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Yellowstone takes a "Deep Breath" Super Volcano

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speedpop

Has problems recognising girls
A bad day in Bosnia.

NotTheGuyYouKill said:
I haven't read the thread because I refuse to even take a chance and find out that I'm wrong when I say that I'm fucking safe from that super volcano.
The good thing is it's going to affect everyone, no matter your location - unless you're in the ISS.
 

GDGF

Soothsayer
Slavik81 said:
In the case of volcanos, is the "we're due" thing just the gambler's fallacy, or does the likelyhood of a rare volcanic event increase over time?

Over a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.

NortonFightClub.jpg
 
NotTheGuyYouKill said:
I haven't read the thread because I refuse to even take a chance and find out that I'm wrong when I say that I'm fucking safe from that super volcano.
Seeing as you're in North America.... you may have a few hours longer than those in the disaster zone.
 

antonz

Member
hydragonwarrior said:
"The most likely type of eruption would not be volcanic but, rather, hydrothermal." http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/about/faq/faqactivity.php

Reposted my q from the other yellowstone thread: So right now that volcano is more likely a volcanic eruption then a hydrothermal one?

I think it all depends on if the rock layer is ruptured. If the rock layer gives way it would be the full bang. Hydrothermal eruptions would be better to have as it would be s pressure release eruption.
 

pestul

Member
Antimatter said:
The super-eruption of Toba, did it cause a human bottleneck?

Toba was larger than any Yellowstone eruption and they didn't even find evidence that the volcanic winter caused mass extinctions with environmentally sensitive species, let alone humans.
Yeah, I think this needs to be taken into consideration. There is no doubt that a super-volcano eruption would cause terrible suffering the world around.. but I don't think it's possible to be an ELE. The US would be royally f'ed though.
 

Holepunch

Member
I live less than 100 kilometers just outside the instant death zone. I tell you, that final extra 2 minutes of my life choking on ash is going to be so good.
 
astroturfing said:
supervolcanos really are no joke. from what i've read, apparently tens/hundreds of thousands years ago a supervolcano erupted and wiped out the vast majority of humans on earth. not directly, but it spewed so much ash in the air that very little sunlight reached earth... mass excinctions followed and only the luckiest humans survived.
Back then, we were all living on one continent, though. We've spread across the world now, and have this uncanny ability to adapt to situations most mammals wouldn't be able to. Records seem to indicate the volcanic winter caused by that supervolcanic eruption lasted a good five to ten years. The fact that any of our ancestors survived back then was a stroke of luck, but now, our chances would be way better. It'd be tough times, for sure, but we (as a species) would make it through.

This is one of the largest recorded eruptions in humanity's lifespan. Not a supervolcano, but the eruption was powerful enough to have an effect all across the globe. They didn't call it "The Year Without A Summer" for no reason. 19th century humanity made it through, though it wasn't always pretty. I'd daresay we're a bit more advanced now: the parts of the world that aren't directly hit by the blast would need to adapt, but I doubt it'd be as apocalyptic as some people are foretelling.

But, don't let me keep your hopes up. There's five other supervolcanoes out there, after all. You've got Long Valley Caldera in southern California, whose last major eruption covered a 25 mile- (40 km) wide area in ashes. A series of earthquakes woke it up in 1980, apparently, and it's still huffing and puffing along to this day.

Then there's little brother Valles Caldera, apparently one of the smaller supervolcanoes that dot the earth. There's the aforementioned Lake Toba, which supposedly nearly wiped out the fledgling human race. The 2004 earthquake may have awoken this ancient monster again, though that's not exactly sure.

New Zealand has the Taupo Volcano, which kicked the tiny island's ass when it erupted a good 1,800 years ago. People in both Ancient Rome and China reportedly witnessed the eruption, though there's no way to be sure.

Japan didn't feel like staying behind, either, and comes equipped with its own supervolcano: the Aira Caldera. Just like its brothers, it's got a nasty tendency of doing a lot of damage once it goes off.

But, the thing is, some of these have gone off during humanity's lifespan. From the time we were trying to walk on two feet, or were trying to beat barbarians to death, we've always made it through. Yellowstone eruping would be extremely bad, yes, but it wouldn't be the end of the world, or humanity. And some time after it all went boom, you'd find life (including us) coming back to the devastated slopes, and starting anew. Earth's fantastic like that, isn't she?

No guarantees, though. There's always an off chance we get blasted into oblivion. Volcanoes, meteors, anything's possible. At least we'll go out with a bang if that happens. Suck it, T.S. Eliot.
 

SpacLock

Member
I say we drill into it and start slowly releasing some of the pressure.

Then drop a nuke into it and blow it up.

I'm a scientist.
 

t0mp

Member
SpacLock said:
I say we drill into it and start slowly releasing some of the pressure.

Then drop a nuke into it and blow it up.

I'm a scientist.
brb going to drill into it, will let you know how it goes
 

Blackace

if you see me in a fight with a bear, don't help me fool, help the bear!
SpacLock said:
I say we drill into it and start slowly releasing some of the pressure.

