Friday, April 15, 2011

600 word article

So today, I'm gonna tell everybody about a news article! Yay! 'Cause we all gotta keep up with the world around us, right? Right! Especially when it is a highly dangerous super volcano! Keep reading and you'll see what I'm talking about..
In Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming scientists have recently discovered that the magma plume underneath Yellowstone is a lot larger than they first thought. The volcano is already classified as a "super-volcano" which means that it could take out several states if it were to explode. It was already thought to be extremely powerful and dangerous, but now we have discovered that the super volcano is much, much larger than we had previously thought. So if and when the volcano explodes, we will be in a lot of trouble...
Reports from scientists at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah tried out a new measuring technique. Magnetotelluric imaging looks at the electrical conductivity of the plume. By looking at the angle in the plume, they discovered it actually goes on for 400 miles- 250 miles longer than they originally thought it was. This super volcano is getting about 3 times more power than we had thought, making it 3 times more dangerous if it is to erupt.
National Geographic interviewed the study leader, Michael Zhdanov, from the University of Utah. Michael Zhdanov explained a few things about this startling discovery. First, that the imagery used is something like an MRI, where the old data was more like an ultra sound. Both effective ways of measurement, only with different advantages or disadvantages.
Those who live by Yellowstone do not need to panic just yet, however. The volcano may or may not erupt. But with this new research, geologists can examine the crust and learn more about the earth from it. We can now gain a better understanding of the geological structure of Yellowstone and the super volcano. This can help predict when the volcano will erupt and help keep people safe.
This is a good discovery because now we are aware of the danger. We can learn from this discovery and use it to our advantage. It is better that we know about this extremely large and hot volcano then be in the dark and not aware of the problems we a may face.
The bottom line is, we have made a very "hot" discovery!
Sorry, had to throw in the pun.
I'm glad that we made this discovery. Like I said, we now are aware of the danger. It is better that we are aware because we can be prepared. People living around Yellowstone or in neighboring states can get ready in case something does happen with the volcano. We can also learn a lot about our earth from this discovery. Perhaps other super-volcanoes around the world are this large, too. Scientists will now need to investigate this.
At the same time, this is also a very scary discovery. Super volcanoes have taken out entire countries before. I once saw a discovery channel special on super volcanoes and thousands of years ago, a super volcano took out the whole island that it was on. It blew itself up! Crazy volcano done killed itself. They are so so powerful and dangerous that it is pretty freaky to have one so close to where we are.
I guess there is really nothing we can do except wait thought. Wait for scientists to look further into Yellowstone and see what else is going on deep down in the earth. We also can prepare for disasters. Ready ourselves for any possible volcanic activity. Still, there is little chance the volcano will explode any time soon, so we can just relax and go on with our happy lives while the scientists check it out for us.

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