Newly Discovered Hot Magma Plume Beneath Yellowstone Volcano Stretches To Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

22 March 2018, 10:14 pm EDT By Rubi Valdez Tech Times

New evidence on Yellowstone's volcanic activity might shed light on the long-debated theory on the presence of magma plume beneath the national park.

The Yellowstone caldera is a complex system of rock formations that sprung after a series of volcanic eruptions some 630,000 million years ago. This is the widely accepted theory, although there are some scientists who argue that the national park sits right on top of a "hot spot."

Results of the investigation conducted by Peter Nelson and Stephen Grand from the University of Texas' Jackson School of Geosciences supports the latter theory suggesting a massive magma plume beneath the park's surface. This plume, which is the technical word for a magma foundation, appears to extend as far as Mexico.

How Plumes Are Formed
In a geographic sense, a plume is an abnormality that exists when the earth's core rises through the mantle forming what it appears to be a foundation of hot magma.

More:
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/223457/20180322/newly-discovered-hot-magma-plume-beneath-yellowstone-volcano-stretches-to-mexico.htm

[Jim__]

1. "... rock formations that sprung after a series of volcanic eruptions some 630,000 million years ago

I think that should be 630,000 years ago. 630,000 million years ago would be before the Big Bang.

From wikipedia:

The caldera formed during the last of three supereruptions over the past 2.1 million years: the Huckleberry Ridge eruption 2.1 million years ago (which created the Island Park Caldera and the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff); the Mesa Falls eruption 1.3 million years ago (which created the Henry's Fork Caldera and the Mesa Falls Tuff); and the Lava Creek eruption approximately 630,000 years ago (which created the Yellowstone Caldera and the Lava Creek Tuff).[5]

[debsy]

2. TechTimes got the number of years wrong:

630,000 million years is 630 billion years. I believe the correct figure for Yellowstone's last eruption is somewhere around 630,000 years ago. Here are a few more articles with further details about this fascinating topic:

https://yellowstoneinsider.com/2018/03/19/new-research-suggests-deeper-origin-yellowstone-plume/

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2018/03/the-yellowstone-supervolcano-evidence-of-a-vast-magma-plume-discovered-stretching-from-mexico.html

http://www.iflscience.com/environment/evidence-of-vast-magma-plume-discovered-stretching-from-the-yellowstone-supervolcano-to-mexico/

An eruption from Yellowstone will certainly trigger another, much greater mass extinction than what we are currently seeing. Very interesting and terrifying at the same time.

Thanks for posting!