I expect it to be just like the discovery that tri-stearate does nothing to cholesterol, yet trans fats will kill you. Go the grocery store. Look at the margarine. Many are still 1/3 trans fat. OK, so how many people died of heart attacks from eating ‘heart healthy’ trans fat laden margarine as the experts instructed? Where is all the press release saying “Oh, nevermind, we were wrong. Sorry.”? AGW will be just like that. It will just quietly fade away and Hansen will get a nice retirement package and life will wander on to the next ‘crisis’…

Anyone with an ounce of savvy would understand that it was unquestionably caused by the “no-bid” contract Bush and Cheney gave to EvilHaliburton to create waterfront property near the huge inland sea which will be created when they engineer the super-eruption.

This information was gleaned from a definitive follow-up New York Times report after the one detailing how GWB and “Darth Vader” Cheney steered Hurricane Katrina directly into New Orleans because – as reported by Kanye West – Mr. Bush doesn’t care about black people.

Can we do anything about super volcanoes?

May seem like a dumb question, but perhaps it isnt.

Presumably a super volcano blows when it builds up a certain energy level, which is too much for the crust above it to hold back. That energy level builds up over thousands and thousands of years, so when it blows, it gives off a massive amount of energy in an eruption.

But what if we put lots of geothermal powerstations on these volcanos? That would take away some of the energy that is building up there. If you were able to take enough energy away, then in theory, as long as you take it away from the right place, the volcano shouldnt blow.

And it would produce a lot of cheap energy as a by-product.

Can someone tell me if I am talking rubbish here?
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Not a bad idea if done on a large scale — ala Iceland. Wouldn’t have to drill to the magma — just above it would be sufficient. The amount of steam heat that generates electricity could be significant.

But if destructive elk can’t even be thinned because of the envirowackos, do you think any industrial activity would be allowed in Yellowstone? Never happen.

I am personally keeping close watch on the seismic activity in the area and if I see anything ominous I’ll let you know. As soon as I finish packing and driving about 2,000 miles to the south of here.

Maybe this time it would be the Mexicans closing their borders to the scourge from the North?
Poetic justice?
If only it would happen in Israel as well!

The only ones I know of are Mt. Tabor in Portland ,Oregon, and Pilot Butte in Bend, Oregon.

Bend is not a place I’d want to live. It’s located between the Sisters and the Newberry Caldera — both active areas.

Can we do anything about super volcanoes?

And it would produce a lot of cheap energy as a by-product.

Hmm, some engineering problems here. Just for fun:

First of all to release the pressure build up one would have to dig down to the magma layer, since the pressure builds up because the main outlet gets blocked. You would need wells, like oil wells.

Suppose one could go down to the magma feeding the volcano, the probability it would blow there and then where the well is should be very high.

On the other hand, if one had a way of seeing the magma then making ten or a hundred such wells might do the trick.

In any case, this means that money and effort should be spent in studying these possibly real dangers , instead of chasing the shadow of CO2.

The Sun is expected to reach its hottest surface temperature (~5900K) in ~3GY (7.5GY age +/- .3). After that it will cool.

At that time the luminosity is estimated to be 26% higher than today, based on a 70% proto-Sol ignition Luminosity

Funny thing that,

4.57 GYa at ignition, Sol was somewhere betwen .7 and 1.07 times as luminous, depending on what paper you read concerning solar evolution, and how to resolve the warm young earth with a 70% as luminous Sun. Some theorists posit a huge mass loss early-on , some posit an ignition luminosity of 85% that of present, and some 70%

IF we take the middle road, which is just as valid as the others, that gives us an increase in luminosity of 15% relative to today’s luminance. That works out to 3.2% per GY (15%/4.56GY).

At that rate it would take 3GY to approach the +10% flux limit proposed by some scientist to result in a highly water vapor saturated atmosphere, and stratospheric loss of water — losing the oceans to space, assumptions largely based on the same science used to construct the highly accurate (cough, snicker) climate forecasting models used by the IPCC and other charlatans.

It seems that the glacier at Mt. St Helens has not been named. I propose that this large and growing glacier be named Glacier Gore.

It is called Crater Glacier and I presume that’s an official name. It’s been interesting watching it be pushed around by the 2004-2008 eruption. A pretty good photo of the east and west arms the dome is the first one at http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/Images/MSH04/crater_dome_eruption_july_2008.html .

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/NatMonument/PointsInterest/lava_dome.html is from 2006, not how far apart the to arms are. Also note how filthy the glacier is thanks to ash, rockfalls, etc.

Presumably a super volcano blows when it builds up a certain energy level, which is too much for the crust above it to hold back. That energy level builds up over thousands and thousands of years, so when it blows, it gives off a massive amount of energy in an eruption.

The buildup isn’t steady. The current Yellow earthquake swarm isn’t associated with movement of magma. If magma were moving, we’d see “harmonic tremors” in the seismic data, and we don’t.

But what if we put lots of geothermal powerstations on these volcanos? That would take away some of the energy that is building up there. If you were able to take enough energy away, then in theory, as long as you take it away from the right place, the volcano shouldnt blow.

I’m not sure how deep the hotspot under Yellowstone is. Perhaps you can look it up and let us know. You’d certainly want to tap the energy in the hotspot, just tapping the energy in the topmost several miles might harden that, but that might lead to a bigger explosion when if fails. Of course, cracking due to cooling might leave it weaker and hasten the eruption.

Geotthermal areas that are tapped greatly weaken features like geysers, hot springs, etc. It would be a shame to lose the best parts of Yellowstone to something that won’t make things safer.

And it would produce a lot of cheap energy as a by-product.

Not so cheap – geothermal water is quite corrsive and mineral laden. Cheap enough, though.

It seems to me that at the very least, an eruption could be delayed if you take away some of the volcano’s energy. Maybe by only a short time, but I would quite like every extra second I could get thank you.

So, where has your research concluded is the safest place to live and have you moved there?

1. It should be “Continental US”

2. It depends on one’s definition of “Active”. There are two cities with volcanoes within their limits, but from what I’ve read, one is considered “extinct”.

Name the only city in the US with an active volcano inside the city limits.