“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
Jan 18, 2026
LLAW’s Nuclear World News’ Image and/or Lead Story for Today . . .
On My Mind Today:
In case you’re wondering about who the people “East of Idaho” are, but they are the Wyoming people and the rest of the United States and most of the rest of the world all the way back to the eastern Idaho border. I guess nobody else knew that, especially the people of Wyoming.. llolloll!! But still, an interesting story, wherever the headline came from . . .~llaw
Headline: “Massive 6.0 Earthquake EAST of IDAHO has Many People Worried”
News Radio 1310 KLIX
Earthquakes are a topic of fear in the area, as we are often reminded of the dangers of the Yellowstone Caldera.
A Yellowstone National Park Caldera Is “Uplifting” For The First Time In Years
It’s an area bigger than Chicago, and it seems to be inflating. So should we worry?
Dr. Katie Spalding
- Freelance Writer
Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals.
EditedbyLaura Simmons
Yellowstone’s Norris Geyser had been fairly calm since 2020. Until now, that is.
Image credit: Fotogro/Shutterstock.com
With its vibrant technicolor thermal springs, abundant wildlife, and looming apocalyptic threat, Yellowstone is nothing if not cinematic. But not all of the geological phenomena that make the place special are so dramatic.
Take the Norris Uplift Anomaly, for example: an area about 29 kilometers (18 miles) across lying along the north rim of the Yellowstone caldera which, local geologists now confirm, has started “deforming” under their very feet.
So, uh, here’s a question: what does that mean? And, you know… should we worry?
Deformations in the ground
“Yellowstone is a dynamic geologic system – the one constant is change.” So wrote Michael Poland, a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Scientist-in-Charge at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, in a recent update to the Observatory’s regular Caldera Chronicles column.
“This is demonstrated daily by hydrothermal activity manifested in geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and other thermal features,” he wrote. But that’s not all: “even the ground itself moves!”
SPONSORED CONTENT
- A Systematic Review of Community Engagement in the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Extramural R…Tina Yuen, Am J Public Health, 2015
- Histosols in an Upper Montane Environment in the Itatiaia PlateauSoares, Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, 2016
- Changes in breeding phenology and performance of Wood Warblers Phylloscopus sibilatrix in a primeval…Tomasz Wesołowski, Acta Ornithologica, 2009
To geologists and volcanologists, it’s known as “deformation”: the changes in shape of a landscape around a volcano caused by the movement of magma beneath the surface. It’s particularly prevalent in a place like Yellowstone, sitting as it does right on top of a volcanic hotspot – an unusually hot area thought to be fed from magma deep within the Earth.
Explore more from The Vault
Five Times A Tumor Behaved Downright Weird
Is Time An Illusion?
Frozen In Time And In Two Parts: Ted Williams And The Ugly Truth Of Cryonics
“It’s conceptually similar in some sense to what happens when you put a pot of water on your stove,” explained Leif Karlstrom, an earth scientist at the University of Oregon, in a November 2025 video for PBS Terra. “It’s heated from the bottom and cooled from above, and the hotter fluid is less dense, so it rises and it circulates. And that’s what’s going on in the solid earth under our feet all the time.”
This endless churning and motion, when not producing all-out volcanic eruptions, can cause the ground to literally swell and bend. Deformation can manifest as an uplift or inflation, occurring when the pressure under the ground increases for some reason, or subsidence or deflation when it decreases. “These changes can be driven by a variety of processes, like fault motion, accumulation or withdrawal of magma or hydrothermal fluids, and even cooling and contraction of subsurface fluids,” Poland explained.
And, for a long time, it did just that.
The Norris Uplift Anomaly
For nine years between 1996 and 2004, “an area along the north caldera rim, just south of Norris Geyser Basin, uplifted by a total of about 12 centimeters (almost 5 inches),” explained Poland. “This deformation came to be known as the Norris Uplift Anomaly (NUA), and it was thought to be a result of accumulation of magma 14 kilometers (almost 9 miles) beneath the surface.”
Radar interferograms from the 1990s showed a clear ripple pattern in the surface, centered close to the middle of the park; eventually, this pattern dispersed, as various areas in Yellowstone rose or sank with the movement of magma. And, to be fair, this was almost certainly not a new phenomenon: “This sort of activity is probably quite common, but it is only thanks to the technological innovations and expanded monitoring networks of the past few decades that such minor changes can be detected,” wrote Poland.
