The supervolcano underneath the Yellowstone may bring a gruesome scenario that could take the life of 90,000 people should it erupt. The catastrophe could be comparable to the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in the 1980s, the experts said, according to Mail Online.
Yellowstone National Park, between Wyoming and Montana, has a supervolcano that last erupted 640,000 years ago. As one of the largest active continental silicic volcanic fields in the world, and because of the its high reserves of molten lava, magma, rocks, carbon dioxide and other gases, its eruption could instantly kill some 90,000 people, the scientists predicted.
The scenario could also bring forth a 10-foot layer of molten ash that could spew up to 1,609 km from the park. Then, following the eruption, a gaseous haze could cover part of the United States from sunlight. If that happens, temperatures in these states could drop significantly, which could result in the damage of crops. The domino effect could then lead to damaged food supply, resulting in food shortage that would affect everyone globally.
Previous researchers have already determined that Yellowstone has a small magma chamber in the reservoir and that this lies at 2,500 cubic miles below the surface.
"The Yellowstone magmatic system from the mantle plume to the upper crust" contains about 98 percent hot rock, researchers wrote in the journal Science. "The remaining 2 percent is molten rock and is too deep to directly cause an eruption," according to the study.
But the experts clarified that the chances of Yellowstone erupting to catastrophic heights is one in 700,000 yearly.
In its entire history, the Yellowstone only had three supervolcano eruptions. The first one was 2.1 million years ago, followed by another event 1.3 million years ago, and the last, 640,000 years ago, according to National Geographic.
