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Show Page 2 Monday, April 2, 2012 CampusNews Research debunks Yellowstone Caldera myths BY KEITH JACKMAN staff writer The Yellowstone Caldera is less of a threat than depicted in disaster movies, according to a USU alumnus and scientist. Jaime Farrell, a doctoral candidate at the University of Utah, spoke at last Friday's edition of Science Unwrapped, sponsored by the College of Science. The most recent program, titled "Yellowstone Supervolcano: Myths and Realities," focused mainly on the destructive geothermal activity of earthquakes and supervolcanoes. Farrell spoke concerning research on geothermal activity in Yellowstone National Park, focusing heavily on the legendary supervolcano, or caldera, that lies beneath the park. "There's a lot of information and a lot of misinformation about Yellowstone, particularly the supervolcano part of it," Farrell said. Beneath the surface of Yellowstone sits a large, active volcano, Farrell said. This supervolcano erupted once 640,000 years ago, once 1.3 million years ago and once 2.1 million years ago. One of the volcanic explosions was 2500 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Farrell addressed the myths surrounding the volcano, including the common notion that it's overdue for another large eruption. "They're taking the dates of the last three eruptions, they're taking the interval times and they're averaging them," Farrell said. "If you actually use that technique ... we're still 50,000 years in the clear — if you use that technique." However, looking at the intervals between the last three eruptions is not scientific and an oversimplification of the factors involved, Farrell said. "This is three numbers," Farrell said. "Volcanoes are very unpredictable. You can not use three numbers to get a meaningful statistic on when this is going to erupt next. The bottom line is, we don't know." Also, there would be evidence enough from the sensors placed around Yellowstone to know if an explosion of that magnitude was going to happen, and evacuation would be an option, Farrell said. After Farrell's lecture, there was a Q-and-A session. He described what would happen in Logan if the volcano exploded. Most damage would not be from lava, as many would think, but would come from the snow-like ash that would cover the ground in a 3-footthick blanket, he said. Ash would ruin car engines, air conditioners and other machines and would turn into a cement-like substance if breathed in by human lungs. Ash from previous eruptions of the Yellowstone supervolcano has been found in many locations across the U.S., Farrell said. "There are ash beds in Nebraska, where they find big concentrations of dead rhinoceros — rhinos that died from the ash falling and them breathing it in from this last Yellowstone eruption," he said. The event was the third part in the four-part series, entitled "The End of the World as We Know It," focusing on disasters that could take place and have a large impact on mankind. The program looks at disasters from scientific as well as sometimes humorous angles. Scientists from the community set up more than 15 different booths to further explore the subject through various demonstrations. One of those booths was run by Michael Strange, a geology major and a senior at USU. Strange was bringing awareness to a group of creatures known as hyolithids, found only in fossils. He said much about the creatures is unknown. "They are not as well studied as trilobites," Strange said. Strange said the turnout impressed him and made F1 E UNDERGROUND Yellowstone National Park sits on an active volcanic system, and although the system shows no signs that it is headed toward an eruption, such an eruption could be catastrophic. him grateful to see the interest in science. Michelle Larson is a vice provost at USU, an astrophysicist and a member of the committee that organizes Science Unwrapped. She said the program is 3 years old and has had more than 8,000 attendees over its course. "We've involved all the colleges at USU in Science Unwrapped," Larson said. "We've had presenters and people out in the hallway from all the colleges." Larson said about onethird of those who come are from USU, and the other two-thirds comprise K-12 students and people from the community. Science Unwrapped is becoming a family event, though there is no target audience the committee has focused on, Larson said. Most in attendance Friday had been to one of the other presentations and keep coming back, she said. Science Unwrapped will finish the year April 27, featuring Philip Plait, an astronomer who writes the blog, Bad Astronomy, for Discover Magazine. Plait will present about asteroid impacts on the earth to go with the program's theme. - keithjjackman@gmail.com Covered in ash If another eruption were to occur at Yellowstone, thick ash deposits would bury vast areas of the United States ❑ Ash beds Mount St. Helens 1980 eruption killed 57 people; most ash fell within 300 mi. (482 km) Previous eruptions Mesa Falls 1.3 million years ago .......... Huckleberry Ridge 2.1 million years ago Lava Creek 0.6 million years ago ........... ;Or - !A' • T'atedafr Yellowstone's caldera • Formed as the result of a series of eruptions • Measures 35 mi. 4 (56 km) by 50 mi. (80 km) Yellowstone National Park 411111■1111111 Caldera formation What is a caldera? SCIENTIST JAMIE FARRELL DELINEATES facts about the Yellowstone Caldera at Science Unwrapped