Posted on 03/22/2004 9:07:53 AM PST by cogitator
Those of you who have "followed" the Geology Pictures of the Week may know that, one, Yellowstone National Park is one of my favorite places on Earth, and two, the Stromboli On-Line site is one of the best sources for high quality, volcanologically related pictures and media anywhere on the Web.
Put the two together and you've got a winner. The best part of this site is the geyser videos; the photography is actually a tad sparse, but I've picked a nice one below. Click the linked article above to go to the site and enjoy!
Norris Geyser Basin
On second thought, the picture below is my favorite:
Castle Geyser at sunset
Last I heard was that the Norris Basin had been closed due to geothermal "abnormalities".
Do you know if that's still the case?
Scientists closely monitoring Yellowstone
Recent eruptions, 200 degree ground temperatures, bulging magma and 84 degree water temperatures prompt heightened scrutiny of park's geothermal activity
BILLINGS, Mont. -- Yellowstone National Park happens to be on top of one of the largest “super volcanoes” in the world. Geologists claim the Yellowstone Park area has been on a regular eruption cycle of 600,000 years. The last eruption was 640,000 years ago making the next one long overdue. This next eruption could be 2,500 times the size of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. Volcanologists have been tracking the movement of magma under the park and have calculated that, in parts of Yellowstone, the ground has risen over seventy centimeters this century.
In July, 2003, Yellowstone Park rangers closed the entire Norris Geyser Basin because of deformation of the land and excessive high ground temperatures. There is an area that is 28 miles long by 7 miles wide that has bulged upward over five inches since 1996, and this year the ground temperature on that bulge has reached over 200 degrees (measured one inch below ground level).
There was no choice but to close off the entire area. Everything in this area is dying: The trees, flowers, grass and shrubs. A dead zone is developing and spreading outward. The animals are literally migrating out of the park.
Then during the last part of July one of the Park geologists discovered a huge bulge at the bottom of Yellowstone Lake. The bulge has already risen over 100 feet from the bottom of the lake and the water temperature at the surface of the bulge has reached 88 degrees and is still rising.
Keep in mind that Yellowstone Lake is a high mountain lake with very cold water temperatures. The Lake is now closed to the public. It is filled with dead fish floating everywhere. The same is true of the Yellowstone river and most of the other streams in the Park. Dead and dying fish are filling the water everywhere.
Many of the picnic areas in the Park have been closed and people visiting the Park usually stay but a few hours before leaving since the stench of sulfur is so strong they literally can't stand the smell.
The irony of all this is the silence by the news media and our government. Very little information is available from Yellowstone personnel or publications. What mainstream newsstories do appear underscore the likelihood of a massive volcanic eruption. Though geologists publicly admit Yellowstone is “overdue,” they have been quoted as stating another massive magma release may not occur for 100,000 or 2 million years. Others close to the story are convinced that a massive eruption is imminent. A source that has demonstrated first-hand knowledge of the park's history and recent geothermal events stated the following: “The American people are not being told that the explosion of this 'super volcano' could happen at any moment. When Yellowstone does blow, some geologists predict that every living thing within six hundred miles is likely to die. The movement of magma has been detected just three-tenths of a mile below the bulging surface of the ground in Yellowstone raising concerns that this super volcano may erupt soon.”
***
I'm an enthusiast, but I wouldn't say that I'm geologically knowledgeable about the current state of affairs. From my visits, I did learn that every autumn, there seems to be a geothermal disturbance with its most noticeable effects around Norris Geyser Basin. This apparently had some significant effects in the last couple of years (one notable one being a renewed cycle of activity for Steamboat Geyser, the world's largest geyser).
The other facts are these: the magma chamber below Yellowstone is active, and there has been uplift observed around the park. One of the most noteworthy examples of that is where the Yellowstone River exits the lake; the uplift has created a series of rapids (Le Hardy Rapids) that the cutthroat trout (which migrate into Yellowstone Lake much like salmon migrate out of the oceans back into rivers) have more difficulty navigating. This has been going on since 1923; more recently there has been a little bit of subsidence (lowering of the surface). Geologists say that this merely indicates that the magma chamber below Yellowstone is active.
When you look at the eruption data, Yellowstone is "due" for a major eruption, but that could probably be said for the next 20,000 years without any significant volcanic activity! Until something really major happens, suffice it to say that Yellowstone is a geothermally active area. And that makes it an amazing place.
PORTIONS OF NORRIS GEYSER BASIN TO REOPEN TO PUBLIC
Note that this press release refers to the "annual disturbance" that I referred to in earlier replies (see above). I thought that it normally occurred in autumn, but the press release indicates that last year's disturbance was "larger and longer than normal", which could also indicated it started earlier than usual.
One thing about the "annual disturbance" -- it sometimes causes Steamboat Geyser to erupt. Here's more on the 2003 disturbance, including the Steamboat eruptions:
I wish I could go to Yellowstone every year!
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