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A Supervolcano Beneath Mt. St. Helens?
We've discussed the supervolcano beneath Yellowstone a few times here (not going to blow, 2004; going to blow, 2008). Now scientists are pondering whether a large area of conductive material beneath Mt. St. Helens might contain enough magma that the area could be classed a supervolcano. The jury is still out on this one. Reader nhytefall sends us a New Scientist progress report. "Magma can be detected with a technique called magnetotellurics, which builds up a picture of what lies underground by measuring fluctuations in electric and magnetic fields at the surface. The fields fluctuate in response to electric currents traveling below the surface, induced by lightning storms and other phenomena. The currents are stronger when magma is present, since it is a better conductor than solid rock. ... [M]easurements revealed a column of conductive material that extends downward from the volcano. About 15 km below the surface, the relatively narrow column appears to connect to a much bigger zone of conductive material. This larger zone was first identified in the 1980s by another magnetotelluric survey, and was found to extend all the way to beneath Mount Rainier 70 km to the north-east, and Mount Adams 50 km to the east. It was thought to be a zone of wet sediment, water being a good electrical conductor. ... [Some researchers] now think the conductive material is more likely to be a semi-molten mixture. Its conductivity is not high enough for it to be pure magma.. so it is more likely to be a mixture of solid and molten rock."
Yeah, most slashdotters would mount anyone with that name.
It connects to Yellowstone, and will soon be a second moon.
I am the unwilling control for my Origin.
can I have your stuff?
The force could be enough to take out all the chairs in the Microsoft campus, regardless of what news was being digested by the CEO at the time.
I did a little reading under Supervolcano on Wikipedia and it says "...supervolcano was not a technical term used in volcanology. The term megacaldera is sometimes used.."
....hehe...supervolcano.
You got that? It's a Megacaldera guys. Only total n00bz call it a supervolcano! I bet you guys called Yoda a Jedi Knight too....everybody knows he was a Jedi MASTER.
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
Wake me when Rainer and Adams all start smoking at the same time.
Otherwise, in people as well as volcanoes, an occasional good healthy belch relieves a lot of pressure.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Fuck Louisiana. They passed the Science Education Act which mandates that creationism, er..."intelligent" design, must be taught alongside evolution.
Fuck the south, and FUCK RELIGION. Hmmph. Talking to a fucking invisible man in the sky. Pure and utter stupidity.
If the supernova don't get us the supervolcano will!
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
You insensitive Bizatch!!! I happen to be a Volcano Monitoring Technician. I sit on a rock in Yellowstone for 8 hrs. day, 5 days a week, concentrating on the vibrations coming through the ground and the effects of the magnetic waves on various metal objects. My homeless technical training makes me ideal for this position, so said PrezBO
Scenic Blue zone location... peek a boo view of the mountain... today... OK so I live between St Helens and Rainier... (the mountains, not the towns) I guess if the megacaldera DOES go.. I won't have to worry about the value of my home..... Back to mowing....
fixed
you should employ people doing whatever work that you can think of. Especially random, somewhat questionable research. Most of the major breakthroughs have been the result of random, somewhat questionable research
Monkeys with multiple asses?
Yeah. Would you choose a neurosurgeon who pokes around people's brains in his spare time? I wouldn't.
That's why I have been pushing for a hunting season on politicians.