RAISED levels of carbon dioxide at America’s famous Yellowstone Park has prompted fears that the deadly volcano beneath is on the verge of a catastrophic explosion.
Volcanoes are more likely to emit larger levels of CO2 in the lead up to an eruption as it typically a sign that pressure is building beneath the surface.
A new YouTube video from The Cutting Edge 2 used satellite imagery to reveal that the levels of carbon dioxide at Yellowstone volcano is among the most concentrated in the world.
As the narrator of the video says: “That lets us know that we’re probably getting some kind of leak from one of those fault zones in that area.”
As the video shows, nowhere else on the planet “are we seeing that level of concentration of carbon dioxide.”
Furthermore, there has been a spate of seismic activity in the region in Wyoming, USA, with more than 40 small tremors in a week alone in June, according to the video.
The massive volcano last erupted 70,000 years ago but a recent spike in seismic activity around the globe, which has resulted in devastating earthquakes in Asia and Ecuador in the last week, has unsettled nerves.
If the volcano were to erupt, it could cause global catastrophe, particularly in the US where two-thirds of the country would become immediately uninhabitable as the large spew of ash into the atmosphere would block out sunlight and directly effecting life beneath it.
Furthermore, the US’s agricultural industry would be in ruins as much of the country would be covered in a 10cm layer of ash showering the ground, and making it impossible for crops to grow in the immediate to short-term aftermath.
Additionally, the thick cloud of ash in the sky would contribute to rapid climate change where the majority of the planet would become cooler as the sun’s rays are blocked out.
