A 3.6 magnitude earthquake struck near Soda Springs, Idaho, about 100 miles from the famous Yellowstone supervolcano caldera, renewing some concerns about a potential eruption.
The shaker, reported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), occurred at a shallow depth of just over 10 miles, making it more noticeable than typical small quakes in the seismically interesting region, but unlikely to cause damage.
However, it has led to some speculation about what it may mean in terms of a future eruption.
While geologists are still investigating the Friday morning quake, the Yellowstone supervolcano influences seismic activity in this region due to its massive magma chamber and connected fault lines.It generates 1,500 to 2,000 small earthquakes each year, most of which are weaker than 2.0 on the Richter scale of magnitude.These tremors usually shake areas within the Yellowstone Caldera and nearby fault zones, but the supervolcano can also influence seismic activity over 100 miles away.Yellowstone is located beneath a national park spanning three states – Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Pictured, the Grand Prismatic Spring at the national park….Since it has not exploded in about 640,000 years, some experts and locals believe the volcano’s next eruption is overdue.A dramatic uptick in seismic activity is often a sign that a volcano may soon erupt.
However, it is essential to note that Soda Springs is not directly linked to the Yellowstone magma chambers. The Yellowstone hotspot is a mantle plume that has migrated east-northeast over the past 16 million years, leaving a trail of volcanic activity across southern Idaho before arriving at its present location beneath Yellowstone National Park in northwestern Wyoming.
As the North American tectonic plate moved over this stationary hotspot, it created a series of calderas and volcanic fields, including those near Soda Springs (located in southeastern Idaho, near the Bear River Valley).
As a result, the area is geothermally active, with numerous hot springs that are surface expressions of residual geothermal heat. However, this geothermal activity is not directly powered by the current Yellowstone magma chamber. Instead, it is a remnant of past volcanic activity associated with the hotspot as it passed through this region millions of years ago.
Therefore, I strongly suspect that those of us living in North America are going to be fine for awhile longer.
While preparing this post, I decided to check on the status of some of the more recent volcanic activity I have covered.
Mount Spurr (located about 80 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska) is still being monitored after increased seismic activity. he Alaska Volcano Observatory issued code yellow that is still in effect, an advisory indication of a possible eruption.
One rural Alaska community is taking no changes, and is engaging in emergency preparedness.
The rural village, Tyneok is just 30 miles from Anchorage. People there are taking steps to ensure the community is prepared for any potential eruption. Scientists point out that villages closer to the volcano might see more ashfall.Christy Gomez is the principal of Tebughna in Tyneok—, in a phone interview, she shared how students are stepping up to help their community get ready.”So, our students, in the middle of high school, prepared those buckets and delivered them to all the households within the village,” said Christy Gomez, principal at Tebughna school in Tyneok, Alaska.Each bucket included emergency masks, first aid supplies, info packets, and snacks—put together with help from the Tebughna Foundation.
Meanwhile, Kilauea Volcano has been exceptionally active over the past five months, with a series of episodic eruptions occurring at its summit within Halemaumau crater, located inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, these eruptions have been separated by brief pauses in activity since then. The breaks can last anywhere between 24 hours and 12 days. Kilauea paused again by Monday.Video footage from the USGS showed the volcano burst with lava as the molten liquid splatters along the dark, charred mountain like paint on a blank canvas. Each burst of lava splashes along the mountain, creating a larger crater atop the main vent of the volcano.
[Featured image via YouTube]
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