Is Yellowstone Supervolcano waking up?

Last week National Geographic Channel launched a great documentary about something very mysterious and interesting in their show NAKED SCIENCE. It caught me by awe so I thought of blogging about it. YellowStone National Park of USA is a great tourist attraction. The rich green forests, amazing wildlife and nature makes it one of the most wonderful sites in USA. But beneath this great park lies something more wonderful and yet deadly. Yellowstone National Park sits ontop of a chamber of molten rock and gas; a volcano assumed to be extinct but apparently on the verge of waking up anytime. It is not like the typical volcanoes we see, neither in scale, appearance or even frequency of the eruption. In appearance it is a large depression that stretches over large areas of land and the frequency of eruption varies from thousands to millions of years.

The last three massive eruption of the Yellowstone caldera took place about 2.1 million, 1.3 million and 640,000 years ago (this being the lastest one!!) And this one ejected 8000 times more ash and debris than the St. Mount Helens' eruption in 1980. The documentary reported that most scientists believed the volcano of yellowstone to be extinct until in 1957 when a massive earthquake brought the region to its knees, killing 28 campers in the zone - 19 of them were never found. Scientists then, checked into the area and saw a thick layer of ash and debris covering the entire bedrock. Further research led to the discovery of the Supervolcano, which was formed due to the activity of a hotspot in the region. Even then they thought the volcano was inactive - amazing!
So nature send other signs in 1997 which further worsened as the years wore on - Spewing gases, hissing steam vents, gangling mudspots and steaming hotsprings, followed by the not so voilent vibration of the earth. Finally in 2003 US Geological Survey Scientists mapped out changes in the Northern rim of caldera and discovered that it has risen 13 cm from 1997 - 2003. So finally the big question arise.. Is the volcano getting ready to wake up and let out a roar? And if so, how much destruction can this sleeping giant bring? National Geographic channel had some awesome pictures to show what 'might' happen if the Volcano decide to show its true colours.

It would definetly exterminate all life in the National Park and nearby communities. Moreover it would also spread volcanic ash from Pacific coast to Mid west. Scientists also believe it would cause worldwide climatic changes. Last time such an eruption took place - 67500 years ago in Indonesia with the Toba Eruption, the world witnessed a mini ice age or volcanic winter, that almost eradicated the human population!! So overall the Yellowstone eruption could kill millions, directly and indirectly!!

Scary eih? But not all Volcanologists agree that its ready to blast now. Most Volcanologist in the US Geological Survey believes that supervolcaneos are likely to give decades, even centuries of warning signs before they can erupt. And these 'signs' include more than what is seen from Yellowstone now. It includes massive earthquakes, increased small eruptions, changes in the chemical composition of the lavas and even changes in the gases escaping from the underground. And these had not been observed in the Yellowstone. But even these scientists agree that the volcano is active and will erupt one day.. just not now. :D Thank God.