Can We Predict When Yellowstone Will Blow?
A major supervolcano eruption is overdue in Yellowstone Park, which could darken the skies over the rest of the U.S. for years to come. Scientists would love to know how to accurately predict this and other eruptions, and now Bernard Chouet says he knows how to do it.
Chouet, of the U.S. Geological Survey, says that volcanic eruptions are preceded by a type of earthquake known as a long-period event, which signals that pressure is building up inside the volcano.
When Colombia’s Nevado del Ruiz volcano erupted in 1985, it melted a glacier, causing water and volcanic ash mudflows that killed an entire town of 25,000 people. When Chouet looked at the area’s earthquake records, he saw many long-period events.
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