A lurking danger to the entire world sits quietly underground in one of the most beautiful places on earth.  The almighty volcano that sits beneath Yellowstone patiently rests, waiting to release a violent killing machine on humanity and there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop it.

Yellowstone Activity

Those of you that have been to Yellowstone know the awe inspiring beauty that fills the area.  From the moment you enter the park and from whatever direction you come, you know that you are seeing something that is truly special.  Everywhere you turn there is a new wonder.  Steaming hot springs, bubbling mud pots, geysers and vents, surrounded by beautiful lakes, streams and waterfalls.  The mountains and valleys are filled with wildlife that seem to have little fear of people.  The sky is pristine, a rich blue that almost makes it feel like heaven on earth.

Yellowstone Bison

That such a heavenly place has the potential to unleash hell on earth is almost unbelievable.  But its true, and it’s marching steadily toward eruption today and it has been since 2004.  Although the current status of Yellowstone is green, the area is steadily swelling and has always shown signs of active volcanism, there may be no warning signs of imminent eruption.  We may just go from green status to eruption.

Yellowstone Movement

Yellowstone last erupted an estimated 640,000 years ago.  Based on estimated historical eruptions, Yellowstone is now due to erupt.  The effects of previous eruptions are unknown to the modern world, but may have played a big part in extinction events in North America.

Mount Saint Helens

Currently, volcanoes around the world are coming back to life, the ring of fire is heating up and Yellowstone is making a dramatic comeback.  In New Zealand, there is Mount Ruapehu, in Hawaii, Kilauea, in Chile, Chaiten, Italy, Mount Etna.  Will Yellowstone soon join the pack?

Normal volcanoes erupt on a fairly regular basis.  Mount Saint Helens erupted back in 1980, it was a big volcano and it had a devastating impact but it was tiny compared to Yellowstone.  Yellowstone is classified as a super volcano.  The eruption of a super volcano dwarfs that of a normal volcanic eruption.  When a super volcano erupts they unleash around 2500 times the power and ash of an average volcano.

Small Eruption

Yellowstone caldera measures roughly 1500 square miles.  Compared to a normal volcanic caldera, Yellowstone is enormous.  When it erupts it will launch an estimated 600 cubic miles of ash and debris into our atmosphere and completely obliterate anything in it’s path.

When it does erupt, the volcano will unleash devastation the likes of which has not been seen in recorded history.  The US, the breadbasket of the world will be instantly brought to its knees.  Food production in the US will stop almost immediately, followed soon after by the rest of the world.  The people of earth will begin to starve. 

Most of those in the US will be covered with a thick blanket of ash, making it difficult to breathe or find clean water.  The airborne ash will blot out the sun around the world and start the global temperature plunge.  Even though more CO2 will be released by Yellowstone than all of the combined burning of fuel since the modern age began, there will be no global warming, instead we will begin the march into the next ice age.

Yellowstone Caldera Diagram

There have been some who have suggested that we try to prevent volcanoes by controlled eruptions.  This approach is not only impractical, but unfortunately it’s impossible.  It would definitely be nice if it were possible and it would prevent countless deaths that result from volcanic eruptions.

So what is a person to do to prepare for this?  There isn’t much you can do.  If you decide you want to survive, it won’t be pleasant.  The first thing you have to do is make sure you are at least 1000 miles away from the volcano when it erupts.  If you are between a 1000 miles and 2500 miles, you’ll want a good respirator.  No matter where you are, you’ll want clean water for at least 6 months and about 3 years of stored food.  Your reward for your preparation will be a life of pure misery and horror as you watch the rest of the world slowly die from starvation and cold.

Glacier

Our world is under constant threat from a wide variety of sources, massive asteroids, massive solar eruptions, nearby exploding stars, pandemic virus, ourselves, and super volcanoes.  The biggest and most visible imminent threat comes from one of the most beautiful places on earth, Yellowstone.

Etna Eruption

Links:

Cleveland Volcano

Kilauea Volcano

Mt St Helens

Yellowstone Volcano

Yellowstone Gallery

The prediction that the ‘End of the World’ is coming on December 21, 2012 is one that keeps coming up.  There are numerous sources for this prediction, the most prominent being the Myan Calendar.  It’s interesting then, the timing of the arrival of a little asteroid called 2005 YU55.   It’s due to arrive in less than two years.

Asteroid 2004 FH

First discovered on December 28th 2005 by SpaceWatch there have been few updates on this object since its discovery.  Very little is known about its composition or origin.  Its size is currently estimated by NASA to be about 426 feet across.  NeoDys estimates the size range to be between 393 feet to 918 feet across.

This asteroid is due to make two close approaches within the next 3 years, the first being on April 19, 2010 and the second being on November 8th, 2011.  All of the experts on this asteroid are predicting a near miss in both cases.  We are of course assured that there is no danger. 

It was last observed on January 23, 2006.  There have been 42 observations, yet, check out the missing data on this page from NeoDys.  With a small amount of research, it quickly becomes apparent that there is a wide range of estimates available on both size and orbit, which makes all of the estimates seem uncertain at best.

The encounters schedule for 2010, and 2011 do not even appear on the impact risk table from NASA, seen here.  Interestingly its first entry in the impact risk table is 2036, the same year as the possible impact of Apophis.  Apophis is a potential impact risk and has been given a large amount of media coverage and is a popular topic accoss the Internet.  The minimum closest next approach of 2005 YU55 according to NeoDys is the 2011 pass at 94,294 miles.  NASA has the minimum distance at 92,155 miles.

Given the differing estimates for 2005 YU55’s size, orbit, and composition as well as any effects on the asteroid introuduced by events that it may encounter while it’s away, it is difficult at this point to say with certainty that this object will miss Earth.  Any change to the margin of error, referred to by the experts as the error ellipse, could cause this object to be a much bigger risk than is currently estimated.

Though this asteroids largest size estimate of 918 feet across is smaller in comparison to that of Apophis, 1350 feet, it is still large enough to cause some significant damage.  A direct hit in or near a major city would cause significant destruction.  Somewhere along the lines of say tens to hundreds of large nuclear missiles hitting a major city, depending on it’s actual size, speed and trajectory.

Though this alone would probably not be enough to cause the ‘end of the world’, it could be a large contributing factor along with other incidents.  Depending on where it might impact Earth, this asteroid may, in fact, be large enough to  trigger other incidents.  With the current geological awakening around the planet, this object may be large enough that an impact could tip Yellowstone and other volcanoes around the world over the edge causing them to erupt.

Like Apophis, 2005 YU55, will make two close approaches, and in both cases the 2nd will be nearer than the first.  Again, like Apophis, given the right circumstances, the first approach might affect the asteroid in a way that causes the second approach to change from a near miss to an impact.

Maybe it’s nothing, maybe it will miss, but then again maybe it won’t.  It’s not as though we need any additional tragedies in an already troubled world, but we just may get some anyway in the form of an asteroid named 2005 YU55.