Four radar interferograms (InSAR data) superimposed on digital terrain showing surface movement at Norris Geyser Basin and Yellowstone Caldera from 1996 to 2003.
Image credit: USGS, public domain
From its swollen peak in 2004, the NUA then spent the next decade or so subsiding, losing more than half of the height it had gained in the previous one. That’s not surprising: “When magma intrudes the crust it cools, crystallizes, and releases gases that had been dissolved in the melt,” explained Dan Dzurisin, emeritus geologist with the USGS, back in 2020. “Gas escape lowers pressure in the magma, causing the surface to subside. That’s probably what was going on.”
But in 2013, the situation flipped again: the area started inflating at the highest rate ever measured in Yellowstone – more than 15 cm (5.9 inches) per year. This was likely due to gas getting trapped under an impermeable layer of rock, resulting in increased upward pressure forcing the ground up at an unprecedented rate.
It didn’t last. In true Yellowstone fashion, the end came swiftly and dramatically, with a magnitude 4.9 earthquake – the largest in the area since the 1970s. For the next 20 months or so, Norris was all subsidence. “It seems likely the quake created microfractures that allowed gases to escape upward again, resulting in subsidence that ended in 2015,” explained Dzurisin.
The ground continued alternately uplifting and subsiding like this – albeit to a less impressive degree – until 2020, when Norris seemed to calm down. “No significant changes occurred after 2020,” Poland wrote. “Until now.”
Return of the NUA
Starting in July last year, GPS stations near Yellowstone caldera started moving again. It wasn’t by much: by September, the ground was only 2 centimeters (0.79 inches) higher than before, and had moved horizontally by half that.
But when scientists checked the interferometry data, it was confirmed: “The pattern of uplift was very similar to that of 1996–2004,” Poland reported. “It was clear. The NUA was back!”
Interferogram created from satellite radar data collected on October 7, 2024, and October 2, 2025, over the Yellowstone region by the Sentinel-1 satellite system.
Image credit: USGS, public domain
It wasn’t just geological movement. The site also saw an uptick in seismic activity, including a “swarm” of more than 100 earthquakes in an area near the NUA – possibly as a response to the stresses of geological movement and increased pressure.
Such an increase in concentrated activity might make you wonder: should we be worried? Is this the start of Yellowstone’s fabled “big one”? And we’re delighted to inform you that, no, everything is fine. The activity seen lately, while noteworthy, is pretty minor overall – certainly nothing compared to the kinds of warning signs we’d get if Yellowstone were about to blow – and in any case, it’s probably very normal for volcanic hotspots like Yellowstone. As Dzurisin pointed out, “What’s different is that we now have the tools to detect and model Yellowstone’s ups and downs better than ever before.”
“For those in the know […] that’s awesome,” he wrote. “Not alarming.”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHEDYesterday
Written by Dr. Katie Spalding
LLAW’s Thoughts, Concerns, and Fears about Today’s Nuclear World and Beyond . . .
Not available ~llaw
An Important Message from:
Lloyd Albert Williams/Pendergraft, Content Creator . . .
This daily blog post will, for the next several issues at least, contains only the daily compiled LLAW’s Nuclear World News Today for an unknown period without comment or critique because my eyesight has quite suddenly become impossible for me to continue. (Google compiles the category lists from news sources for me automatically during the course of a day, so the articles and stories themselves are not a problem to post, although they are often out of category order, which I will do my best to correct each day.)
But, rest assured, I’m not going away — I am doing everything in my power to remedy the problem with my eyes — and I hope to return to a full daily report, including new, stronger and more internationally important commentary, of “All Things Nuclear” as soon as I am physically able . . . ~llaw\
LLAW’s Nuclear World News Today
About Today’s Nuclear News, Files, Categories, and How it Works . . .
There are 7 categories, including a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcano and caldera activity around the world that also play an important role in the survival of human and other life.
