[_ Old Earth _] Super Volcano!

[Knotical]

It Will Kill Us All!!!!!!! ...in about 100 millions years or so. Give or take a millenia.

Every few million years or so, the Earth burps up a gargantuan volcano.

These aren't like volcanoes in our lifetimes; these "super volcanoes" can erupt continuously for thousands of years. While they might be rare, you'd best look out when one hits.

http://www.npr.org/2013/02/10/171607844/is-the-earth-cooking-up-a-super-volcano

To sum up the rest of the article, there is are masses of slightly molten rock right where the mantle meets to core and there is are "blobs" hanging around it which may, or many not, have anything to do with volcanic activity on the surface of our lovely planet.

I will leave it to you as to whether or not you should start panicking.

 

[Sparkey]

He was talking about hot spot "shield volcanoes" (called "shield" because their shape looks like a shield (says the king_of_the_obvious)). Hawaii is being built over one, and yes there's one (a hot-spot) under Yellowstone.

I'm on my way to a Geology class and will probably bring this up for discussion.

 

[Knotical]

Sorry, unable to see the pics at work, due to some sort of blocker in the company firewall. Anyway, there was a big scare last year due to some increased activity surrounding Yellowstone. This happens every so often, and the media tends to over sensationalize it (shocking, I know).

 

[Sparkey]

There's a current Yellow Alert for a strato-volcano in Alaska now. In class, we've been following the official Volcano Watch sites for Alaska, Cascade Continental Arc, and Hawaii. I noticed the Yellowstone hot-spot and thought it would be interesting to take a look there too, but it's an sophmore level Geo class and only looks at what it looks at.

Here's a couple links for the sites I was talking about:

• Alaska Volcano Observatory
• Visit a Volcano <--- Click on "interactive Image Map for Major Cascade Range Volcanoes" to go the the Cascaded, or other links for other places of interest.
• Hawaiian Volcano Observatory

 

[Barbarian]

Hawaii isn't much of a worry, because it's from deep in the mantle, and the lava is both runny and low melting point. So the pipes don't get clogged and explode. On the other hand, Yellowstone is a giant caldera of a volcano that is prone to explode in a Plinian eruption that would blanket vast areas of the U.S. with deep layers of ash.

When it goes, there isn't much we can do about it, but get out of the way. We will probably have lots of warning.

 

[Knotical]

[MENTION=30546]Barbarian[/MENTION], would you say it would be an eruption of the style that Mt St Helens was, or more along the lines of Vesuvius when it wiped out pompei?

 

[Sparkey]

Here's a link to peruse when you get time:
VOLCANO HAZARDS FACT SHEET:
Yellowstone: Restless Volcanic Giant

The most recent caldera-forming eruption about 650,000 years ago produced a caldera 53 x 28 miles (85 x 45 kilometers) across in what is now Yellowstone National Park (Figure 2). During that eruption, ground-hugging flows of hot volcanic ash, pumice, and gases swept across an area of more than 3,000 square miles. When these enormous pyroclastic flows finally stopped, they solidified to form a layer of rock called the Lava Creek Tuff. Its volume was about 240 cubic miles (1,000 cubic kilometers), enough material to cover Wyoming with a layer 13 feet thick or the entire conterminous United States with a layer 5 inches thick. The Lava Creek Tuff has been exposed by erosion at Tuff Cliff, a popular Yellowstone attraction along the lower Gibbon River.

Had to look up "conterminous" and learned a new word there:
con·ter·mi·nous
/känˈtərmənəs/
Adjective

Sharing a common boundary.
Having the same area, context, or meaning.​

REASON TO WORRY?

The current rates of seismicity, ground deformation, and hydrothermal activity at Yellowstone, although high by most geologic standards, are probably typical of long time periods between eruptions and therefore not a reason for immediate concern. Potentially damaging earthquakes are likely to continue occurring every few decades, as they have in the recent past. Eventually Yellowstone will erupt again, but there is no indication that an eruption is imminent or what kind of eruption may come next. For the foreseeable future, the same powerful forces that created Yellowstone will continue to animate this slumbering, but restless, volcanic giant.

 

[Knotical]

Unfortunately, the source you referenced is basing their assumptions on evolution and a "old earth" mentality. I do not ascribe to either. Of course I am not saying a volcano could never form, and blow its top, in yellowstone; however, their assumptions on how long it has been since the last volcanic event there leaves something to be desired.

