Story Published: Nov 9, 2007 at 6:47 PM PDT
Story Updated: Nov 10, 2007 at 1:24 AM PDT
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (AP & KLEW Staff) It's big and it's hot. And when it erupts again, most scientists agree it will change the planet,
Most people know it as Yellowstone National Park. But what has always been thought of as a fascinating tourist destination, is in fact one of the earth's few supervolcanoes. And park officials say it is showing some interesting signs of activity.
What is happening is called uplift, and scientists say the Yellowstone caldera has been moving upward, almost 3 inches per year, for the past three years. That's more than three times faster than has been observed since measurements began in 1923. The uplift is thought to be due to movement of fluid, possibly magma.
But University of Utah geophysics professor Robert Smith says there is no evidence of an imminent volcanic eruption. He says many giant volcanic craters around the world go up and down over decades, without erupting. Smith and his colleagues published recent their findings in the latest edition of "Science." The Yellowstone supervolcano produced massive eruptions 2 million, 1.3 million and 642,000 years ago. They made the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens seem insignificant in comparison.
To find out the latest on the movement in the Yellowstone caldera: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/2006/uplift.html
