Yellowstone Volcano Observatory
News
Discovery of Ancient Super-eruptions Suggests the Yellowstone Hotspot May Be Waning
Explosive super eruptions are among the most extreme events to affect the Earth’s surface. Thankfully, humans have not experienced such an event in recorded history (the last massive volcanic explosion was 26,500 years ago). The only clues to help us better understand super eruptions and their impacts are hiding within the geological record—including along the track of the Yellowstone hotspot...
Gases released from Yellowstone volcano provides clues to Earth's formation
With oceans covering over 70% of Earth's surface and an atmosphere rich in volatile elements (carbon, nitrogen and oxygen), Earth has seemingly always provided the perfect environment for life to develop in the Solar System. But how and when did these volatiles arrive on the planet? It turns out, the answer lies buried thousands of kilometers deep below Yellowstone National Park.
Jim Bridger: Yellowstone’s Spinner of Tall Tales
The American West is a land filled with tales of adventure and discovery. Countless stories of brave frontiersman and frontierswoman are still told around the campfire today. But the stories of one mountain man stand out among the rest. A spinner of tall tales and a man of mystery, James Felix “Jim” Bridger conquered the Rocky Mountain region and lived to tell the tale.
YVO welcomes Montana State University to the team!
Since 2013, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory has been a consortium of 8 institutions—a mix of state and federal agencies and academic institutions. Today, we are pleased to announce the addition of a 9th member of the consortium: Montana State University!
Yellowstone Monthly Update - June 2020
Yellowstone Volcano remains at GREEN/NORMAL. Yellowstone National Park is open and seasonal field work began last month. The University of Utah Seismograph Stations located 288 earthquakes in May that occurred as part of three swarms. Ground deformation remains unchanged from last month.
New interactive map on Yellowstone’s geology
Are you interested in Yellowstone’s dynamic geology? Do you like maps? If the answer to both questions is “yes,” then you’ll love a new online interactive map from the Wyoming State Geological Survey!
Aftershocks? Swarm? What is the difference, and what do they mean?
In Yellowstone, we often talk about earthquake swarms. But especially in recent weeks, we’ve also discussed aftershock sequences. What is the difference? And what to these different types of seismic events mean?
Introducing the new and improved YVO website!
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory website has a new and improved look! Now you'll be able to view it all via any sized computer or mobile device with ease!
New geochemical tool reveals origin of Yellowstone's deep nitrogen
In the air we breathe, Oxygen plays an obvious and important role, but it is not the most abundant gas in the atmosphere. That honor belongs to nitrogen. But where did this nitrogen come from? And how much nitrogen is there deep within the Earth? It turns out that measurements at Yellowstone are helping to address these questions and others!
Science with eyes wide open: A tribute to Ken Pierce
Have you ever tried to keep track of all the pieces while playing 3-dimensional chess? Imagine if the 4th dimension—time—was included, and the goal was to understand the evolution of the entire Greater Yellowstone Geoecosystem! That's an apt analogy for the 55-year research career of USGS Scientist Emeritus Ken Pierce.
The shaking signal of far-away earthquakes at Yellowstone
Two pretty good-sized earthquakes shook the western U.S. in March, a M5.7 in Utah and a M6.5 in Idaho. These quakes not only shook up the people living in those regions, they shook instruments that are part of the Network of the Americas (NOTA)—a network of deformation monitoring stations throughout the USA and beyond that is operated by UNAVCO. This includes instruments in Yellowstone!
Founding the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory
Before YVO's founding, research had been conducted on the volcanism and tectonics of the Yellowstone region since the 1960s by the University of Utah, U.S. Geological Survey and Yellowstone National Park. A meeting in the year 2000 spurred a fruitful conversation, and by 2001 the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory was born.