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Monkey Dell: Is there any chance that the energy/power from the magma chamber can be absorbed or redirected in any way? Can that sort of technology be developed? Could the magma chamber ever be used as an energy source?
Hank: The energy from the magma chamber is basically thermal, or heat. It's an immense amount of heat. That is easily seen by the over 10,000 thermal features we have in the park. I cannot even conceive of a way to begin to redirect the heat of the magma chamber. However, if we were to drill on the surface, we could affect the heat transfer to the geysers, thus capturing heat for power development; but again, sadly, destroying the geysers. This would not affect in any way the heat coming from the very large partially molten magma chamber.

Paige: What is the worst volcanic eruption humans have ever experienced? And how does that compare to the force of a "Supervolcano" eruption, like the one at Yellowstone 2.1 million years ago?
Jake: The worst that humans have experienced would be the Toba eruption 74,000 years ago, which was similar to the Yellowstone eruption 2.1 million years ago. The largest recent eruption was at Tambora, also in Indonesia, in 1815. It was far, far smaller than Toba and the early Yellowstone eruption, but caused some global effects on climate and also caused many, many deaths.

MI Caldera: Jake, out of curiosity, about how much time would it take for all the airborne particulate matter from a supervolcano-sized eruption take to precipitate out of the atmosphere?
Jake: It depends on the size of the particles. Most particles would be out of the atmosphere in weeks, but small aerosols could remain in the atmosphere for longer periods of time.

Mark: Is it true that all of the geothermal sites at Yellowstone National Park, like the Old Faithful geyser, are fueled by the same underground magma chamber that could someday cause a massive eruption?
Hank: The simple answer is yes, but the devil is in the details. Exactly how that magma chamber fuels each individual geyser basin and then each individual thermal feature is extremely complex and only partially understood. But yes, the underlying heat source for all the fantastic thermal features is the magma chamber.

Howard: Major volcanic eruptions are destructive, but are there positive benefits for humans and the planet at large by periodic eruptions, even major eruptions the likes of which modern humans have never experienced?
Jake: The earth is regenerated by growth of new land, and that occurs at volcanoes. The Hawaiian Islands are volcanoes, and most people would agree that we're glad to be able to visit Hawaii! Other volcanic eruptions create new soils that are rich with nutrients for agriculture.

Discovery: Thanks for a wonderful chat! Unfortunately, we are almost out of time. Do you have any parting words for us?
Jake: Thanks for listening. We hope you were able to learn a lot about geology and volcanology and the fascinating world of science at Yellowstone.
Hank: I'd like to thank all the chatters for the opportunity to discuss the fascinating science at Yellowstone, but also to let you know that Yellowstone National Park is open. Come and observe it. It's a beautiful, fascinating, and ever-changing place, and all those attributes are due to the Yellowstone volcano.

Discovery: Thank you for joining our live chat. We will post a full transcript of the chat here at Discovery.com in the coming days.

Discovery: "Supervolcano" re-airs Saturday, April 16 at 8PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel.

Discovery: A Production of LiveWorld. Copyright 2005. All Rights Reserved.