A Supervolcano Beneath Mt. St. Helens? 180
We've discussed the supervolcano beneath Yellowstone a few times here (not going to blow, 2004; going to blow, 2008). Now scientists are pondering whether a large area of conductive material beneath Mt. St. Helens might contain enough magma that the area could be classed a supervolcano. The jury is still out on this one. Reader nhytefall sends us a New Scientist progress report. "Magma can be detected with a technique called magnetotellurics, which builds up a picture of what lies underground by measuring fluctuations in electric and magnetic fields at the surface. The fields fluctuate in response to electric currents traveling below the surface, induced by lightning storms and other phenomena. The currents are stronger when magma is present, since it is a better conductor than solid rock. ... [M]easurements revealed a column of conductive material that extends downward from the volcano. About 15 km below the surface, the relatively narrow column appears to connect to a much bigger zone of conductive material. This larger zone was first identified in the 1980s by another magnetotelluric survey, and was found to extend all the way to beneath Mount Rainier 70 km to the north-east, and Mount Adams 50 km to the east. It was thought to be a zone of wet sediment, water being a good electrical conductor. ... [Some researchers] now think the conductive material is more likely to be a semi-molten mixture. Its conductivity is not high enough for it to be pure magma.. so it is more likely to be a mixture of solid and molten rock."
Gov. Jindal isn't worried (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Gov. Jindal isn't worried (Score:4, Insightful)
Yep. And next time Louisiana gets slammed by a big storm (and it will) Jindal or his successor will go running to the Federal government for help, all the while whining that not enough was done to predict or prepare for the event. But volcanoes? Pffft. Everyone who has to worry about that is a damnyankee anyway.
(Of course, if it weren't for those damnyankees, Jindal himself would never have had a prayer of getting elected county dogcatcher in any ex-Confederate state, much less governor ... but we're not supposed to mention that either.)
Louisiana politics have always been deeply corrupt, but they used to be relatively sane. I'm not sure what happened.
He Was Exactly Right (Score:1, Insightful)
This volcano monitoring spending was part of an economic stimulus bill.
What in the hell does spending on volcano monitoring have to do with stimulating the economy, I have no idea. Maybe we should be funding this, but it has nothing to do with the issue that he was addressing.
It was a bit clumsy, but Jindal was dead on correct in criticizing the pork that goes on in Congress.
Volcano! (Score:5, Insightful)
There's always a volcano about to erupt, or a fault going to shatter in an earthquake, or a comet that's going to smash into the earth, or a polar ice cap that's going to melt. It's always something.
Wake me up when Vesuvius erupts; California becomes "the Island previously known as California"; New York is under water; or an planet splitting meteor strikes. Otherwise, it's not news, it's fear mongering. Wolf has been cried too many times for people to be concerned any more.
I've lived in Florida for years. Hurricanes are far more likely to blow through than a volcano destroying a vast swath of the US, yet seasoned residents (those of us who have lived through more hurricanes than we can count) just make sure we have some food and water at home, and a way to cook. Live on high ground, and cross your fingers a tornado doesn't take your house away. Tornadoes during hurricanes are very likely, but the square footage of land destroyed (houses, upturned cars, etc) are so small compared to the square miles of potential damage area that you may as well play the lottery and expect to win.
Re:Gov. Jindal isn't worried (Score:5, Insightful)
Wow, parent got modded troll pretty fast. Apparently the Republican mod-bombers are out in force.
It is a fact that Jindal, governor of a state (Louisiana) which has suffered mightily from natural disasters (hurricanes) in the recent past and will inevitably do so in the future, criticized Federal spending on a program designed to predict and prepare for natural disasters (volcanoes) which could easily be as devastating if not more so. It is also a fact that Jindal made this a partisan issue. Pointing this out does not constitute a troll.
Re:Just terrific (Score:5, Insightful)
Look on the bright side. A volcano just does what it does. It won't try to hold a city hostage like professional sports teams do!
Re:Gov. Jindal isn't worried (Score:1, Insightful)
(My own personal opinion is that this is true, but I am not a right-winger myself.)
Leave the politics out of it, and let's just consider MONEY. If those bastards want to live in a hurricane zone, below sea level, fine. Let them. But not on my nickel.
Re:Gov. Jindal isn't worried (Score:3, Insightful)
It's interesting that libertarians and other assorted nutjobs always point out that no one has to live in hurricane zone or below sea level, yet fail to realize that they themselves don't have to live in a civilized, cooperative society. They can move to Somalia or some other governmentless hellhole and be free of taxes and all that they imply.
But of course following his own advice would inconvenience the nutjob himself, rather than some unknown people.
Re:Gov. Jindal isn't worried (Score:3, Insightful)
Without claiming that either side is correct politically, I will say that it is my experience that those on the Left, relatively speaking, tend to be more concerned with idealism than with verifiable facts. Which is a very dangerous thing to let loose on the American people.
On the other hand, idealism or no, the Right has done considerable damage to the American people and their society over the last 8 or 10 years itself. So... it has just been one variety of bad after another.
Re:Gov. Jindal isn't worried (Score:2, Insightful)
It's called Keynesian economics. When the economy is in a slump, you should employ people doing whatever work that you can think of. Especially random, somewhat questionable research. Most of the major breakthroughs have been the result of random, somewhat questionable research.
Furthermore, people need to quit whining about 'pork' in the stimulus bill. A stimulus bill is by definition pork. If there wasn't pork in it, it wouldn't be a stimulus bill. It would be an energy spending initiative, or a bank bailout, or something like that. If you are against pork, you are categorically against stimulus bills. That's fine, but just say that any stimulus is a bad idea, don't nitpick out the parts you think aren't worthwhile.
Re:Gov. Jindal isn't worried (Score:3, Insightful)
Tell me, how long do you have to sit in intellectual purgatory, destroying all cognitive dissonance in favor of easy-answer ideologies, before you're capable of writing something like this? Only on Slashdot could such socially and emotionally retarded drivel get modded up. Seriously, go fuck yourself.
Re:pffft! It's not "Supervolcano" (Score:4, Insightful)
The point is that the very large and active Mt. St Helens could be just a small vent for a much larger volcano. One who's crater / caldera is close to 2000 square miles. If true, something like this going off would make Krakatoa look like firecracker. As in, all of the US and a good chuck of Canada and Mexico covered with ash.
Re:Gov. Jindal isn't worried (Score:3, Insightful)
Hey... don't go living below the waterline, and I'll never have to refuse to bail you out. Sound fair?
Re:I don't think this is a supercaldera. (Score:3, Insightful)