| UPDATED: 18:03, Tue, Mar 9, 2021
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The caldera gets its nickname due to its ability to inflict global devastation during its most violent eruption – something that has happened three times in the past – 2.1 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago and 640,000 years ago. The system is constantly monitored by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for any changes and there has not been a major eruption in 70,000 years. Despite this, there have been many unsupported claims over the years that the supervolcano is “overdue” an eruption – something Dr Poland addressed
Some say more needs to be done to protect the world from Yellowstone (Image: GETTY)
Despite this, he’s still a fan of researchers looking into ways to minimise the risk posed by supervolcanos.
He said: “We have to do much more than what we are doing now to try and prevent a supervolcanic eruption.
“These volcanoes are going to do something one day – and this could be in 100 years, in 1,000 years, or even 10,000 years.
“We expect still to be on the Earth in 10,000 years and if we don’t do something to decrease the stress of this volcano, we won’t be able to survive on the surface of the Earth.
| UPDATED: 11:31, Fri, Feb 5, 2021
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The caldera inside Yellowstone National Park spreads over the three states of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana and poses a significant threat in the event of a supereruption. The system is constantly monitored by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for any changes, despite such an event not occurring in more than 640,000 years. Over the years, there have been many unsupported claims that the supervolcano is “overdue” an eruption, after the average time between each event was calculated.