8 Threatening Volcanoes in California Has USGS On Close Alert
With the world’s top volcanologists heading to Portland, Ore., on Aug. 14 for the first international volcanology assembly held in the U.S. since 1989, the many famous, prominent and dangerous volcanoes of the West Coast will be the subject of field trips and much discussion. Throughout the Cascade Range to southern California, the West Coast is home to most of the country’s highest-threat volcanoes, as ranked by the United State Geological Survey. And California has its share.
While Mount Shasta unsurprisingly tops USGS’s list of very-high threat volcanoes in California, there are seven other volcanic areas in the state that are also young, nervy, jacked up on magma and “likely to erupt.” Scientists know from geophysical and geochemical research that these volcanoes have molten rock, magma, “in their roots,” said Margaret Mangan, Scientist-in-Charge at the California Volcano Observatory. “I call them the watch-list volcanoes.” READ MORE
Quake Swarm of 1500 Earthquakes Reshapes Ground Around Yellowstone Super-Volcano
As small earthquakes continue to rumble
around the Yellowstone supervolcano in Wyoming, scientists have revealed
new evidence of the changes going on beneath the ground. A new map from
the US Geological Survey shows how the ground around the Yellowstone
caldera has deformed over the span of two years, as the quakes release
uplift-causing pressure, allowing the ground to sink back down. This
activity is typically linked to changes in magma and gases deep below
the surface – but for now, the experts say there’s no cause for worry.
Gigantic coronal hole opens up on the sun: Geomagnetic storms during peak of Perseid meteor shower on August 12th
Such a hole is a region where the sun’s magnetic field has peeled back and allows gaseous material to escape. A stream of solar wind flowing from this hole will reach Earth on August 12th, during the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. Imagine a disintegrating fireball exploding through the green glow of an aurora. READ MORE