever be allowed as it is a national park. 

“It would not have the intended effect either – it’s not even a good idea.”

Mr Poland went on to claim the drilling could also spoil the natural beauty of Yellowstone.

He added: “And it would have the potential drawbacks of affecting all of the natural features at Yellowstone. 

“At other places in the world where geothermal wells have been drilled near geysers, it has actually muted the activity completely.

“So it is unlikely to happen.”

Mr Poland was joined during the live broadcast by Deputy Scientist-in-Charge Wendy Steel. 

She spoke about the effects the supervolcano could have if it erupted, including the ash cloud it could create. 

She said: “What if there was an eruption? Well, ash would go high up into the atmosphere. 

“It would cover a lot of areas.

“A supereruption has to be 1,000 cubic kilometres of ash.

“Just so you know, that would be enough to cover the state of Texas in five feet of ash. 

“So kind of a lot.

“Closer to the park you would see a lot of ash [and] planes would be grounded during the eruption.”

Dr Michio Kaku, renowned professor of physics at City College in New York, previously sent a chilling warning over the volcano, referencing sci-fi thriller Godzilla.

He told Fox News in January: “Forget the image of Yogi Bear representing Yellowstone, we are talking about a sleeping Godzilla underneath Yellowstone.

“If it erupts in a maximum eruption of Category 8 it will literally tear the guts out of the US.

“Instead of having 50 states we would be left with 30. 

“This report looked at a Category 7, which is more likely once every thousand years, rather than once every million years. 

“That means, in every century, there is a 10 percent chance that somewhere on the planet there could be a supervolcanic Category 7 eruption.”

source: express.co.uk