science

Yellowstone volcano: Expert's 'SUDDEN NOSEDIVE' fear for flights over Wyoming REVEALED


The Yellowstone volcano has erupted three times in history – 2.1 million years ago, 1.2 million years ago and 640,000 years ago. Volcanoes typically erupt when molten rock, known as magma, rises to the surface following the Earth’s mantle melting due to tectonic plates shifting. Geologists have warned that, in the event of magma reaching the surface of Yellowstone, volcanic ash would be spewed thousands of miles into the sky. 

This mixture of rock, minerals and volcanic glass could reach the upper atmosphere, making its way into planes flying overhead. 

Michael Rampino, a geologist and professor at New York University, revealed during the BBC’s “Supervolcano” series how it could force aircrafts to suddenly nosedive.

He said in 2015: “The ash can go into the jet engines and coat it. 

“There have been horrifying predictions of planes just losing their power and nosediving while the pilots try to figure out how to get the plane under control.

“There are lots of ways you can die.

“Another way would be to inhale the stuff, the glass attacks the lungs, the bones and kill you from the inside.”

It is not the first time Mr Rampino has offered a worrying revelation to holidaymakers, though. 

Last week it was revealed how summer tourists to Yellowstone National Park face catastrophic effects should the volcano erupt. 

He said: “You have to remember, there are about 100,000 people visiting the park each day in the summer. 

“That is the equivalent of a community in a modern US city compacted into a small zone.

“There’s nothing they can do.

“If it’s going to go off, it’s going to go off and the effects will be drastic. 

“It has happened in the past and it will happen again.”

The last eruption of Yellowstone produced around 2,500 times more volcanic material than the 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens.

This created an eruptive column so colossal that it covered around 60 per cent of the US in a thick layer of ash.

Should the same happen again, a mixture of ash, lava blebs, and superheated gas exceeding temperatures of 1,000C could move at speeds of up to 300mph. 

If the pyroclastic flow hits anyone, they would possibly die within seconds as the air could heat up to around 300C.

Robert Smith, a geologist from the University of Utah, has previously warned how these effects could last for up to a month.

He said in 2015: “What Yellowstone would create would be a massive volume of materials.

“This would go on for days, weeks, even a month, destroying all the surface and rocks in its path.”

“This would block out sunlight across the planet – temperatures would drop, crops would fail and millions would die of starvation.”



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