Yellowstone supervolcano magma chamber has far more melted rock than thought

A picture of Midway Geiser in Yellowstone National Park shows streams of red liquid flowing away from its center. — The reservoir beneath Yellowstone’s supervolcano doesn’t presently include sufficient liquid magma to pose an eruption threat. (Picture credit score: Sandy Huffaker/Corbis by way of Getty Pictures)

The quantity of melted rock beneath Yellowstone’s supervolcano is much greater than earlier estimates, a brand new research has discovered. Whereas researchers say there isn’t any signal of an imminent eruption, the invention offers a extra detailed view of what is going on on within the monumental magma chamber that sits beneath the nationwide park.

Removed from a easy mix of molten rock, magma reservoirs include a considerable amount of strong rock, semi-liquid crystals, gasses and different unstable substances. This “magmatic mush” is extremely dynamic however tends to burst out from deep underground when the proportion of liquid — or soften — crosses a sure threshold.

Earlier work means that eruptions usually happen when no less than 50% of the house within the higher magma reservoir — a layer of flattened pockets of magma stacked on prime of one another — is stuffed with soften.

The magma reservoir beneath Yellowstone volcano consists of two chambers — a shallow reservoir close to the floor that is round 55 miles (90 kilometers) lengthy and 25 miles (40 km) huge, and a deeper chamber that’s about 4.5 instances bigger. Whereas the deeper reservoir comprises about 2% soften, the higher chamber comprises way more: A research revealed in Science in December 2022 put the proportion of soften between 16% and 20%.

Associated: Yellowstone volcano super-eruptions seem to contain a number of explosive occasions

Now, Sin-Mei Wu, a geophysicist and postdoctoral researcher with the Swiss Seismological Service on the Federal Institute of Know-how (ETH) in Zurich, and colleagues have discovered the proportion is far greater. The staff used seismic wave knowledge to evaluate the feel and composition of the higher magma reservoir, which is about 3 miles (5 km) deep at Yellowstone. The outcomes, revealed June 8 within the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, point out the higher chamber consists of 28% soften — 8% to 12% greater than the 2022 estimate, which was discovered with completely different strategies, Wu mentioned.

“What we discovered is that the portion of liquid section just isn’t sufficient to have an imminent eruption,” Wu advised Dwell Science. “Though we discovered a a lot greater portion of liquid than what was beforehand discovered, it is nonetheless solely as much as 28%. So, to the very best of our data, Yellowstone won’t have an imminent eruption.”

Figuring out the proportion of liquid in magma reservoirs may assist scientists consider the danger of volcanic eruptions elsewhere. “It is essential to know the eruption potential, perhaps not for Yellowstone up to now, however you possibly can apply the identical strategies to different magma programs which are extra liable to eruption and to some which are already erupting,” Wu mentioned.

A diagram showing the magma reservoir beneath the Yellowstone supervolcano.

The magma reservoir beneath the Yellowstone supervolcano consists of two chambers, one shallow and one deep. (Picture credit score: Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Determine by Ross Maguire, College of Illinois)

The methodology used for the research is “revolutionary within the element and backbone it allowed for,” mentioned Michael Poland, a analysis geophysicist and scientist-in-charge on the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

The magma at Yellowstone and in different magmatic programs is like “mush,” Poland advised Dwell Science in an electronic mail. “We regularly discuss with ‘magmatic mush’ to convey a way that it is not a 100% molten ball, but additionally comprises numerous strong materials — within the case of Yellowstone, far more strong than liquid materials,” he added. “Perhaps like a very thick lentil soup.”

Regardless of current breakthroughs, scientists cannot make sure what precisely lurks beneath the supervolcano, Wu mentioned. “We’re trying ahead to some joint interpretation with different geophysical knowledge to seek out out, for instance, if we solely have soften or if there may be fuel, volatiles, or one thing else that can assist us perceive the eruption dynamics.”

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.