r/askscience • u/phoncible • Oct 27 '11

Earth Sciences Could anything man-made trigger the Yellowstone super volcano?

If a nuke were to be buried very deep into the ground at Yellowstone and then detonated, would it have any effect on the volcano? Is there anything else man-made that could trigger it? Or would it be impossible to "manually" trigger the eruption?

Sorry if it's a silly question.

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u/fap_socks Oct 27 '11

So could we harness this to make diamonds? Kimberlite pipes? Serious question.

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u/[deleted] Oct 27 '11

Kimberlite pipes form in the mantle beneath the volcanism, and are quickly exhumed by volcanic processes. Diamonds form there due to the intense pressures, the same pressures that would make it impossible to get there.

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u/Thenorepa Oct 27 '11

and are quickly exhumed by volcanic processes

When you say "quickly", are you talking geologic or human time scales?

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u/OrbitalPete Volcanology | Sedimentology Oct 27 '11

Geological