In the last few weeks, the Yellowstone Volcano has been at the center of attention on the internet. There have been speculations that the super volcano may soon awaken from its slumber and wreck havoc on he planet.
The Yellowstone Supervolcano lies beneath the 3472 square miles of Yellowstone National Park. The park is the world's oldest National Park and attracts nearly three million visitors annually. Based on the supervolcano's history, it erupts every 600,000 to 800,000 years nd the last major eruption happened 630,000 years ago which had scientists predict that another eruption is already due. Also, adding fuel to the fire are the 41 seismic activities that have been observed in the area surrounding the park.
In the Question and Answer site Quora, there's a question asking if there is something that could be done if we knew with certainty that the Super Volcano will erupt in 10 years time. A volcanologist then shared his extreme plan to avoid an eruption with cataclysmic impact to happen.
Craig McLaren, according to his Quora profile is a geologist with expertise in volcanology, specifically lava lakes, volcanic plumbing and volcanic glasses, who shared his idea of drilling into Yellowstone's magma chamber and dropping a nuclear bomb into the volcano to minimize its apocalyptic impact.
McLaren said that there is no way to predict the volcano's eruption with certainty. Even if someone thinks that they would give an accurate prediction, the scientific community will not come together to agree but for the sake of the scenario he was willing to share his idea on how the eruption can be controlled and for its impact to be less deadly.
According to McLaren, the first step that is needed to be taken is to inform the world and bring them in on the plan. He advised that the next years should be spent in stockpiling and restricting food exports. He also advised that there is a need to create massive water diversion projects towards areas away from the impact zone to aid in agricultural production in a coller climate. Also, before proceeding with the plan, he advised that people should be moved away from the predicted high-impact areas.
After which, McLaren shared his idea. He said that a remotely-operated drill is needed to drill into the Yellowstone's magma chamber to ease the pressure building up inside the volcano through a minor eruption. If this does not work and create an eruption as expected, he also advised dropping the smallest nuclear bomb inside the magma chamber.
The volcanologist further explained that the plan will most likely not prevent a complete eruption but it can minimize its intensity by triggering a release of volatiles through depressurization. In addition, he said that instead of a massive blast triggering a series of smaller eruptions over the course of 10 years will most likely have a more manageable outcome, than if the Yellowstone volcano completely blows.
Other people have also shared their ideas regarding possible ways to control the cataclysm that may happen if the supervolcano does erupt. However, the United Stated Geological Survey (USGS) said that there is nothing to worry about since the volcano is not likely to blow within our lifetimes.
