“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
Feb 13, 2026
LLAW’s Nuclear World News’ Image & Lead Story Today . . .
The bulge is the size of Chicago city [stock](Image: Getty Images)
Yellowstone’s supervolcano is creating a 19-mile bulge – and it’s still rising
The bulge the size of Chicago has sparked fears it could erupt – but one scientist insists there are no major concerns yet, even as he keeps a watchful eye on its movements
22:57, 12 Feb 2026Updated 06:43, 13 Feb 2026
Yellowstone Park is a volatile landscape [stock](Image: Getty Images/500px)
A colossal bulge the size of 279 football fields has surged up inside Yellowstone National Park, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
The vast swell, which stretches roughly 19 miles across near the northern rim of the Yellowstone Caldera by Gibbon Falls, has lifted by an inch since last July. Its movement has reignited talk about the park’s slumbering supervolcano and whether it could be stirring beneath the surface.
But the man watching it says there’s no sign of an impending blast anytime soon. Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, is closely tracking the growing dome.
Yellowstone has between 1,500 and 2,500 earthquakes a year [stock](Image: Getty Images/Westend61)
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“It’s an area over 19 miles across, give or take a few miles. Saying the uplift is the size of Chicago makes it sound incredibly grandiose, but I think it’s pretty stunning even if it’s not particularly unusual,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is one of the most volatile landscapes on the planet, fuelled by constant volcanic, geothermal and hydrothermal forces that power its world-famous geysers and boiling hot springs.
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So is this giant underground swell a warning that the supervolcano in northwest Wyoming is about to blow? “That doesn’t mean that the volcano is about to erupt,” he said. “It’s Yellowstone being Yellowstone.”
Ground deformation like this has happened before, with similar uplift episodes recorded between 1996 and 2000, and again in 2004 and 2020.
The bulge is the size of Chicago city [stock](Image: Getty Images)
What’s different now is the technology. Scientists can monitor the changes in real time using satellites, radar and a network of GPS stations dotted across the park and surrounding region.
The result is a detailed map showing the bulge slowly expanding beneath the surface. “It’s a measure of how advanced our monitoring networks have gotten, and their sensitivity in detecting these small changes,” he said. “That’s the story of the year for me.”
Mike compared the phenomenon to inflating a giant balloon underground, which would be far too slow for visitors to notice, but clearly visible on scientific instruments.
“We can see things that are moving up and away from this area of uplift on radar maps and satellites we use to measure this sort of thing,” he said. “We’ve got 17 GPS stations in Yellowstone, and many more in the surrounding area, and they could pinpoint exactly when this uplift started.”
Despite the dramatic imagery, earthquake numbers have actually been low. Yellowstone typically experiences between 1,500 and 2,500 quakes each year. However, just 1,119 were recorded last year.
The expert said: “That’s on the very low end of normal. The average range is 1,500 to 2,500 earthquakes in Yellowstone every year. This is the second straight year we’ve been at the very low end of the typical range.”
“We’re not really seeing other indications of anything to be concerned about. The difference here at Yellowstone is that a lot of the small earthquakes are driven by water interacting with minor tectonic faults. Water moving around causes those faults to move in small ways, giving you smaller magnitude earthquakes.”
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Notice: A link to this story is also available in LLAW’s Nuclear World News, Friday, 02/13/2026, below . . .
Yellowstone Caldera
NEWS
Yellowstone’s supervolcano is creating a 19-mile bulge – and it’s still rising – Daily Star
Daily Star
Yellowstone’s supervolcano is creating a 19-mile bulge – and it’s still rising · The bulge the size of Chicago has sparked fears it could erupt – but …
LLAW’s Thoughts, Concerns, and Fears about Today’s Nuclear World and Beyond . . .
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything about Yellowstone, so I decided this surprising article might be a well, or more than well, story as today’s lead story. Let us hope that this is simply just a unusual aberration to the caldera and will eventually collapse back into where it came from. But, a growing bulge the size of a city like Chicago offers good reason to sit up straight and take notice! ~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)
A 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, Friday, 02/13/2026
All Things Nuclear
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U.S. accuses China of secret nuclear testing | WGLT
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… All Things Considered. Next Up: 5:30 PM Marketplace. 0:00. 0:00. All Things … The U.S. has accused China of planning nuclear tests and conducting at …
Vladimir Putin is trapped in a war he cannot win but dare not end – Atlantic Council
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… all things Russian. As a result, the entire notion of a pro-Kremlin … Russia’s recent delivery of nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles to Belarus is a …
How U.S. sanctions played into the protests in IRan – NPR
NPR
How U.S. sanctions played into the protests in IRan. February 12, 20265:36 PM ET. Heard on All Things Considered … nuclear ambitions. Instead of …
Nuclear Power
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America’s nuclear comeback is finally here – The Hill
The Hill
Repurposing surplus plutonium into advanced reactor fuel reduces a national security liability while producing domestic energy, skilled jobs and fuel …
America’s rebirth of nuclear power includes major expansion plans for Ohio Cold War plant
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U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright is leading the charge for America’s “Nuclear Renaissance,” a massive push for America’s new nuclear–powered …
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Over the past couple of years, there’s been a shift in sentiment toward nuclear energy to meet the huge electricity demands of artificial …
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
President Lee Jae Myung Reverses Nuclear Phase-Out Policy
chosun.com
… power from nuclear powerhouse France in emergencies, South Korea under the Moon administration was practically the leader. While it is …
Nuclear War Threats
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WW3 fears as Putin ally names ‘evil’ capitals under threat of ‘massive nuclear attacks’
The Daily Express
WW3 fears as Putin ally names ‘evil’ capitals under threat of ‘massive nuclear attacks’. Putin ally Karaganov threatened nuclear strikes on Europe …
Ukraine war latest: Hypersonic missiles planned for UK in £400m package – as Russia … – Sky News
Sky News
The nuclear-capable, hypersonic missile was launched … The UK is to double the number of troops based in Norway over the ‘threat‘ from Russia …
Support for Preventing the Accidental, Mistaken, or Unauthorized Use of a Nuclear Weapon
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)
… nuclear weapons in a moment of crisis is growing. The incorporation of artificial intelligence into attack warning systems, threat assessments …
Nuclear War
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As Diplomats Talk, Pentagon Prepares for Possible War With Iran – The New York Times
The New York Times
When President Trump threatened last month to strike Iran if its government did not agree to a deal to curb its nuclear program, the Pentagon was in a …
Russia pushes back hard against prospect of US-built nuclear plant in Armenia | Reuters
Reuters
Israel and Hamas at War · Japan · Middle East · Ukraine and Russia at War … MOSCOW, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Senior Russian officials have challenged the …
US readying another aircraft carrier for Middle East deployment: Trump – Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
The US joined the Israeli campaign and bombed three of Iran’s nuclear facilities before a ceasefire was reached. Trump has said that the US attack “ …
Yellowstone Caldera
NEWS
Yellowstone’s supervolcano is creating a 19-mile bulge – and it’s still rising – Daily Star
Daily Star
Yellowstone’s supervolcano is creating a 19-mile bulge – and it’s still rising · The bulge the size of Chicago has sparked fears it could erupt – but …
Weekly Roundup of News from iaea.org
02/13/2026
From strengthening cancer care to ensuring safe reactor operations and outlining future cooperation in nuclear fields — read the top news and updates published on IAEA.org this week.
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Togo Signs its Second Country Programme Framework for 2026-2031
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