 

[cupid dave]

Unfortunately, the source you referenced is basing their assumptions on evolution and a "old earth" mentality.

I do not ascribe to either.
....their assumptions on how long it has been since the last volcanic event there leaves something to be desired.

... as may be your own assumptions?

1. Formative/Cosmologic Era-Hadean Era/ = First Day

2. Hadean Era-Archaean Era/ = Second Day

3. Archaean Era-Proterozoic Era/ = Third Day

4. Proterozoic Era-Paleozoic Era/ = Fourth Day

5. Paleozoic Era-Mesozoic Era/ = Fifth Day

6. Mesozoic Era-Cenozoic Era/ = Six Day

7. Cenozoic Era-Common Era/ = Seventh Day

 

[Knotical]

... as may be your own assumptions?

1. Formative/Cosmologic Era-Hadean Era/ = First Day

2. Hadean Era-Archaean Era/ = Second Day

3. Archaean Era-Proterozoic Era/ = Third Day

4. Proterozoic Era-Paleozoic Era/ = Fourth Day

5. Paleozoic Era-Mesozoic Era/ = Fifth Day

6. Mesozoic Era-Cenozoic Era/ = Six Day

7. Cenozoic Era-Common Era/ = Seventh Day

Yeah, you have tried to push that little bit of info in other threads. I don't buy it.

 

[cupid dave]

Yeah, you have tried to push that little bit of info in other threads. I don't buy it.

Yes, I often explain this point of view to other and place it on the table with the other twelve major mainstream denominational christian points of vir-ew.

I ask the intellectually honest and unbias reader to recognize that the 24 Earth day was not even"invented" by God until the fourth "day" of the seven step in the creation.
Also, I mention that "day" is a Hebrew word, yowm, which really means any duration of time that best fits the context one reads with it.

Seeing the eras as the context, those "days" were millions of years long.

Now that doesn't have to mean your medieva,l ancient Middle Age, ideas have to be wrong, but when Weseley, or Luther, or whatever man explained Genesis your way, these other choices were not then available to them.

 

[Knotical]

Yes, I often explain this point of view to other and place it on the table with the other twelve major mainstream denominational christian points of vir-ew.

I ask the intellectually honest and unbias reader to recognize that the 24 Earth day was not even"invented" by God until the fourth "day" of the seven step in the creation.
Also, I mention that "day" is a Hebrew word, yowm, which really means any duration of time that best fits the context one reads with it.

Seeing the eras as the context, those "days" were millions of years long.

Now that doesn't have to mean your medieva,l ancient Middle Age, ideas have to be wrong, but when Weseley, or Luther, or whatever man explained Genesis your way, these other choices were not then available to them.

It doesn't matter how you try to "explain" it, it is a false doctrine and I dismiss it as such.

 

[cupid dave]

It doesn't matter how you try to "explain" it, it is a false doctrine and I dismiss it as such.

LOL

I asked how do YOU explain that the 24 hour day was not invented by God until cosmic Day 4?????

A false doctrine is determined by the absence of truth in it, and since the seven days began before the 24 hour earth day even existed, before the earth had taken spherical shape, before the Sun was made authority over the Solar Clock,... your teaching seems false.

 

[Barbarian]

Barbarian , would you say it would be an eruption of the style that Mt St Helens was, or more along the lines of Vesuvius when it wiped out pompei?

Both are quite similar. The reason Mt. St. Helens was so different was that a large influx of lava was forced into the magma chamber below, and bulged out the side of the mountain. The morning of the eruption, the whole side of the mountain fell away, and the blast was directly horizontally.

A huge release of ash, and pyroclastic flows made of superhot rock and dust characterize these volcanoes. It is clear that Yellowstone is one of those, only much, much bigger.

 

[cupid dave]

Both are quite similar. The reason Mt. St. Helens was so different was that a large influx of lava was forced into the magma chamber below, and bulged out the side of the mountain. The morning of the eruption, the whole side of the mountain fell away, and the blast was directly horizontally.

A huge release of ash, and pyroclastic flows made of superhot rock and dust characterize these volcanoes. It is clear that Yellowstone is one of those, only much, much bigger.

It seems strange that the super volcano eruptions are not related to the mass extinction if the are the size as described by the article:

 

[Sparkey]

Unfortunately, the source you referenced is basing their assumptions on evolution and a "old earth" mentality. I do not ascribe to either. Of course I am not saying a volcano could never form, and blow its top, in yellowstone; however, their assumptions on how long it has been since the last volcanic event there leaves something to be desired.

