The underground volcanic system running underneath Yellowstone is larger and better linked than experts thought, according to a report at the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America.
"We are getting a much better understanding of the volcanic system of Yellowstone," said Jamie Farrell, a graduate student in seismology at the University of Utah.
"The magma reservoir is at least 50 percent larger than previously imaged."
Researchers analyze the volume of molten magma beneath Yellowstone to estimate the size of future eruptions, Farrell added.
But in this new study, experts noticed that the magma chamber is responsible for feeding smaller eruptions and is also the source of the national park's hallmark springs and geysers, according to Bob Smith who is a seismologist at the University of Utah and also the author of a similar study presented at the annual meeting.
"This crustal magma body is a little dimple that creates the uplift," Smith said.
"It's like putting your finger under a rubber membrane and pushing it up and the sides expand."
The new images of the magma chamber were built upon data from nearby earthquakes. Farrell analyzed the changes in the quakes' waves as they move through molten or solid rock to generate the picture of the chamber that is about 37 miles in length, 18 miles wide and 3 to 7 miles deep.
These new findings disprove what experts previously thought about the nature of the chamber, as they believed it was comprised of separate pockets and not one large mass.
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