Thread: Death Valley Volcano set to Explode

From Gizmodo

Good news: A team of scientists has discovered that we can predict super volcano eruptions "decades in advance." Bad news: Another team of scientists has discovered that a volcano in Death Valley, California, "may explode at any time."

The volcano is the Ubehebe, a large volcanic crater to the north of Death Valley. The team, led by Peri Sasnett of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, have published a paper in Geophysicial Research Letters that shows that it may have been formed much earlier than previously thought. Using the same method used to date Moon rocks, Sasnett and his team have discovered that the last explosion occurred only 800 years ago, instead of the previous 10,000 year estimate.

But the worst part is that, according to researchers' observations, the next explosion may occur at any time. Magma has built up under the surface much faster and higher than previously thought. Apparently, we are in the middle of an eruption cycle. They have discovered that these explosions occur in clusters, and right now we're experiencing a brief calm before another storm.

Ubehebe will explode in a phreatomagmatic eruption: The magma pool expands so much that it reaches the water pool deposited over it. This produces steam, which in turn results in a pressure build up until it reaches a point that will cause a violent explosion. Scientists believed that these explosions were not possible during dry periods, but the new research shows that this is not the case at all.

The latest readings have detected a water table just 500 feet below the surface of the crater. When the magma reaches the water, it will go boom.



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