Then drop a nuke into it and blow it up.

I'm a scientist.

That's how we were made!
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Thankfully I live in Australia the safest country in the world.

SAFEST COUNTRY

IN THE WORLD
 

Pandaman

Everything is moe to me
Mr. Wonderful said:
Would it really be so cold that our heating systems couldn't keep up?
no, but the problem is how you plan to power them long term.

we're talking meters of dust everywhere. nobody is coming to fill up your oil tank.
 

Ezalc

Member
Wii said:
bullshit, New Zealand and Indonesia have supervolcanoes, if one goes off, we won't be able to grow anything
And the shockwave from the eruption would cause a mighty tsunami

I'm thinking that was sarcasm.
 

Pachinko

Member
SpacLock said:
I say we drill into it and start slowly releasing some of the pressure.

Then drop a nuke into it and blow it up.

I'm a scientist.

I wholeheartedly support this operation, now we merely need to find the worlds top scientists and geothermal engineers to build a drill that could get through all the crust , a nuke with pressure resistant hull to avoid implosion while being launched into the hole and finally we need some foreign national with an unlikable personality that's secretly working for the organization that created yellowstone national park and has interest in sabotaging the mission.

You have 10 days to assemble your team.. and a budget of uh.. the 27 cents Canadian on my desk.
 
Been to Yellowstone twice in the past six months. Once in the summer, once in the winter, and it is a fantastic place to visit. I'm sure it would be a spectacular place to die. If this thing goes, I'd want to be at ground zero.
 
DoE floods money into geothermal electric tech
Insert millions of massive geothermal converters into trouble area
Drain area of energy
Avoid blowout while powering AMERICA
PROFIT & SUCCESS
 

SpacLock

Member
Pachinko said:
I wholeheartedly support this operation, now we merely need to find the worlds top scientists and geothermal engineers to build a drill that could get through all the crust , a nuke with pressure resistant hull to avoid implosion while being launched into the hole and finally we need some foreign national with an unlikable personality that's secretly working for the organization that created yellowstone national park and has interest in sabotaging the mission.

You have 10 days to assemble your team.. and a budget of uh.. the 27 cents Canadian on my desk.

Two letters:

BP
 

DarthWoo

I'm glad Grandpa porked a Chinese Muslim
I read what seemed to be some sort of rabid conspiracy theorist site that claimed that one large enough nuke detonated directly over the caldera would set off an eruption. He sort of destroyed his credibility though when he claimed that the Obama administration was actually considering it as a solution to global warming.
 

NumberTwo

Paper or plastic?
Kung Fu Jedi said:
Been to Yellowstone twice in the past six months. Once in the summer, once in the winter, and it is a fantastic place to visit. I'm sure it would be a spectacular place to die. If this thing goes, I'd want to be at ground zero.
Charlie Frost?
 

Blackace

if you see me in a fight with a bear, don't help me fool, help the bear!
EatChildren said:
Thankfully I live in Australia the safest country in the world.

SAFEST COUNTRY

IN THE WORLD

WHERE EVERY ANIMAL IS POISIONOUS
 

Hari Seldon

Member
Spire said:
He's practically the unofficial mascot of The Science Channel and he's on pretty much every science-related show on the History Channel.

I would pay good money to see a cage match between him and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Tyson would destroy him since last name is Tyson.
 
NotTheGuyYouKill said:
I haven't read the thread because I refuse to even take a chance and find out that I'm wrong when I say that I'm fucking safe from that super volcano.
Yellowstone erupting is a mass extinction level event that will effect everyone on this little blue ball. The eruption radius will be effed of course, but the nuclear winter will be the problem on a global scale.

Luckily, it's very improbable that we'll have to deal with anytime soon! An asteroid could always get us first.
 

Chiggs

Member
The Yellowstone Super Volcano is a joke, and it will never blow. It's a paper tiger and it knows it. A big sissy. Even if it did blow, it would just suck.

I hereby challenge that volcano to let loose. I'm in Denver, CO, and I'm not scared one bit. Like Russell Crowe said to Al Qaeda, "Come get me."
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Trying to predict the Yellowstone supervolcano and worrying about it is comparable to worrying about an asteroid strike.
 

Phoenix

Member
This goes back to the "animals dying in large numbers" thread for me. A large thermal/gas release event could kill large numbers of animals.

Of course the two could have nothing to do with one another.
 
EL Beefo said:
Because I know this map is 100% accurate.

It's true. Volcanoes are huge fans of symmetry and my understanding is that the Volcanic Alliance has already paid off the Earth's rotation and the Rockies so they don't cause any trouble when the big one comes.
 

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
EL Beefo said:
5v8hR.jpg


Because I know this map is 100% accurate.
So instead of dying right away, you get to deal with the aftermath of a nuclear winter and the survivors all fighting for dwindling supplies and food.
 
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