Ranking right up there in the Things People Worry About is the potential for a cataclysmic super-eruption of the Yellowstone hotspot. According to a new study, however, the volcanic region may currently be waning.
For those who are unfamiliar with it, the Yellowstone hotspot is an area of volcanic activity located beneath the Yellowstone Caldera in the US states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
Geological evidence indicates that over the past several million years, it has experienced multiple huge eruptions, known as super-eruptions. There are worries that it may soon be due for another, which could result in massive fatalities and long-lasting environmental destruction.
That said, there may be new hope, as a recent international study suggests that the hotspot could currently be in a state of decline. This finding was based on an analysis of volcanic deposits that were scattered across tens of thousands of kilometers in the region.
