USGS: Yellowstone Supervolcano Eruption won’t be Catastrophic

Researchers have informed that the impact of Yellowstone Supervolcano won’t be as catastrophic as previously claimed by many studies. Based on the data provided by a computer simulation program codenamed Ash3D, research team from United States Geological Survey has said that the impact of Yellowstone supervolcano might be much less compared to earlier estimates.

The chances of eruption of supervolcano in the coming generations are very low. However, an earthquake in the region or any other sudden change can lead to earlier eruption of the supervolcano.

USGS geologist Larry Mastin said, "In essence, the eruption makes its own winds that can overcome the prevailing westerlies that normally dominate weather patterns in the United States." Mastin has co-authored the current study and he was also part of the team which developed Ash3D computer simulation model.

The research team added that the ash cloud after the eruption would be massive. The ash cloud after the 2010 volcano eruption in Iceland caused major disruption in air traffic across Europe. The Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines caused ash cloud as high as 130,000 feet in 1991. The ash clouds in recent volcanic eruption in PNG reached 60,000 feet.

The crater-forming caldera eruption at Yellowstone occurred 640,000 years ago, as per estimate of scientists.

The detailed research and its findings have been published in online edition of Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.