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wry1 · 09-24-2003, 10:18 PM

I caught the Discovery Channel special on this, and did a bit of research after the fact.....and here's what I've found:

Yes, there is an average eruption cycle of 600,000 years, but the calculated time between the first and second eruptions (there have only been 3, mind you) was almost 1 million years. In addition, there likely will not be a "nuclear winter" catastrophe, as the last eruption did not coincide with either a radical change in plant and animal life (aside from killing everything downwind of the eruption site for a distance of about 1,500 miles (that's 2,400 km for the metrically-inclined) nor did it create a dramatic climate change (which would have been evidenced by a minor to major ice-age).

Yes, it will be loud. Yep, it will certainly be destructive; and absolutely it will be devastating to the local ecology. However, I don't see any reason to believe that this will result in the end of humanity as we know it. The facts just don't support the assertions....after all, hominids (the precursors to humans) have been around on the planet for approximately 1.4 million years.....which means that we survived two eruptions from the Yellowstone caldera so far.....allowing for the 600,000-year cycle, that is!

.....and twotimesadingo: you don't want to be anywhere near there when all hell busts loose - because that's just what it'll be....hell. The Great Plains of the United States are riddled with the fossilized remains of the animals who succumbed to this last eruption, and it's estimated that there were millions of victims from the wandering herds that had dotted the plains up to that point. This will be a tragedy on a phenomenal scale, but one which will be survived by over 70% of the people on the earth (probably closer to 85-90% in my own humble opinion). Of course, you need to realize that the only parts you'd be able to witness would most likely be the tremors prior to the eruption....the actual eruption would be something which occurred so fast that your senses would not be able to comprehend it in the time you had left. I for one would not want to be around for such an anticlimax.

Hope this sheds a little light on the subject. Don't believe all the hype - except for the part about it being extremely terrible.

09-24-2003, 10:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
wry1 Loser Location: Far too far from my Angel....	I caught the Discovery Channel special on this, and did a bit of research after the fact.....and here's what I've found: Yes, there is an average eruption cycle of 600,000 years, but the calculated time between the first and second eruptions (there have only been 3, mind you) was almost 1 million years. In addition, there likely will not be a "nuclear winter" catastrophe, as the last eruption did not coincide with either a radical change in plant and animal life (aside from killing everything downwind of the eruption site for a distance of about 1,500 miles (that's 2,400 km for the metrically-inclined) nor did it create a dramatic climate change (which would have been evidenced by a minor to major ice-age). Yes, it will be loud. Yep, it will certainly be destructive; and absolutely it will be devastating to the local ecology. However, I don't see any reason to believe that this will result in the end of humanity as we know it. The facts just don't support the assertions....after all, hominids (the precursors to humans) have been around on the planet for approximately 1.4 million years.....which means that we survived two eruptions from the Yellowstone caldera so far.....allowing for the 600,000-year cycle, that is! .....and twotimesadingo: you don't want to be anywhere near there when all hell busts loose - because that's just what it'll be....hell. The Great Plains of the United States are riddled with the fossilized remains of the animals who succumbed to this last eruption, and it's estimated that there were millions of victims from the wandering herds that had dotted the plains up to that point. This will be a tragedy on a phenomenal scale, but one which will be survived by over 70% of the people on the earth (probably closer to 85-90% in my own humble opinion). Of course, you need to realize that the only parts you'd be able to witness would most likely be the tremors prior to the eruption....the actual eruption would be something which occurred so fast that your senses would not be able to comprehend it in the time you had left. I for one would not want to be around for such an anticlimax. Hope this sheds a little light on the subject. Don't believe all the hype - except for the part about it being extremely terrible.