Controversial study suggests vast magma pool under Washington state

McClatchy and Yahoo ^ | Monday, October 26, 2009 | Les Blumenthal

[SunkenCiv]

A vast pool of molten rock in the continental crust that underlies southwestern Washington state could supply magma to three active volcanoes in the Cascade Mountains -- Mount St. Helens , Mount Rainier and Mount Adams... Other scientists dismiss the existence... Rather than magma heated to 1,300 to 1,400 degrees, some think it could be water... Seth Moran , a volcano seismologist with the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash... said the most telling evidence that the theory was wrong was the lack of any surface evidence, such as geothermal vents or hot springs, among the mountains that would indicate the presence of a super-heated underground magma pool... Steve Malone , a professor emeritus at the University of Washington's earth and space science department... agrees... Yet... Olivier Bachmann , a geochemist at the University of Washington , said the data in the study were "pretty solid." ... The lack of surface evidence is no reason to discount the possibility of a southwest Washington magma pool, Bachmann said, adding that the geysers and hot springs in Yellowstone, Iceland and New Zealand are over much shallower magma pools than the Southern Washington Cascades Conductor. Bachmann called the Southern Washington Cascades Conductor a "mush zone," about 20 to 50 percent magma and the rest crystalline rock. The magma extruded at Mount St. Helens was filled with crystals, he said... The Yellowstone super volcano is one of the largest on Earth, with a caldera, or depression, in the surface that covers 1,500 square miles. During its last eruption, 640,000 years ago, it released 8,000 times more lava and ash than the 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens did.

[calex59]

Have you ever been to Yellowstone? The ground has always been hot there, in fact if you walk around a bit it is easy to find spots where steam just comes up out of little cracks in the ground.I am not talking about the regular tourist hot pools and such , but other areas that just can’t contain all the molten crap under the ground. Will it ever turn into a super eruption? Who knows, but it is a great place to visit!

[guitarplayer1953]

Never been there but from what I have read it is heating up more and more there are more ground swells and from what I have read some of the small ponds are drying up from he increase of the ground heat.

[Domestic Church]

Hope you don’t own any real estate up there!