Yellowstone Volcano Observatory

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?

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! 

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!

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.

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!

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.

First, there was the March 18, 2020, magnitude 5.7 (M5.7) earthquake near Salt Lake City. And then there was the M6.5 earthquake in central Idaho on March 31. What's with all of these quakes? And will they affect Yellowstone? 

We can look back to research describing microbes in Yellowstone hot springs to see how fundamental explorative scientific research is an amazing benefit to humankind.

Today, we shed light on what makes up geyser cones.

Our search for eruption precursors focused on gas emissions at Steamboat Geyser. We made repeated measurements over time to look for sudden changes in gas emissions preceding a geyser eruption.

If there were an Olympic medal for hydrothermal systems, Norris Geyser Basin would bring home the gold.