Anatomy of an earthquake

In this short film, Iain Stewart covers some of the main impacts of an earthquake, including factors that can exacerbate damage and casualties. Take note of the importance of where buildings are located.

Well worth 6.45 minutes of your time!

Yellowstone Supervolcano

Yellowstone is in the news again (see here) after a thermal hotspot melted asphalt on one of the roads in the park. Yellowstone is a 'supervolcano' - a volcano capable of producing eruptions that measure VEI8 on the volcanic explosivity index  - 1000 times larger than standard volcanic events.

In 2006, the BBC and Discovery channel produced a drama called 'Supervolcano'. This looked at the possible impact of a massive eruption at Yellowstone. The US Geological Survey described the film as an 'acceptable' attempt to show what might happen in the event of such an eruption.

Geologists say the the current hotspot activity is not an indication of a likely eruption, with Dan Hottle, the park spokesman saying, 'the supervolcano is not going to blow.'

Source: Thomas Moran [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons