Geology

[Michael77]

any comments would be appriciated.....

A Mega Tsunami is going to start from a landslide in the canary islands....rip across the atlantic....and level the first 30 miles of the entire eastern seaboard of the United States.....this wave is going to cause the earth to become unbalanced and the shere weight and force of this wave (600 trillion joules of kenetic energy) will force the plates of the earth to shift suddenly and the Super Volcano that is YellowStone will errupt....sending 2500 cubic kilometers of ash and gasses into the stratusphere. which will cause a volcanic winter and it will only spare about 2% of life on this planet.......global temps will drop between 5-10 degrees and rain will become highly acidic....the world will have a make over.....Super Volcanos have been active on this planet since its concepting....and.....they are what I believe ended the Dinosaurs reign.....its alot more plausable than some comet hitting us.....and it would have the same result....

[fafalone]

Interesting theory. It raises a few questions... like do the canary islands really have enough land TO slide to cause a tsunami that big? To cause a rapid plate shift, the tsunami would have to be a good part of the size of the entire pacific ocean. And what about that giant impact crater down in the Yucatan.

[Michael77]

yes....it does raise these questions.....and to most of those I say yes...The island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands off the coast of North Africa, was discovered to be in great danger of collapsing. The island is volcanic and during an eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in 1949 part of the island slipped a few about 10 meters into the sea before stopping. Another eruption could cause the western flank of the island to collapse in the Atlantic Ocean. The volcano erupts on an average of ever 50 years......which means we're passed due....and it would generate a wave with the force I described.....and as for plate shifting...that is where I added 1+1....look at it from futher back...kinda like a washing machine.....when the wave hits it will though the earth offbalance...and that off balance motion will cause alot of stress to the plates.....and earthquakes worldwide will occur.....I believe it will be enough to send yellowstone over the edge....

...its not the amount of land....its the amount of land and the speed it will fall.....

 

[edit] as for the inpact crator....its a big queston mark....I have not see any research stating if the orgin was this planet or another......no rock analyzing has been done to date....nothing unusual has been reported on it....if verywell could be something thrown in the air here....no one knows[edit end]

[blike]

I saw something about super volcanoes on discovery the other night. Er, I didn't watch it, but I saw it advertised.

[Michael77]

I saw it too.....that's what started my interest on the subject....and from there I researched what cause them and stuff like that.....

[Michael77]

Scientist have discovered that the ground in Yellowstone if 74cm (about 3 feet) higher than in was in 1923 - indicating a massive swelling underneath the park. The reservoir is filling with magma at an alarming rate. The volcano erupts with a near-clockwork cycle of every 600,000 years. The last eruption was more than 640,000 years ago - we are overdue for annihilation.

-Effects-

Immediately before the eruption, there would be large earthquakes in the Yellowstone region. The ground would swell further with most of Yellowstone being uplifted. One earthquake would finally break the layer of rock that holds the magma in - and all the pressure the Earth can build up in 640,000 years would be unleashed in a cataclysmic event.

Magma would be flung 50 kilometres into the atmosphere. Within a thousand kilometres virtually all life would be killed by falling ash, lava flows and the sheer explosive force of the eruption. Volcanic ash would coat places as far away as Iowa and the Gulf of Mexico. One thousand cubic kilometres of lava would pour out of the volcano, enough to coat the whole of the USA with a layer 5 inches thick. The explosion would have a force 2,500 times that of Mount St. Helens. When Toba (the last super volcano to erupt) erupted it dropped the Human Population down to 2000 world wide.

[Michael77]

The largest tsunami in recorded history was in Lituya Bay, Canada, 1958. An earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale caused 40 million cubic meters of rock to fall into the sea. A wave more than half a kilometre high was created that surged through the bay devastating all in its path. This was not even a mega-tsunami, by these standards it was tiny, but it did show scientists what sort of wave a small landslide could cause. But what would be the effect of a big one?