The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). If there was no news from a Category today, the Category will not appear. The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
- All Things Nuclear
- Nuclear Power
- Nuclear Power Emergencies
- Nuclear War Threats
- Nuclear War
- Yellowstone Caldera
- IAEA News (Friday’s only) (Not available today)
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
LLAW’s Nuclear World News, Sunday, 01/18/2026
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Ohio bet big on data centers; now it needs the power – cleveland.com
Cleveland.com
“Existing nuclear power plants are the hottest thing in power right now … As a statehouse reporter for Cleveland.com, I write about all things …
Major plumbing headache haunts $13 billion U.S. carrier off the coast of Venezuela | WXPR
WXPR
All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM Northwoods Cafe. 0:00. 0:00. All … A cruise ship has a very different mission from a nuclear-powered warship, …
How Police Chases Became Faster and Smarter (S10, E37) | Modern Marvels | Full Episode
YouTube
… all of your favorite The HISTORY Channel shows at http … things we wonder about and that impact our lives. The HISTORY® Channel …
Nuclear Power
NEWS
Ukraine war briefing: Russia readying strikes on nuclear power system, Zelenskyy warns
The Guardian
… energy sector and infrastructure, including facilities and networks that serve our nuclear power plants. Each such Russian strike on the energy …
Nuclear fusion seems hot right now — but how close is fusion power? | CBC Climate Change News
CBC
Nuclear fusion milestones from Canada’s General Fusion and China’s EAST reactor have caused a buzz over this potentially limitless, clean energy …
Wyoming Or The Moon: Which Gets A Working Nuclear Reactor First? | Cowboy State Daily
Cowboy State Daily
NASA and the Department of Energy signed an agreement earlier this week committing to put a nuclear reactor on the moon in 2030, the same year…
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
Ukraine war briefing: Russia readying strikes on nuclear power system, Zelenskyy warns
The Guardian
… emergency repairs on coal and nuclear power plants. “In addition we have received over 2,000 solar panels, various equipment and machinery from …
Zelenskyy says Russia taking aim at Ukraine’s nuclear power stations – Euronews.com
Euronews.com
Zelenskyy says the Kremlin is gearing up to carry out a major offensive targeting Ukraine’s nuclear power system, in what would deal a major blow …
Russian Officials Blame Ukraine for Power Cuts in Occupied South – The Moscow Times
The Moscow Times
He later said that emergency repair work had restored power. Russia … nuclear power plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday.
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
In Iran crisis, Trump confronted limits of U.S. military power – The Washington Post
The Washington Post
… warfare and threats to the 30,000 U.S. troops in the Middle East — not like the “one and done” operations he has ordered to destroy alleged drug …
First US cities that would be targeted if World War 3 breaks out – LADbible
LADbible
Following Donald Trump’s seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, US claims about annexing Greenland and threats … If nuclear war were to …
How to stay alive if WW3 breaks out as Russia tells UK ‘you will be finished’ – The Mirror
The Mirror
READ MORE: Russia sends terrifying nuclear WW3 threat to UK – ‘You will … nuclear attack. But is it really possible to survive the …
Nuclear War
NEWS
Ukraine war briefing: Russia readying strikes on nuclear power system, Zelenskyy warns
The Guardian
Kyrylo Budanov arrives in US heading delegation for further talks on peace proposals. What we know on day 1425.
UNILAD
While these tensions have sparked fears of World War 3, the idea of bombs, especially nuclear bombs, being dropped on the US remains a far-off idea in …
World Records Biggest Ever Lull in Nuclear Tests Since 1945 | WION News – YouTube
YouTube
… nuclear #russia #china #usa #trump #pakistan #wion About Channel … US Nuclear War Simulation in REALTIME!!! Modern Muscle•1.5M views · 14:16.
Yellowstone Caldera
NEWS
A Yellowstone National Park Caldera Is “Uplifting” For The First Time In Years – IFLScience
IFLScience
Take the Norris Uplift Anomaly, for example: an area about 29 kilometers (18 miles) across lying along the north rim of the Yellowstone caldera which, …
Massive 6.0 Earthquake East of Idaho Has Many People Worried
News Radio 1310 KLIX
Earthquakes are a topic of fear in the area, as we are often reminded of the dangers of the Yellowstone Caldera.
Marapi Volcano (Indonesia) Activity Update Jan 16, 2026 – Continuing Eruption
Volcano Discovery
List and interactive map of current and past earthquakes near Yellowstone volcano. … Climb some of its most interesting and active volcanoes of Java: …
Thanks for reading LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.