New research has determined that the Yellowstone supervolcano contains much more magma than previously thought and that it’s flowing much closer to the surface too, ABC News reports.
Mapping the magma chamber through seismic topography, scientists have built a new 3D model of the national park’s volcanic underworld, according to Ross Maguire, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s department of geology and author of the study. “We found that it’s likely that Yellowstone’s crustal magma reservoir holds more melt than previously was thought,” Maguire told ABC News, adding that the shallow melted portion is about 20 percent, up from prior estimates of 5 to 15 percent. Despite the findings, geologists say there’s still no imminent threat of a cataclysmic eruption that would completely fuck the United States, just that it’ll be that much worse if and when the volcano does blow its top.