-Past Mega's-

Scientists hunted that world for sites that could potentially cause a mega tsunami. They discovered that at least eleven mega tsunamis had happened in the last 200,000 years, caused by island collapses in the Hawaiian and Canary islands.

-Potential Damage of La Palma-

No coastline in the North Atlantic would be spared. Britain, France, Spain and Portugal would all be badly hit North Africa would be hit by 100 meter waves, but the main wave would travel west. It would storm across the Atlantic in hours, hitting the Caribbean and Brazil badly. However, the real damage would be to the East coast of the USA.

By the time it had travelled the 4000 miles to America the wave would be lower and wider. It would now be just 50 metres high but many kilometres long, allowing it to sweep up to 20-30 miles in land, destroying everything in its path. Boston, New York and Miami would virtually be wiped off the map. Skyscrapers would be bulldozed as if they weren't there. Bridges would be ripped from their foundations. And virtually every human in these cities would be killed.

There would be indirect consequences around the world. The events of September 11th wiped millions off stock markets around the world. What would be the effects of the destruction of not only the rest of New York, but also the rest of the East Coast on the world's economies?

[edit] llets not even take into account the ecological disaster of destroying a couple of super tankers and an off-shore drilling platform or 2[edit end]

[aman]

Since asteroid impacts leave signs like impact glass I have the opinion that over time they are our worst threat since their impact and geological dating corresponde to our worst devastations. Our Mother Earth is gentle with us over all by comparison.

Just aman

[Michael77]

Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it isn't going to happen.....do you have a link to the research on where we got this impact glass......I would like to look it over......as of yet....I'm not convinced we were ever hit by a metear....

[aman]

I can look up a post on impact glass and also asteroidal elements that spread on impact. I suggest you start with questions on what evidence there is on asteroidal impacts and that you do not believe they happened.

It's nice to meet you Michael77 and your questions are welcome because answers or directions to clues to answers are here.

I'll try to get you some info but I'm about ready for bed

God bless America 9/11

Just aman

[Michael77]

Thank you....I look forward to looking threw it......

[Michael77]

Here is a paper I wrote from various sources outlining what I found and my beliefs...it covers everything previously posted but has some new stuff I found as well.....this will by my last post on the subject.

 

End of Days

 

We’ve all heard the theories of the end of days. Depending on what religion, your beliefs on how may vary, but it all ends the same way. What if I told you I knew exactly how this cataclysm would occur and where these original beliefs really came from? It isn’t a farce, but rather a scientific certainty. It is a fact, we’ve never seen a super volcano erupt. It is also a fact that we’ve never actually seen a mega tsunami. But, we’ve seen the results of both, many times over. If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a noise? The answer to that, is the same as this. It all lies locked away in the secrets of super volcanoes, Toba, Yellowstone, mega-tsunami, and the island of La Palma.

A super volcano differs greatly from the standard volcano. The stereotypical volcano is a towering cone, but super volcanoes form in depressions in the ground called calderas. When a normal volcano erupts, lava gradually builds up in the mountain before releasing it. In super volcanoes when magma nears the surface it does not reach it, instead it begins to fill massive underground reservoirs. The magma melts the nearby rock to form more extremely thick magma. The magma is so viscous that volcanic gasses that normally trigger an eruption cannot pass, so a massive amount of pressure begins to build up. This continues for hundreds of thousands of years until an eruption occurs, which blasts away a huge amount of ground, forming a new caldera. They are the most destructive force on this planet. It is theorized that the lava would shoot straight to the stratosphere and harden before hitting the ground causing impact creators all over the world. Only a few super volcanoes exist in the world and erupt very seldom, but when they do, they do so with apocalyptic force, capable of obliterating continents.

