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Departing Yellowstone spokesman reflects on decade tackling park’s tough issues

Al Nash has left the National Park Service after 9 years as the spokesman for Yellowstone National Park.

One of the first things Al Nash can remember about Yellowstone National Park is the smell. "I remember how stinky it was—that sulfur smell," Nash said, recalling a trip to Yellowstone with his parents when he was a young child, more than 50 years ago. "I remember my mom shooing my sister and I into the car while my dad was trying to get a photo of a black bear in a pull-out," he said. Those early Yellowstone memories came flooding back this month as Nash, the chief of public affairs for Yellowstone since 2006, reflected on nearly a decade in that role just before his last day on the job March 18. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone supervolcano more active but ‘less super’ than previously thought

Aurum Geyser is one of many thermal features in Yellowstone National Park powered by geologic forces active since the first Yellowstone supervolacno eruptions, dating back millions of years. (Janet White - click to enlarge)

A new technique for dating rocks produced in volcanic eruptions indicates that the Yellowstone supervolcano was more active than previously thought, but also bit less super. Researchers have just published the findings of a study that suggests a Yellowstone supervolcano eruption believed to have happened 2 million years ago was in fact two separate eruptions separated by at least 6,000 years. The discovery could require geologists studying the Yellowstone supervolcano and other similar sites to recalibrate their geologic clocks a bit, while also offering a better idea of what the future holds for the still-active region around Yellowstone National Park. Continue Reading →

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