Although scientists say there is only a one in 700,000 chance each year it will erupt, the supervolcano that dozes in Yellowstone National Park in the United States is home to a massive amount of magma. In fact, much more than previously believed, according to a study published by the journal Science .
Seismologists from the University of Utah have verified that at a depth of between 19 and 45 kilometers there is a reservoir – 46,000 cubic kilometers – that could fill the Colorado Canyon eleven times.
In comparison, the shallowest magma chamber, which was already known, would fill it 2.5 times. Another piece of information revealed by the research is that the magma in the new reservoir only contains 2% molten rock, while the rest is solid, spongy and hot rock . The upper chamber is composed of 9% molten rock.
Experts insist that the risk of Yellowstone waking up has not increased; only its insides are better known, or the "plumbing installation", as defined by the authors of the work. The underground chamber would explain, for example, the emission of carbon dioxide to the surface through the ground or the geysers of the park.
These results have been obtained by analyzing the waves of thousands of earthquakes, which makes it possible to measure the densities of underground rocks.
