Yellowstone: Study shows volcanoes may be ‘waning in intensity’
Yellowstone volcano eruptions have long served as a central theme of disaster films, with America's largest volcano posing a calamitous threat should it ever blow its top. Yellowstone has erupted twice before, and people claim the mountain is "overdue" another.
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What would happen if Yellowstone volcano erupted?
Yellowstone volcano, otherwise known as the Yellowstone Caldera, is located in Wyoming at the Yellowstone National Park.
The site is currently home to diverse wildlife - including the US' largest bison population - and unique geological processes such as hot springs.
Roughly four million visitors visit every year, in part because the prehistoric volcano is the biggest in the US.
READ MORE: Yellowstone volcano: Earthquake swarm strikes National Park
The caldera is enormous, spanning 31 by 43 miles, and if it erupted would have worldwide ramifications.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), an eruption would produce a range of effects.
These would cause both regional and global calamities, one of which could cause a new ice age.
The USGS said: "If another large, caldera-forming eruption were to occur at Yellowstone, its effects would be worldwide."
"Such a giant eruption would have regional effects such as falling ash and short-term (years to decades) changes to global climate.
"Those parts of the surrounding states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming that are closest to Yellowstone would be affected by pyroclastic flows, while other places in the United States would be impacted by falling ash (the amount of ash would decrease with distance from the eruption site)."
Scientists believe Yellowstone may have caused the last ice age, and another eruption could cause global temperatures to plummet by 21C.
The changes could pursue for years, causing mass extinctions of both plants and animals, eventually making life nearly impossible for humans.
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Yellowstone volcano is an unpredictable presence in the US, with frequent earthquakes rocking the site.
However, scientists have rubbished predictions the site is "overdue" for an eruption, noting its geology does not follow a schedule.
The volcano last erupted 631,000 years ago, and before then, 1.3 million years ago, putting roughly 725,000 years between each eruption.
As such, the USGS said another eruption is unlikely for 100,000 years, but it may have already had its last hurrah.
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The USGS said: "Although another catastrophic eruption at Yellowstone is possible, scientists are not convinced that one will ever happen.
"The rhyolite magma chamber beneath Yellowstone is only 5-15% molten (the rest is solidified but still hot), so it is unclear if there is even enough magma beneath the caldera to feed an eruption.
They added a cataclysmic event is not guaranteed, as eruptions often range in severity.
They said: "If Yellowstone does erupt again, it need not be a large eruption. The most recent volcanic eruption at Yellowstone was a lava flow that occurred 70,000 years ago."