A new hidden volcanic activity hotspot has been discovered on Earth: where the danger lies (photos included).

In July 2024, scientists recorded an explosion at the Doomsday Volcano, located in Yellowstone National Park, USA. Researchers now believe that this area may become a new site of volcanic activity: results from a recent study indicate that the magma reservoirs feeding the wild eruptions of the supervolcano appear to be shifting northeast of the Yellowstone caldera, reports Science Alert.

The new study was conducted by a team led by seismologist Ninfa Bennington from the U.S. Geological Survey. The authors of the study assert that the future site of rhyolitic volcanism has likely shifted northeast of the Yellowstone caldera. The scientists reached these conclusions based on the volume of rhyolitic melt stored beneath the northeastern part of the caldera.

Researchers also found that over the past 160,000 years, post-caldera rhyolitic volcanism has actually occurred over much of the Yellowstone caldera, with the exception of this northeastern region.

It is noteworthy that Yellowstone is one of the largest supervolcanoes on the planet. Researchers consider this region to be both complex and dynamic—it's stunningly beautiful yet extremely dangerous. Previous studies have already shown that over the past 2 million years, Yellowstone has experienced three major eruptions that formed the caldera—eruptions that create bowl-shaped depressions on the planet's surface when the underground magma chamber is emptied. Researchers have also found that these major eruptions were interspersed with smaller ones.

It is known that caldera-forming eruptions in Yellowstone originate from rhyolitic melt reservoirs. This silica-rich magma, the volcanic equivalent of granite, is sticky, viscous, and moves slowly, and is believed to be stored in vast quantities beneath the Yellowstone region.

Previous studies suggested that rhyolitic reservoirs are supported by deeper basaltic magma reservoirs. It should be noted that this molten material contains significantly less silica than rhyolite but is also rich in iron and magnesium. It is also less viscous than rhyolite and denser.

In the new study, Bennington and colleagues utilized these differences to investigate the contents of the magma reservoir beneath the Yellowstone Plateau. One method of monitoring activity beneath the Earth's surface involves measuring surface changes in the planet's magnetic and electric fields. The team conducted a large-scale magnetotelluric survey in the Yellowstone caldera and then used the data to model the distribution of melt reservoirs.

The scientists' results indicate that there are at least seven separate areas with high magma content, some of which feed others, at depths ranging from 4 to 47 kilometers underground—up to the boundary between the Earth's crust and mantle.

The researchers discovered that the most intriguing storage area is located in the northeastern part of the region. Here, vast reservoirs of basaltic magma heat and support the rhyolitic magma chambers in the upper crust. These rhyolitic magma chambers are believed to contain a melt storage volume of approximately 388–489 cubic kilometers.

Unfortunately, according to the scientists, the exact timing and manner of these future eruptions will require further analysis.