Yellowstone is the world’s largest active volcanic system – its eruptions are hundreds of times more powerful than Vesuvius’ blast and its ash could blanket half the US. Yet, for decades, scientists could not agree on what drove its underground magma system.
A new finding detailed by Chinese researchers could settle the dispute.
They declared that Yellowstone’s magma channels were not blasted open by magma forcing its way upwards. Instead, tectonic forces tore the lithosphere apart first and…