Yellowstone

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  • Created by: Jiya
  • Created on: 05-04-16 15:38

Characteristics

  • larger than normal volcanoes
  • will change many characteristics of Earth
  • eject at least 1,000km³ when they erupt compared to 1km³ from a normal volcano
  • they have calderas
  • has higher land around it
  • erupt thousands of years apart
  • Three eruptions in the past 3 million years
    • last eruption 1,000x bigger than Mount St Helens in 1980
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Yellowstone

  • 80km long, 40km wide, 8km deep
  • caldera is 55km long, 80km wide
  • on a hotspot
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Immediate Impacts

  • large earthquake in Yellowstone region
  • thick cloud of super  heated gas and ash wil flow at a very high speed, killing everything it passes
  • 10,000km³ of land will erupt
  • 25 mile high cloud
  • everything within a 100 mile radius of eruption will be destroyed
  • ash will lower global temperatures by 20°C
  • 2/3 of USA will be uninhabitable
  • global economy placed under huge threat due to collapse of the USA
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Long Term Impacts

  • ash would block sun and lower lobal temperatures by 20°C
  • mini ice age could occur
  • global economy placed under threat due to collapse of USA
  • ash will settle over 100's of km, burying fiels and buildings
  • huge impact on transport, energy, electricity, agriculture and general production
  • 1 in 3 people affected would die
  • UK would receive ash cloud 5 days after eruption
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Local Impacts

  • everything within 100 mile radius will be destroyed
  • large earthquake in Yellowstone region
  • 25 mile high ash cloud
  • 30+ cm of ash near eruption source and a fractio of a mm 2,000 miles away
  • ash traces over most of USA, but only thick eough to collapse roofs in the states closest to Yellowstone
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Global Impacts

  • ash would block out sun and lower global temperatures by 20°C
  • huge impact on transport, electricity and agriculture
  • global economy placed under threat due to collapse of USA
  • 40% of world in starvation
  • would take 5 days to reach the UK
  • 1,000 miles away, the layer of ash deposited on the ground up to 10ft thick
  • 87,000 could be killed
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Positive Impacts

  • dramatic scenery created by volcanic eruptions attracts tourists
    • income brought to area
  • lava and ash deposited breaks down to provide valuable nutrients for the soil
    • creates fertile soil for agriculture
  • high level of heat and activity inside Earth close to volcano provides geothermal opportunities
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Negative Impacts

  • if ash and mud mix with rain water/ melting snow, mudflows are created
    • called lahars
  • 40% of the world will starve
  • ash can:
    • kill and sicken humans and animals
    • reduce sunlight
    • trigger rainfall causing lahars
    • severely disrupt air, road and rail transport
    • crush buildings (30cm of dry ash is enough to collapse a roof)
    • contaminate water supplies
    • kill crops and other vegetation
    • clog machinery such as air filters
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