Archive · 23 Sep 2025
Yellowstone's Magma Map: Potential Eruption Within Decades?
Imagine Yellowstone Park has a secret map underground!
Scientists made this map using special tools to see where the hot, melted rock (magma) is hiding.
They found four big pools of this magma, made of a specific type that erupts with a bang.
One pool is about the same size as an eruption that happened over a million years ago.
This magma map shows that things might change quickly.
Deep below, the magma is connected to hotter, deeper magma which releases more heat.
The scientists warn that the underground magma system could grow, even though an eruption isn't expected right now.
It's like they're watching a sleeping giant, ready to wake up one day!
Researchers mapped Yellowstone's subsurface using electromagnetic imaging.
They discovered four distinct magma reservoirs under the caldera.
The magma is rhyolitic, known for violent eruptions.
A link was found between shallow rhyolitic and deeper basaltic heat.
Scientists say eruptions are not imminent but could change in decades.
- Who
- USGS researchers with Oregon State University and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- What
- Mapped the subsurface of Yellowstone using electromagnetic imaging to find magma reservoirs.
- When
- The timeframe of the research is not specified in the article, but the potential for eruption is discussed in terms of decades and hundreds of thousands of years.
- Where
- Yellowstone National Park, specifically the caldera and its subsurface.
- Why
- To understand the potential for future eruptions of the Yellowstone supervolcano.
- Research Team
- USGS, Oregon State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Method
- Electromagnetic imaging (magnetotellurics)
- Magma Type
- Rhyolitic
- Magma Reservoirs
- Four distinct pockets under the caldera
- Key Discovery
- Link between shallow rhyolitic and deep basaltic magma
- Warning
- Magma could grow over hundreds of thousands of years
- Current Status
- Eruption is not imminent; magma in the west is cooling.