Yellowstone Volcano Observatory

If you’ve been to Yellowstone, you’ve no doubt smelled some of the gases that come from depth and escape to the surface.  In addition to their noses, geochemists use sophisticated tools to sample these gases, and they use the result to better understand how Yellowstone works!

A swimming pool?  At Old Faithful?  Sounds crazy, but for nearly 40 years in the first half of the 20^th century there was a geyser-heated bathhouse right next to the most iconic geyser in the world!

Yellowstone has a lot to offer visitors, from its world-famous hydrothermal features to its vast array of wildlife and breath-taking scenery. Yellowstone has also provided humans with another important resource for the last 11,000 years or more—obsidian.

Old Faithful Geyser got its unique name in the 19^th century because its eruptions were so regular and predictable. But during parts of the 13^th and 14^th centuries, the geyser did not erupt at all.

Fall is a time for maintaining monitoring sites in Yellowstone, since they will not be accessible during the winter months.  That includes the continuous GPS stations that track deformation across Yellowstone National Park!

Some of the most valuable data used to understand the evolution of the Yellowstone volcano come from the microscopic world. What are some of the tools that researchers use to study the microscopic products of the volcano’s multiple eruptions?

Thanks to technology like GPS (Global Positioning System), scientists know that the ground at Yellowstone moves up and down at a rate of a few centimeters—about an inch—per year. But what was happening to the caldera before scientists had the ability to make these measurements?  Yellowstone Lake holds the key, with a record of deformation that extends back thousands of years!

Yellowstone’s most famous thermal areas, like Norris Geyser Basin, are located on land, but a surprising number of thermal areas are also present beneath the region’s lakes. Thermal satellite data can help to identify and characterize these hidden sources of heat!

Disasters and emergencies can happen at any time, often without warning. Natural hazards threaten thousands of lives and cause billions of dollars in damage every year throughout the nation. 

What better way to celebrate the upcoming 150th anniversary of Yellowstone National Park than with an updated geologic map? Scientists and students from Montana State University are spending this summer doing just that!

Old Faithful is the most famous geyser in the world, but who named the iconic feature?  And how does the current frequency of its eruptions compare to when it was first described?