I typically ignore dates unless I am required (by a Quiz, for example) and just look at was done by the Hand of God.

We were out on a Geology field trip and visited several local sites. We saw ("observed" ;)) a boundary that clearly demarcated sandstone deposits and metamorphic rocks. I was standing on the edge of a road. On my left: sandstone, on my right: phyllite (metamorphic rock). Later at home, I remembered how when I was back in 8th grade, I had asked the Lord about how sand was everywhere the ocean and land met. Part of the field trip was on the beaches of WA coast, but I had not thought about that aspect for such a long time it did not cross my mind.

Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it.

New International Version (©1984)

Next time I see a beach that doesn't have any sandstone nearby (there are many) the whole train of thought will run through my mind once again. Basically, I ignore the dates and do what I've always loved doing. Look at what God has done.

 

[Sparkey]

LOL

I asked how do YOU explain that the 24 hour day was not invented by God until cosmic Day 4?????

A false doctrine is determined by the absence of truth in it, and since the seven days began before the 24 hour earth day even existed, before the earth had taken spherical shape, before the Sun was made authority over the Solar Clock,... your teaching seems false.

Ahhhhh... dave? Maybe I missed something that may be crucial to your point. Maybe you've explained this observation away before, I can't say. You seem to think that the Word of God about creation was given at the exact time it happened. Like to Adam or something. My understanding is that the Holy Spirit inspired Moshe (Moses) and that he authored Genesis (historically speaking). With that understanding the whole "there was no day before the 4th day" observation falls to what Moses understood it to mean (using the Historic Method), or what God meant when He inspired the pen (using my method). We can't say that "days" didn't exist then (at the time of the writing), now can we? Further, when we consider the couple thousand times the word was used in the bible, only about 5% can be called anything but literal, single "Night/Day" cycles. Within those 5% we could trim out references to "The Day of the Lord" as well, and that would reduce the percentage number down significantly. Simply asserting that an hour = an era, does not a doctrine make.

Especially when it comes to days that are spoken of in conjunction with ordinal numbers, as in "the first," or "the second" etc. When we look at biblical examples of these specific uses, there are zero (0) uses that do not convey a single night/day period. At least, none that I know of. Argument that makes specific conclusions based solely on general observation fail here. That's like saying, "You can't use any genealogies from the bible because they are all guilty of deliberately leaving out numerous generations then quoting Luke 18:38, "Jesus, son of David," as your supportive clause. Can you think of any specific instances where ordinals are used in conjunction with the word yom that don't mean night/day periods? The technical exclusion would of course include the time before the sun was created but that's not when the word was used, now is it?

This isn't really a topic about the age of the earth, nor do I intend to hijack too far it in that direction, but more about understanding Volcanoes (and maybe their creation). I'm just providing my two-cents because the two ideas coincide almost synonymously in the minds of many.

 

[Knotical]

LOL

I asked how do YOU explain that the 24 hour day was not invented by God until cosmic Day 4?????

A false doctrine is determined by the absence of truth in it, and since the seven days began before the 24 hour earth day even existed, before the earth had taken spherical shape, before the Sun was made authority over the Solar Clock,... your teaching seems false.

Whoever said it was specifically 24 hours? The earth was created in 6 days of ordinary length, not thousands of years, or days that were exactly 24 hours in length. Besides, time is a man-made concept. God exists outside of time.

Quite frankly to debate whether the earth was created in six days, or six thousand years is really irrelevant considering God could have created in any time-frame He wished. To argue it is a waste of time. God does everything according to His good and perfect will, that is all we need concern ourselves with.

 

[Sparkey]

Both are quite similar. The reason Mt. St. Helens was so different was that a large influx of lava was forced into the magma chamber below, and bulged out the side of the mountain. The morning of the eruption, the whole side of the mountain fell away, and the blast was directly horizontally.

A huge release of ash, and pyroclastic flows made of superhot rock and dust characterize these volcanoes. It is clear that Yellowstone is one of those, only much, much bigger.

I think of the Yellowstone area as a "hybrid" area. There we see something pretty unique. A Continental arc near to and above a hot-spot. Strato over Shield. The caldera is huge too.

 

[Barbarian]

I wasn't aware of a plate boundary in the area. Tell me about it.