Lifestyle

TOPICS:

Previous

PAGE: 

1 ... 

102 | 103 | 104

 ... 884

Next

msupenguin

msupenguin

San Francisco, CA
March 2006

SEP 17, 2006 02:03 AM

i dont know if anyone else is watching, but its this tv movie on the discovery channel. the movie is premised on the theoretical possibility of a supervolcano erupting in yellowstone. watching is one of my few chances lately to indulge in something that doesnt involve school. anyway, its pretty good. the implications of the event is incredible.

any thoughts (i know its late and im probably the only one watching)?

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

i appologize if it sounds like im rabbling. its late. whatever

RudieCantFail

RudieCantFail

Intercourse, PA
January 2006

SEP 17, 2006 02:10 AM

I've seen it before. It is a dramitazation, but it is based on recent scientific research. Yellowstone does sit in the caldera of an ancient, incredibly large volcano that has erupted at least 3 times previously.
For a made for TV movie, it's not bad.

skeptik

skeptik

New Orleans, LA
February 2004

SEP 17, 2006 06:56 AM

Yeah, it's not too bad at explaining the science involved. And as an exploration of "what would happen if ..." it ranks right up with the rest of the Discovery Channel's stuff.

Some of the ways it deals with scientific debate is kind of insulting, though. Scientists who rationally disagree about something that turns out to be true are not ignorant, shortsighted, or evil. They're just scientists.

bendingunit23

bendingunit23

Victoria, BC
April 2005

SEP 17, 2006 11:08 AM

I saw bits and pieces of it in the spring I think it looked pretty well done. I know a supervolcano is suspected to be the cause of the largest mass extinction on earth, 700million years ago.

discovery channels 'first canadians' is also a good one, but I guess it might not air in cali.

zenFish

zenFish

Calgary, AB
August 2004

SEP 17, 2006 11:11 AM

i've heard about this one, haven't seen this movie at all.

i keep wondering if there is a way to drain that sucker like a large zit.

but hey, if it doesn't make money, why would anyone care?

SockPuppet

SockPuppet

I'm lost
July 2006

SEP 17, 2006 04:03 PM

double... I hate this interface frown

SockPuppet

SockPuppet

I'm lost
July 2006

SEP 17, 2006 04:04 PM

It's going to blow again at some point. Soon, in geological time. Maybe not that far off in our time, either.

within the past two million years, it has undergone three extremely large explosive eruptions, up to 2,500 times the size of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. The three eruptions happened 2.1 million years ago, 1.3 millon years ago, and the most recent such eruption produced the Lava Creek Tuff 640,000 years ago and spread a layer of volcanic ash over most of the North American continent.


source

So, it's due some time in the next few thousand years.

msupenguin

msupenguin

San Francisco, CA
March 2006

SEP 17, 2006 07:32 PM

i may not be remembering correctly because it was getting late and i was tired, but i thought one of the scientists had speculated that it may never blow again because the land could have shifted so that the magma pocket was underneath a shelf of mountains that would make it virtually impossible for the magma to vent.

at any rate, by the time it does go i probably wont be around, and all that will remain is the fact that when i was around and speculating about it, i hoped that my family in wyoming would have left by then. whatever

JohnClement

JohnClement

Silver Spring, MD
January 2004

SEP 17, 2006 08:16 PM

Heh

I thought for some reason my old thread got dug up.

d_day

d_day

San Bernardino, CA
July 2002

SEP 17, 2006 10:20 PM

Reminds of a lot of the stuff in the Southern California desert. If anyone is interested in seeing the stuff, there is a cluster of roughly 17 dormant volcanoes just off the 15 freeway between Baker and Las Vegas. If driving from SoCal, exit Kelbaker road and make a right. drive about 15 miles and the volcanoes will be off to your left. Keep going past the volcanoes to Kelso-Cima road and make a left. After a few miles, you will see the Cima Dome on your left. Much like the caldera at Yellowstone, it's rising annually due to pressure from a magma pocket. Continue on Cima road until you get back to the 15 freeway. It's a nice detour to take on the way to or from Vegas.