Yellowstone’s electrical conductivity hints volcano plume is bigger than thought

The supervolcano has erupted three times over the past 2 million years – 2 million, 1.3 million, and 642,000 years ago. While researchers don't expect another eruption any time soon, it could eventually explode, destroying life for hundreds of miles around it and blanketing North America in ash.

In recent years, scientists have detected an unprecedented rate of rising for the caldera and increases in seismic activity, including a peculiar swarm of earthquakes.

The U.S. Geological Survey has ranked the Yellowstone caldera as a high threat for volcanic eruption, calling it the 21st most dangerous of 169 volcano centers in the U.S.

While the new measurements don't raise the threat level, scientists are keen to gain a deeper understanding of the plume beneath the national park renowned today for geysers and hot springs.

"We are just getting more and more understanding of what is going on," Michael Zhdanov, a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah and lead author of the study, told me today.

Yellowstone’s electrical conductivity hints volcano plume is bigger than thought