U.S. Geological Survey Says No Volcanic Eruption in Yellostone is Likely in Next 10,000 years

BALTIMORE, Maryland April 4, 2014 - Seeking to calm nerves after a You Tube video went viral after warning of an imminent Super Volcanic Eruption in Yellowstone National Park, the U.S. Geological Survey has stated that the Volcano that sits in and under the extremely popular park in the western United States will not erupt in the next 10,000 years.

A video posted on YouTube has gotten thousands of hits. In it, a herd of bison is shown running pell mell out of the Park, located on 3472 acres in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. A commentator in the video, who is a self-described survivalist and was seen wearing camouflage, dark glasses and a black watch cap, warned that the fleeing bison may be one of nature's signs of an "imminent eruption here at Yellowstone."

Other things that rattled the nerves of area residents were a 4.8 magnitude earth quake last Sunday morning, and a lifting of land in one area near the volcano. Volcanos can be preceeded by earthquakes and land lifts, but the quakes come in tightly bunched batches and the land lifts are frequent and wide-spread. No one was injured in Sunday's quake.

The National Park Service has published a pamplet it distributes to people coming into the park which seeks to answer the most frequently asked questions about the park's volcano. The first two questions and their supplied answers are printed below:

Q: How imminent is an eruption of the Yellowstone Volcano?

A: There is no evidence that a catastrophic eruption at Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is imminent. Current geologic activity at Yellowstone has remained relatively constant since earth scientists first started monitoring some 30 years ago. Though another caldera-forming eruption is theoretically possible, it is very unlikely to occur in the next thousand or even 10,000 years.

The most likely activity would be lava flows such as those that occurred after the last major eruption. Such a lava flow would ooze slowly over months and years, allowing plenty of time for park managers to evaluate the situation and protect people. No scientific evidence indicates such a lava flow will occur soon.

Q: How much advance notice would there be of an eruption?

A: The science of forecasting a volcanic eruption has significantly advanced over the past 25 years. Most scientists think that the buildup preceding a catastrophic eruption would be detectable for weeks and perhaps months to years. Precursors to volcanic eruptions include strong earthquake swarms and rapid ground deformation and typically take place days to weeks before an actual eruption. Scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory* (YVO) closely monitor the Yellowstone region for such precursors. They expect that the buildup to larger eruptions would include intense precursory activity (far exceeding background levels) at multiple spots within the Yellowstone volcano. As at many caldera systems around the world, small earthquakes, ground uplift and subsidence, and gas releases at Yellowstone are commonplace events and do not reflect impending eruptions.

*The YVO is a collaborative effort between the US Geological Survey, the University of Utah, and YNP to monitor and study the Yellowstone Volcano. Congress has given the USGS the responsibility of volcano hazard assessment, and YNP assists the USGS in their volcano monitoring effort.