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Re:Nasa’s ambitious plan to save Earth from a supervolcano by make3 on Tuesday October 31, 2017 @09:01PM (#15598156)
what are the chances of smaller, non death of all mankind leaks that would damage the data center? likely higher than elsewhere, no? so that wouldn't an be amazing risk profile
Re:Nasa’s ambitious plan to save Earth from a supervolcano by Bluestrike2 on Tuesday October 31, 2017 @10:53PM (#15598510)
You wouldn't build a datacenter directly on top of the supervolcano. It's in a national park, after all. Any sort of relatively minor incidents from the geothermal plant wouldn't affect datacenters located outside the park (and they could be a few hundred miles away, if need be). The degree of devastation from an eruption would be so great that the normal risks associated with "hey, build sort of near a volcano" don't really apply in the traditional sense.
Re:Nasa’s ambitious plan to save Earth from a supervolcano by knodi123 on Tuesday October 31, 2017 @10:58PM (#15598525)
> what are the chances of smaller, non death of all mankind leaks that would damage the data center?

I think it depends on the type of volcano. There's some volcanoes that only go boom, and some that only go ooze, and some that are in the middle. And, IIRC, yellowstone is one that's big-boom or nuthin'. But it's been a while since sophomore geology class.

Re:Nasa’s ambitious plan to save Earth from a supervolcano by PhasmaFelis on Wednesday November 01, 2017 @03:25AM (#15599391)
My understanding is that getting a minor eruption from Yellowstone is kind of like trying to poke just a small hole in an inflated balloon. With the pressure down there, a leak of any size is going to expand catastrophically.
Re:Nasa’s ambitious plan to save Earth from a supervolcano by logfromblammo on Wednesday November 01, 2017 @11:01AM (#15601725)
If you poke the hole in the correct place, the balloon does not pop. To be specific, that place is in the neck of the balloon, where the skin is thickest after being inflated. Alternately, stick a piece of tape over the balloon, and poke a hole through that. Or pinch the balloon at the antipode from the neck, poke a hollow needle through the fold, and leave the needle in place.

There is always a way to bleed off pressure relatively safely. There is not always a way to do it without bankrupting your entire economy. I don't even know how those balloon solutions translate to geology, but they feel like they could be expensive--from tens of billions to trillions of dollars.

Re:Nasa’s ambitious plan to save Earth from a supervolcano by lostapathy on Tuesday October 31, 2017 @11:57PM (#15598704)
One way or another, Warren Buffett will figure out a way to sell insurance that covers the actual data center. You'd definitely want to be setup with multi-availability zones just in case it does go.
Re:Nasa’s ambitious plan to save Earth from a supervolcano by jopsen on Wednesday November 01, 2017 @12:41AM (#15598823)
One on each side of the volcano why not :)