SoylentNews

Phoenix666 writes:

Scientists have speculated that should the Yellowstone super volcano erupt, it would be an epic catastrophe for North America. Now, researchers have discovered the missing link in the volcano's plumbing:

The new report fills in a missing link of the system. It describes a large reservoir of hot rock, mostly solid but with some melted rock in the mix, that lies beneath a shallow, already-documented magma chamber. The newly discovered reservoir is 4.5 times larger than the chamber above it. There's enough magma there to fill the Grand Canyon. The reservoir is on top of a long plume of magma that emerges from deep within the Earth's mantle.

This system has been in place for roughly 17 million years, with the main change being the movement of the North American tectonic plate, creeping at the rate of roughly an inch a year toward the southwest. A trail of remnant calderas can be detected across Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, looking like a string of beads, marking the migration of the tectonic plate. A similar phenomenon is seen in the Hawaiian islands as the Pacific plate moves over a hot spot, stringing out volcanoes, old to new, dormant to active.

Incidentally, here is explanation on the mechanism of geyser eruptions.

The lead researcher was said to bear a striking resemblance to Woody Harrelson...