Yellowstone Eruption Is Not Overdue

Yellowstone's supposedly overdue eruption is a myth because volcanoes do not follow fixed schedules. Seismic studies show that its two stacked magma reservoirs contain just 5 to 15 percent molten material, far below the roughly 50 percent needed for magma to mobilize toward the surface. Yellowstone currently has neither enough eruptible magma nor sufficient pressure for an eruption. If that changed, scientists would expect decades or even centuries of increased earthquakes, ground deformation, and altered heat and gas emissions, providing years of warning.

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