Yellowstone Earthquakes = Supervolcano?

Yellowstone National Park was jostled by a host of small earthquakes for a third straight day Monday, and seismologists watched closely to see whether the more than 250 tremors were a sign of something bigger to come. Swarms of small earthquakes happen frequently in Yellowstone, but it’s very unusual for so many earthquakes to happen over several days.

That’s great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes…  Who knows it might actually be the end of the world as we know it –if you’ve seen the 2005 Discovery Channel docudrama Supervolcano.  Long story short: An extinction level volcanic eruption explodes from Yellowstone National Park’s caldera.  The ash and pyroclastic material blankets the entire midwest and lowers world temperatures.  Come on, you didn’t think those geysers and hot springs were just for show did you?  Or were you one of those kids who fell asleep in science class?

However, Robert Smith, professor of geophysics at the University of Utah who is monitoring the situation is kind of non-committal.  “They’re certainly not normal,” Smith said. “We haven’t had earthquakes in this energy or extent in many years.”

“This is an active volcanic and tectonic area, and these are the kinds of things we have to pay attention to,” Smith said. “We might be seeing something precursory.”

“Could it develop into a bigger fault or something related to hydrothermal activity? We don’t know. That’s what we’re there to do, to monitor it for public safety.”

Yogi has the right idea…