 

Toba, Sumatra was the last Super Volcano to erupt. When it did so seventy five thousand years ago, the human population, which was around one hundred thousand or so worldwide, dropped to about two thousand worldwide. It had ten thousand times the explosive force of Mt. St. Helen and changed life on

Earth forever. Thousands of cubic kilometers of ash were thrown into the atmosphere. So much so, that it blocked out light from the sun all over the world. Twenty five hundred miles away, thirty five centimeters of ash coated the ground. Global temperatures plummeted by 21 degrees. The rain became highly acidic and killed three quarters of all organic life in the northern hemisphere. Man was pushed to the edge of extinction. This is the origin of the religious believes in the end of days.

 

Yellowstone National park is another. Scientist have discovered that the ground in Yellowstone is seventy-four centimeters (about 3 feet) higher than in was in nineteen twenty-three, indicating a massive swelling underneath the park. The reservoir is filling with magma at an alarming rate. The volcano erupts

with a near-clockwork cycle of every six hundred thousand years. The last eruption was more than six hundred forty thousand years ago; which means we’re passed due. Scientists searching for the caldera in the park could not see it because it was so massive. Only when thermal satellite images were taken did the

scale become apparent; the whole park, eighty-five kilometers by forty-five kilometers, is one massive reservoir of magma. When it erupts, magma would be flung fifty kilometers into the atmosphere. Everything within a thousand miles would be dead immediately. Volcanic ash would coat places as far away as Iowa and the Gulf of Mexico. One thousand cubic kilometers of lava would pour out of the volcano, enough to coat the whole of the USA with a layer five inches thick. The explosion would have a

force twenty-five hundred times that of Mt. St. Helen. It would be the loudest noise heard by man. Within minutes of the eruption tens of thousands would be dead. The long-term effects would be even more devastating. The thousands of cubic kilometers of ash that would shoot into the atmosphere could block out

light from the sun, making global temperatures plummet. This is called a volcanic winter, similar to a nuclear winter. As during the Toba eruption, a large percentage of the world's plant life would be killed by the ash and drop in temperature. Similar effects around the world would cause massive food shortages. If

the temperatures plummet by the 21 degrees as they did after the Toba eruption, the Yellowstone super volcano eruption would truly be an extinction level event.

 

Mega tsunamis, in comparison, aren’t as massive. But they do happen more frequently. True, we have yet to actually see one, but I believe its just around the corner. A mega-tsunami is simply a gigantic wave, one big enough to cross oceans and destroy cities. They can be thousands of feet high moving at incredible speeds. They can be caused by huge meteors crashing into the ocean, or by massive landslides. No boat or building hit by a mega tsunami could survive. The largest tsunami in recorded history was in Lituya Bay, Canada, nineteen fifty-eight. An earthquake measuring eight point three on the Richter scale

caused fourty million cubic meters of rock to fall into the sea. A wave more than half a kilometer high was created and surged through the bay devastating all in its path. This was not even a mega-tsunami. By these standards it was tiny, but it did show scientists what sort of wave a small landslide could cause. What

would be the affect of a big one? Scientists hunted that world for sites that could potentially cause a mega tsunami. They discovered that at least eleven mega tsunamis had happened in the last two hundred thousand years, caused by island collapses in the Hawaiian and Canary Islands. What they also discovered

is nothing short of shocking. We are be sitting on a time bomb, and sooner or later one will destroy New York, Boston and Miami, and that nothing could dream of stopping it.

 

The Island of La Palma is the most northwesterly island in the Canaries. It is indeed about to collapse. It is volcanic and during an eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in nineteen forty-nine, part of the island slipped about 10 meters into the sea before stopping. Another eruption could cause the western flank of the island to collapse in the Atlantic Ocean. The volcano also erupts like clockwork every fifty to fifty-five years. When the island collapse occurs, it will send a wave of unparalleled force (six hundred trillion joules of kinetic energy) to the Americas, leveling the first 30 miles of the North American coast. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when?

 

When this wave comes surging across the Atlantic, it is my belief, that is will induce the eruption of Yellowstone’s super volcano. Given Newton’s laws of motion, it’s unavoidable. The earth will become off balance, like a vibrating controller we use in our video games. The tectonic plates of earth will shift suddenly causing stress to rise, magma to flow upwards and the cataclysm will begin. This is how it will happen. It’s not a question of if, but when.

