"Revealing the Timing of Yellowstone's Lava Flows"
Recent research using 40Ar/39Ar geochronology has revealed that Yellowstone's intracaldera rhyolite eruptions, occurring over the past 160,000 years, were more dramatic than previously believed. The study found that these eruptions occurred in five brief episodes, involving multiple eruptions spread over several kilometers to tens of kilometers, with each episode lasting a maximum of 400 years. The results suggest that intracaldera eruptions can involve multiple simultaneous eruptions and are less frequent than previously thought, shedding new light on the volcanic activity at Yellowstone.