Survival Scoop

The Vision by Debi Pearl -- Fiction set in Reality

Debi Pearl's latest literary work is entitled The Vision (ISBN: 978-0-9819737-0-8). A dramatic work of fiction, The Vision follows its main characters as they devote themselves to a controversial mission amid community disruption, political upheaval and environmental concerns.

 

The largest environmental concern is a probable eruption of Yellowstone. Some may think that asking readers to accept this possibility may be asking too much. This thinking is corrected when one realizes that Yellowstone is classified as a super volcano and may be due for an eruption.

 

The US Yellowstone National Park is located on a caldera. A bowl-shaped depression in the earth, calderas cover molten lava near the surface of the earth. Roughly three miles below the surface of Yellowstone's caldera, earthquakes are focused.

 

Yellowstone's size and its dormancy qualify it as a super volcano.

 

According to Bill McGuire of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre, a professor at the University of London, a super eruption is "a volcanic explosion big enough to dwarf all others and with a reach great enough to affect everyone on the planet."

 

Exploding every second, it would take 1,000 atomic bombs to equal the force of a super-volcano's eruption. The volcanic crater of Yellowstone is so large that Tokyo (the world's largest city) could fit inside.

 

According to geologists, an eruption takes place every 600,000 to 700,000 years. By their calculations, the last massive eruption took place six hundred and forty thousand years ago. Said differently, Yellowstone could erupt any time within a few thousand years.

 

Estimations are that within a six hundred mile radius, there would be widespread death to both humans and animals (90%) if Yellowstone blew. Deadly ash, inhaled by survivors, would turn to mud in lungs, claiming lives of many throughout the United States. Not only humans, but livestock would succumb, leading to food shortages.

 

Transportation would screech to a halt. While temporary, planes would be grounded and railroads halted along with other means of travel.

 

Particulate matter would be spewed into the atmosphere with the force of the blast. There they would become sharp, jagged bits of rock and glass. An immediate result of this cloud of matter would be that day would turn to twilight or thick darkness. Lightening would flash while thunder sounded and an odor of sulfur would permeate for hundreds of miles. Sounds would be muffled while the thunder rumbled across an unnaturally quieted area. For the next twelve to sixty hours, ash would continue to fall heavily. On average, the weight of a foot of firmly packed ash could cause rooftops to collapse.

 

Clouds seeded by volcanic material would yield unseasonable rains, creating a slimy residue on all surfaces. This rainfall would produce dangerous mudflows. Contamination would plague drinking water. Roadways would become slick and clogged engines would fail. Electric power would likely be interrupted as power-stations also deal with engine failures.

 

 

For several weeks or even years, the layer of ash that had settled could be stirred up by human activity. Masks would be required to prevent the inhalation of ash into air passages. The diminished air quality would lead to compromised health among the surviving population. There would be widespread crop failure and depletion of vegetation.

 

Sunshine would be muted because of the matter in the upper atmosphere. Europe's skies would be red within days of the eruption. Two to three weeks later, Yellowstone's sulfuric acid cloud would blanket the earth. There would be a global cooling of the climate resulting from the sulfur released into the atmosphere. Normal temps might not begin to return for six years to a decade later.

 

Scientists also believe that the monsoons would not occur because of changes in the temperature in the southern hemisphere. This lack of rain would result in widespread food shortages for Asia.

 

Yellowstone National Park scientists believe that there will be plenty of warning -- weeks or even years -- before such an event. "If the park were poised for a major eruption, the signs wouldn't be subtle," stated Hank Heasler, park geologist.

 

The Vision, by Debi Pearl, is a fictional account. Yet, regarding the super-volcano of Yellowstone, there is some unsettling reality.