on Friday.Among the misconceptions dispelled by Farrell was the fear that the caldera is overdue to explode. CODY GOCHNOUR photo Depleted chamber; loss of support A large, volcanic crater, typically one formed by a major eruption leading to the collapse of the mouth of the volcano © 2008 MCT Source: U.S. Geographical Survey, NASA, National Geographic, "Smithsonian Earth" Graphic: Melina Yingling Eruption; emptying chamber • Yellowstone's magma chamber lies 5 mi. (8 km) below surface Collapsed chamber; trapped magma From Page 1 Students and faculty display research 371/ LAST E MCTU RE Since 1976, USU Honors students have selected a professor who has made a memorable impact on the university, inside and outside the classroom. This year, the Utah State University Honors Program presents: DR. JOHN C. ALLEN DEAN, COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY Dean Allen's Last Lecture, "THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY IN A CIVIL SOCIETY" combines the academic examination of the role of the collective in supporting individual goals and a profound respect for community and its role in making all of us better human beings: perfect for an Honors lecture. 0I11 UtahState University HONORS PROGRAM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2012 2:30PM - 3:30PM TSC WEST BALLROOM through graduate students to young faculty to senior faculty, even to emeritus professors that still come and remain engaged." Featuring a new theme for each day, the week focuses on individual researchers and their accomplishments. It offers events and workshops for faculty celebrations Monday through Thursday, and the main event is Friday. The grand finale of Research Week is "Crossroads," a free program designed to combine several senses in a demonstration linking science and art. The event will be held in the Performance Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. "We've never done anything like this before," McEntire said. "Throughout the hour you are exposed to visual imagery, spoken word and music, all mixed together in a way that helps you feel things instead of just learn things." This won't be the last time students get to see a performance like this on campus, she said. "There has actually been such a positive response to this performance that they are expanding it," McEntire said. She also said the organizers plan to commission an artist and musician to create new work for another program in September, but for now they are just trying to pull off this week's performance. "It's bigger than anything we've ever done before," McEntire said. "Most of our events are not small by any means, but they're very focused." Monday is faculty research day, with an awards gala honoring top faculty researchers of the year at 6 p.m. Tuesday follows with the all-student undergraduate research day. Starting with a student showcase, running from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the TSC International Lounge and Colony rooms, undergraduate research day provides students with a chance to show off their research to the community. The showcase will be interrupted from noon to 1 p.m. to formally recognize the undergraduate researchers and mentors of the year with the undergraduate research awards. Wednesday's innovation and scholarship day kicks off with an event McEntire said will be the other benchmark activity of the week. The D. Wynne Thorne Lecture runs from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the new Agricultural Science Building, Room 101. Annually awarded to one faculty researcher as the highest research award available at USU, the D.Wynne Thorne career research scholar returns the following year to present at the lecture during Research Week. McEntire said she predicts the event will be highly attended. "It's a really provocative and challenging lecture. It's going to be a great one," she said. Graduate research day, on Thursday, is devoted to the Intermountain Graduate Research Symposium, running from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the International Lounge, Colony rooms and Eccles Conference Center. The event includes research posters, workshops and other presentations. Organizers extended the symposium into Friday as well. The final day of Research Week, Research Workshop Day, provides students with workshops about opportunities for funding, getting involved in campus initiatives and fellowships, and compiling work into a published book. Starting at 8 a.m. at the Haight Alumni House, events follow each other in the same venue until 2:30 p.m. Thomas Martin, a senior studying physics, will present his research on atmospheric gravity waves at the student showcase. "They are like waves in an ocean, but they're up in the atmosphere," Martin said. These waves can cause interference to satellites in the upper atmosphere, he said. Martin studied the characteristics and behavior of gravity waves over Antarctica. "It's been a great opportunity for me," Martin said. "I get to see how research is carried out. I see that research isn't just all these cool explosions and doing really cool things every single moment, but there's a lot of note taking and a lot of tedious kind of work. Despite that, I still enjoy it." Martin said he's been accepted to a graduate program at University of California, Los Angeles. "I'll be doing research for hopefully most of my life after that," he said. - brianna.b@aggiemail.usu.edu - steve.kent@aggiemail.usu.edu |