Magma Chamber Under Yellowstone Park Much Larger Than Believed Claims Study

It may sound like fiction, but scientists and researchers know that there is a massive magma chamber underneath Yellowstone National Park. A new study was published recently that claims the magma chamber under Yellowstone is much larger than previously believed. The study claims the magma chamber is 2.5 times larger than previously believed.

According to the study, if the supervolcano under Yellowstone erupted the explosion created would be 2000 times the size of the explosion created by Mount St. Helens. Scientists mapped the size of the magma chamber by measuring seismic waves from earthquakes.

The mapping shows that the magma chamber is 55 miles long according to the lead author of the study, Jamie Farrell from the University of Utah. The study also claims the chamber is 18 miles wide and ranges in depth from three to nine miles below the surface of the Earth.

The study notes that there is enough magma material under Yellowstone to match the largest of the supervolcanos explosions over the last 2.1 million years. The scientists say that if the volcano erupts again it will spew enough ash into the atmosphere to make this a global event.

SOURCE: Tulsa World