Super Volcano

[buckeyegrad]

Anyone watch the movie Super Volcano last night on the Discovery Channel? If you didn't catch it, the plot was what would occur if the Yellowstone Volcano erupted at its full potential. Although the acting was low quality...hey, its the Discovery Channel...it was really interesting, especially since everything was based upon real science.

The Yellowstone Super Volcano has been a peripheral interest of mine since I visited the park two summers ago when the ground was heating up around the Norris geyser area. Although the odds of the volcano erupting in our life time are almost null, we would be seriously screwed if that .000000001% chance did occur.

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/

http://www.mines.utah.edu/~rbsmith/rbs-home.index.html

 

[osugrad21]

Tough old lady...

This house fell into Hebgen Lake during the 1959 earthquake and floated along the shore until it came to rest here. The owner of the house, then-70-year-old Mrs. Grace Miller, escaped only after kicking out her front door and leaping a 5-foot-wide ground crack as her house dropped into the lake. (USGS photograph by J.B. Hadley.)

 

[Piney]

I started watching it last night and then got called away to play poker. It was interesting and I will try to watch it once it repeats.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

i saw this on tv last night while i was going to bed. looked pretty good....but not good enough to keep me awake after the sunday i had.

 

[martinss01]

*sings* "it's the end of the world as we know it..."

i don't think its so much a question of "if it will happen" but rather "when will it happen?". same as a large meteor cranking us. these things have happened in the past and will almost certainly happen again unless we figure out ways to prevent it. if we can't, the face of life on this planet will be completely and irreversably altered.

personally i preferred the "we're the center of the universe" conscept more than the "we're iddy biddy and can get dead in many different horrible ways". ignorance really is bliss .

 

[Eberts_fat_lip]

I watched quite a bit of the program, had to alternate with deadwood, then fell asleep towards the end. I found it to be realistic in the way they showed the human reaction, scientists and politicans discussing what to do, as if they had a say in the matter.

If this scenrio were to actually play out, fresh water would be the biggest problem, I could see myself being a refugee to Canada, trying to get as far northeast as possible. Did the show adress how Canada would handle the influx of americans ???

 

[buckeyegrad]

If this scenrio were to actually play out, fresh water would be the biggest problem, I could see myself being a refugee to Canada, trying to get as far northeast as possible. Did the show adress how Canada would handle the influx of americans ???

There was a brief mention of people fleeing to Canada. There was also a part about Mexico closing the boarder and 3 million Americans being stopped at the gates. Of course the main scientist, and protagonist for the movie, got his family out of the country before the eruption by putting them on a flight to England.

As for Canada, that might be a good place to flee at first, but in the long term its no good. The global cooling the volcano would cause would probably result in drastic temperature and snow amounts in Canada and northern Europe. They referenced this in the movie by showing London buried in a couple feet of snow near the very end of the movie as they played out the volcano's long-term affect on global climate.

According to the movie, in Ohio and surrounding states the largest immediate threat from the volcano would be air quality. Even in areas where only 1 cm of ash would fall, there is a risk of suffication if too much of the ash is breathed. Turns out that volcanic ash is a lot thicker than the ash we typically think of and if it combines with too much fluid it can begin to turn into a cement like substance in your lungs that sufficate you.

 

[exhawg]

I think I watched this when it was called The Day after Tomorrow. Was Emmy Rossum in this one? Damn she's hot.

 

[Eberts_fat_lip]

There is twist for you, mexico closing its borders to the U.S ! but as long as we can get all the migrant workers up here to clean the ash, Sounds like a fair trade.

In realilty I highly doubt Canada or Mexico to stop 3 to 5 million desperate and armed Americans form entering thier countries.

 

[LloydSev]

The Day After Tomorrow deals with global warming and the melting of the ice caps to bring forth a new Ice Age..

This movie is about a Volcano in Yellowstone National Park (which actually exists). Same outcome for USA, slightly lower outcome for most of affected world.

 

[strohs]

It would pretty much suck if this happened.
I have to watch this movie, I forgot it was on this weekend.
Usually the Discovery Channel consumes 75% of my non-sports related TV viewing, so I am sure ill catch it soon.
All I know is, If i hear of this thing blowing, I am buying every can of soup I can get my hands on.