Yellowstone Volcano Observatory

The lack of any basalt in Yellowstone caldera—the existence of a magmatic "shadow"—is good evidence that the rhyolite magma chamber is still at least partially molten.

Images acquired using inexpensive cameras from airborne platforms can be used to monitor surface changes in thermal areas over a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

 Yellowstone National Park contains rock formations that span over half the Earth's 4.6-billion-year lifespan! 

Hydrothermal explosions are the most likely of Yellowstone's various volcanic hazards, and the potential for additional future explosions is not insignificant.

The U.S. Geological Survey produces seismic hazard maps for the United States and the 2018 nationwide long-term assessment shows that the Yellowstone region has some of the highest seismic hazard values in the Intermountain West.

Exploration and sampling of Yellowstone's thermal areas indicates that Yellowstone's hot springs often have surprisingly complex plumbing systems. It is not uncommon to find hot spring pools, which have one type of chemistry, and steam vents, which have totally different chemistry, located in close proximity—or even occupying the same space! Learn what happens when these mix or overlap.

Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is...

Today, we'll pay homage to one of the scientists that made these discoveries: Dr. Daniel Dzurisin, who retires at the end of this week after over 43 years of service.

This preservation mandate made scientific research in YNP initially challenging to sort out—what is the balance between research and preservation, and how can you have one without the other? 

Investigations into the water chemistry of Yellowstone's geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and streams and rivers have been conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey dating back to 1888.

The arrival of volcanoes in that area is geologically recent, however—volcanism associated with Yellowstone has migrated over 400 miles across southern Idaho in the past 16 million years!