[aman]

You are talking probabilities and they could be over many hundreds of years from now. It is more likely built up pressures will be released gradually and small eruptions or landslides will be relieving the pressures. History supports this. To be able to estimate that 2000 people will survive is absurd.

Just aman

[Sayonara]

I like the way he got the same paragraphs into two different posts and nobody noticed.

[aman]

My newspaper here in NE. just had an article about an asteroid hitting the atmosphere over the Mediterranean with the force of the bomb on Hiroshima. They said it was a common occurance but could only usually be detected by the new satellites. It would have been a disaster if it happened over India and Pakistan during the tension.

I think asteroids are our greatest threat.

Just aman

[Guest Noah]

I'd like to take the optimistic view.

 

Gen 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, ==>I will not again curse the ground any more<== for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; ==>neither will I again smite any more every thing living<==, as I have done.

Gen 8:22 ==>While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease<==.

[coquina]

Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it isn't going to happen.....do you have a link to the research on where we got this impact glass......I would like to look it over......as of yet....I'm not convinced we were ever hit by a metear....

 

The latest occurance was in Tunkuska, Siberia, on June 30, 1908. If this had hit a populated area, or the ocean, millions of people would have been killed.

some links:

http://www-th.bo.infn.it/tunguska/

http://geology.about.com/library/weekly/aa080998.htm

 

I live on top of the Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater. Read about it here:

http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/epubs/bolide/

The impact occurred at a time of high sea level at what is now the city of Cape Charles on the Delmarva Peninsula. The resultant tsunami reached the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are 200 miles inland.

 

 

The impact that exterminated the dinorsaurs occured on what is now the Yucatan Peninsula 65 million years ago:

http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/SIC/impact_cratering/Chicxulub/Chicx_title.html

 

More general information on impact craters:

http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/solar_impact_craters.htm

 

Yes - the Canary Islands has the potential to cause a devasting tsunami - so does Hawaii. Yes - there is the hazard of a mega-eruption at Yellowstone.

 

To see what a mega-eruption can do, read about the Deccan Traps in India.

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/europe_west_asia/india/deccan.html

 

All of this just points to the fact that we as individuals, and humans as a species have and probably will only inhabit the earth for a very brief period of time in geological terms - which is measured in millions and billions of years.

 

No one knows the hour or the means of their death - you might get hit by a falling rock, struck by lightning, or die of old age at 100 years plus. Best to make the most of the time you are here.

[RedAlert]

The latest occurance was in Tunkuska' date=' Siberia, on June 30, 1908. If this had hit a populated area, or the ocean, millions of people would have been killed.

some links:

http://www-th.bo.infn.it/tunguska/

http://geology.about.com/library/weekly/aa080998.htm

 

I live on top of the Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater. Read about it here:

http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/epubs/bolide/

The impact occurred at a time of high sea level at what is now the city of Cape Charles on the Delmarva Peninsula. The resultant tsunami reached the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are 200 miles inland.

 

 

The impact that exterminated the dinorsaurs occured on what is now the Yucatan Peninsula 65 million years ago:

http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/SIC/impact_cratering/Chicxulub/Chicx_title.html

 

More general information on impact craters:

http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/solar_impact_craters.htm

 

Yes - the Canary Islands has the potential to cause a devasting tsunami - so does Hawaii. Yes - there is the hazard of a mega-eruption at Yellowstone.

 

To see what a mega-eruption can do, read about the Deccan Traps in India.

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/europe_west_asia/india/deccan.html

 

All of this just points to the fact that we as individuals, and humans as a species have and probably will only inhabit the earth for a very brief period of time in geological terms - which is measured in millions and billions of years.

