Scientists found that the volcano produced more eruptions in the past

May 3, 2012 10:00 GMT  ·  By

An analysis of the 2-million-year-old Huckleberry Ridge deposit, produced by the Yellowstone volcano, revealed that the landscape features were created not by one, but two separate eruptions.

The events were spread around 6,000 years apart. What this suggests is that Yellowstone may not be as dangerous as its classification as a supervolcano may lead some to believe. On the other hand, it now looks as if it's more active than geologists first calculated.

The new investigation was carried out by experts with the Washington State University and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Center (SUERC). One of its main conclusions is that Yellowstone is relatively tame for a supervolcano of its size.

These new data could be of great use to experts seeking to recalculate the volcano's eruption risks. If the entire area is more active than first thought, it could be that another eruption event is imminent.

However, this risk cannot be accurately assessed until geologists gain a deeper understanding of the mountain, its surrounding, its eruption habits, and its underground plumbing system. The bright side is that potential eruptions may not be as devastating as first thought.

The event that spawned the Huckleberry Ridge 2 million years ago was the fourth largest known to scientists, before the new study revealed that it actually consisted of two different eruptions.

The team is however keen to point out that the first of these events is still cataloged as a super-eruption. It produced around 2,200 cubic kilometers of ash. For comparison, the eruption of Mount St. Helens, in 1980, produced just 1 cubic kilometer of ash.

The second event at Yellowstone, 6,000 years after the first, spewed 290 cubic kilometers of ash in the atmosphere. “The Yellowstone volcano's previous behavior is the best guide of what it will do in the future,” scientist Ben Ellis says.

“This research suggests explosive volcanism from Yellowstone is more frequent than previously thought,” he adds. Ellis is a postdoctoral researcher at the WSU School of the Environment, and also a coauthor of the new paper detailing the findings.

The study will be published in the June issue of the esteemed journal Quaternary Geochronology. Funds for the investigation were provided by the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Astrobiology Magazine reports.

“Improved precision for greater temporal resolution is not just about adding another decimal place to a number. It's far more exciting. It's like getting a sharper lens on a camera. It allows us to see the world more clearly,” SUERC postdoctoral research fellow and study coauthor, Darren Mark, concludes.