NASA intends to drill through super volcanic hearts to prevent disaster

Scientists are studying super-volcanic eruptions to create a climate disaster for the world in the $ 4.5 billion project.

The US Aerospace Agency (NASA) intends to drill deep into one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes under Yellowstone National Park in the US, the Independent on August 19 reported. They will use high-pressure water jets to cool volcanoes, release heat from magma chambers and prevent volcanic eruptions.

NASA's plan is to drill about 10km deep in Yellowstone and pump water through it. The cost of the project is 4.5 billion USD. In the future, a geothermal plant can be built to harness energy.

Morning Glory hot spring in Yellowstone National Park.(Photo: Independent).

However, ultra-volcanic drilling has many potential dangers, according to scientist Brian Wilcox at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology.

"If you drill into the top of the magma chamber and try to cool it from there, this method is very risky. The arch of the magma chamber may become more brittle and easier to crack. The toxic gas in magma at the top of the chamber can be freed, " BBC quoted Wilcox.

According to Wilcox, the threat from super volcanoes is much larger than asteroids or comets. A super volcanic eruption can have a long-term impact on the planet, including world-wide famine and large amounts of sulfur dioxide released into the atmosphere. The United Nations estimates that global food reserves are only enough to supply for 74 days.

The biggest threat is the ash blown by the wind."People live in the opposite direction from the volcanic eruption to pay attention," said Larry Mastin, a volcanologist at the US Geological Survey (USGS). Large eruptions can create an umbrella-shaped cloud that makes ash fly more than half the continent.

According to USGS, the Yellowstone volcano will not erupt for centuries to come. However, Yellowstone's spraying cycle was 600,000 years and the last time this volcano erupted was 640,000 years ago.