 

No one knows the hour or the means of their death - you might get hit by a falling rock, struck by lightning, or die of old age at 100 years plus. Best to make the most of the time you are here.[/quote']

 

Are we sure the asteroid that landed in Yucatan was the reason why Dinosaurs died?

 

My personal theory of extinction is that penguins ate up all the t-rex, so all the dinosaurs commited suicide instead of bearing the shame of being eaten up by penguins.

[paleolithic]

hahahaaha

 

My personal theory of extinction is that penguins ate up all the t-rex, so all the dinosaurs commited suicide instead of bearing the shame of being eaten up by penguins.

 

 

Remember when the penquins asassinated kennedy?

[Oceansman]

a Mega-Tsunami from the Canaries is a possibility, rather strong one, though I disagree with this triggering Yellowstone. A mega-tsunami could also be triggered if the frozen methane hydrate deposits on the Atlantic Seaboard Continental shelf of the USA were to escape en masse from their current resting place and release into the atmosphere, which would cause global warming to speed up, but that is a different issue....

[coquina]

a Mega-Tsunami from the Canaries is a possibility, rather strong one, though I disagree with this triggering Yellowstone. A mega-tsunami could also be triggered if the frozen methane hydrate deposits on the Atlantic Seaboard Continental shelf of the USA were to escape en masse from their current resting place and release into the atmosphere, which would cause global warming to speed up, but that is a different issue....

 

Here's a NOAA page about methane hydrates:

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/deepeast01/background/fire/fire.html

 

If you click on the "what lies beneath" icon on the left side, you will be taken to the section which contains this quote:

 

 

An 'Active' Atlantic

 

Scientists once thought that the West Coast of the United States was much more geologically active than the East Coast. In the past few years, however, geologists have discovered that the outer sloping edge of the continental shelf along the East Coast actually has the potential to cave in, or slump. If it caves in too abruptly, it could send destructive tidal waves —tsunamis— toward our coastlines. Imagine how stepping on an overfilled water balloon could cause its sides to bulge and eventually burst. In the same way, rocks on the deep sea floor could place enough pressure on soggy sediments to cause the water to blow out the sides of the continental slope.This could cause an underwater landslide, triggering giant waves. Learn more about submarine slides and tidal waves.

 

Surveys of the East Coast from research submersibles found "slump scars" where the bottom had slid away. We do not know whether these slumps cause tsunamis or tidal waves, but we are able to learn more by analyzing the geological makeup of these sediment layers. I began exploring the depths off the East Coast more than 30 years ago, and reported the first findings of these slump scars. Evidence suggests that these scarring events have happened in the past; some of the scars look fairly recent. Since we now know that some tsunamis can be caused by these slumping events, it makes sense to learn more about the activity of the sea floor just off our coasts. Currently, scientists do not have enough information to envision the possibility of a major tsunami engulfing the Atlantic City Boardwalk, but we do know that the East Coast is not as static as we once thought.

 

If I understand correctly, what causes methane hydrates to stay in place is temperature and pressure. I wonder if this is part of the mechanism that has caused radical climate changes in the past? If the climate starts to cool, more water is locked up in ice and sea level drops. Even though the global temperature is cooling, perhaps the ocean above the continental shelf would become warmer as it become shallower. Could warmer water and less pressure allow the methane hydrate deposits become unstable, allowing them to be released into the atmosphere, and generating slumps and tsunamis?

[Oceansman]

good call on the pressure and temp being what keeps the hydrates stable - I did know that, just blanked on it for some reason.

 

I do believe that if the temperature of the overlying water above the sediment warmed sufficiently it might begin to destabilize, but if the ocean temperature was warming, that probably would go along with a higher sea level due to the ice caps melting faster, which would only lead to a different combination of p & t that would keep the methane hydrates stable, right?

[ctc7752]

The dinosaurs died when one of earth's two moons fell and gouged out the Pacific Basin, cracking the world.

[Mokele]

Wrong. You cannot just pull an idea from your rectal orifice and state it as if it's truth.