• Question: Hi! Do you know approximately when the Yellowstone volcano wil erupt, and will the impact affect the world? Thanks!

    Asked by mimi317 to Davie, Gemma, James P, James V, Nuala on 29 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by geek52.
    • Photo: James Pope

      James Pope answered on 29 Jun 2012:

      Hi mim317,

      No one knows if or when the Yellowstone volcano will erupt, people got excited by the idea of it about 8 years ago as they thought the magma chamber (which will cause the eruption) was growing, but it seems to have settled down again now.

      If a super-volcano like Yellowstone erupted, then you could expect a massive change to global climate, probably a cooling event for up to a decade, as ash and sulphates emitted from the volcano caused less solar energy to reach the Earth’s surface and cause global cooling to happen. The ash from the eruption would fall over most of the USA and into Canada which would make it very hard to grow crops or for wild animals to eat, but the ash cloud would affect the whole planet. If a super-volcano did erupt it would be a global natural disaster and would affect all life on the planet with farming and food production being hit really hard so an increased chance of severe famines. Also, clean water supplies might become harder to find as ash and pollution from the eruption gets into rivers and lakes.

    • Photo: James Verdon

      James Verdon answered on 1 Jul 2012:

      Hi mimi,

      Noone can know for sure when Yellowstone will erupt. Geological records show large eruptions at Yellowstone 2.1 million years ago, 1.3million years ago and 0.64 million years ago. That means an large eruption every 700,000 years or so. Given that the last eruption was 640,000 years, some people say we are ‘due’ another one soon. However, that could be next week, it could be in 100,000 years time, we just can’t know.

      If Yellowstone did erupt, it would have huge effects around the world. People within 100km or so could be at risk from the initial blast and subsequent pyroclastic flows. Beyond that, much of the USA would be covered with layers of volcanic ash. This would impact farming and food production, potentially leading to famines.

      The ash and dust that erupts would circulate in the upper atmosphere around the world. This would partially block the sun’s rays. This would reduce global temperatures for a year or two, and impact plant growth. Again, this would affect farming and food production, leading to famines around the world.

      This happened in 1815 when Tambora in Indonesia erupted. It was known in Europe as the year without summer, because the summer was so cold. Crops failed and there were widespread famines across the world. So if Yellowstone were to erupt, it would be a hugely significant effect!

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