Volcanologist and Yellowstone volcano expert Clive Oppenheimer argued that a super eruption is unlikely. In an interview with Express.co.uk, he said the danger is big and small steam explosions. He said it was much more than a massive eruption.
Mr Oppenheimer said: ‘Well, there are many potential scenarios for a future eruption at Yellowstone Volcano.
“The one that people get excited about and want to be about is the chance of a colossal eruption, which we can call a super eruption, but it’s a very rare event.
“Its probability is extremely low, probably less than 1 in a million per year.
“But what’s more likely are smaller events, because there’s a whole range of things volcanoes can do.”
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Mr Oppenheimer reflected on the other dangers that the Yellowstone volcano could cause and things that people should be more concerned about.
He said: ‘One of the most likely scenarios at Yellowstone is small steam explosions.
‘We all know of the famous geysers there and now and then when the water flashes to steam harder, it can blow out rock and make a crater ten to a hundred meters across.
“These are far more likely events than things at the end of the scale.”
“This is almost beyond the concern of hazard assessment, unless there is some kind of indication that the volcano will be preparing for a very large event in the future.”
Mr Oppenheimer also took note of the ways in which volcanologists measure the dangers associated with the volcano.
As for a super eruption, however, he insisted that there was not a significant amount of data to accurately predict when a major eruption would occur.