Shaul Hurwitz
I am a research hydrologist with the USGS Volcano Science Center. My goals are to characterize and quantify the myriad processes occurring in volcano-hydrothermal systems that take place at spatial and temporal scales that span many orders of magnitude.
My research is focused on quantifying processes in continental hydrothermal systems by integrating hydrologic, geochemical, and geophysical data with models of groundwater flow, heat transport, thermodynamics, and statistics. An improved understanding of hydrothermal systems is important because: 1) pressure, temperature and chemical changes within these systems can provide early warnings of volcanic unrest, 2) many of the geochemical, geodetic, and seismic signals measured at the volcano’s surface have their origins, or are modulated by hydrothermal processes, 3) hydrothermal fluids constitute a major source of hazard as a propellant in steam-driven explosions, lubricant in mudflows, and transport agent for toxins, 4) fluids in these systems are a source of geothermal energy and an agent in the formation of mineral deposits, and 5) hot springs and their deposits provide insights on the origin and environmental limits of life on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system. Insights gleaned from these studies have implications for many science disciplines and are mostly summarized in co-authored review papers. This research supports of the USGS Volcano Hazards Program mission to “enhance public safety and minimize social and economic disruption from eruptions” and the Geothermal Research Investigation Project’s (GRIP) goals of assessing geothermal energy resources and the environmental impacts of energy production.
Research topics:
- Water-gas-rock interaction in volcano-hydrothermal systems using field observations, chemical and isotopic data, controlled laboratory experiments. and thermodynamic models
- Numerical simulations of volcano-hydrothermal systems
- Modulation of volcanic and geyser activity by cyclic hydrological and climatic forcers and by large earthquakes
- Post-glacial hydrothermal activity at Yellowstone
- Heat transport in volcanic systems
- Dynamics and chemistry of volcanic lakes
- Geyser dynamics
- The impact of geothermal energy production on groundwater quality
Education and Certifications
PhD (1999), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 53
The 2018 reawakening and eruption dynamics of Steamboat Geyser, the world’s tallest active geyser
Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park’s Norris Geyser Basin began a prolific sequence of eruptions in March 2018 after 34 y of sporadic activity. We analyze a wide range of datasets to explore triggering mechanisms for Steamboat’s reactivation and controls on eruption intervals and height. Prior to Steamboat’s renewed activity, Norris Geyser Basin experienced uplift, a slight increase in r
Authors
Mara Reed, Carolina Munoz-Saez, Sahand Hajimirza, Sin-Mei Wu, Anna Barth, Társilo Girona, Majid Rasht-Behesht, M.S Karplus, Shaul Hurwitz, Michael Manga
Yellowstone's Old Faithful Geyser shut down by a severe 13th century drought
To characterize eruption activity of the iconic Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park over past centuries, we obtained 41 new radiocarbon dates of mineralized wood preserved in the mound of silica that precipitated from erupted waters. Trees do not grow on active geyser mounds, implying that trees grew on the Old Faithful Geyser mound during a protracted period of eruption quiescence. R
Authors
Shaul Hurwitz, John King, Gregory T. Pederson, Justin Martin, David Damby, Michael Manga, Jefferson Hungerford, Sara Peek
From lava to water: A new era at Kīlauea
No abstract available.
Authors
Patricia Nadeau, Angela K. Diefenbach, Shaul Hurwitz, Donald A. Swanson
Sources, fate, and flux of riverine solutes in the Southwest Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field, USA
Since the 1970s, temporal variations of hydrothermal discharge and thermal output from the numerous hydrothermal features in the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field (YPVF) have been studied by measuring the chloride flux in the major rivers. In this study, the sources, fate, and flux of solutes in the Fall River and its major tributaries, in southwest Yellowstone National Park, were determined. The
Authors
R. Blaine McCleskey, Shaul Hurwitz, Erin B White, David A. Roth, David Susong, Jefferson Hungerford, Lonnie A. Olson
Dating silica sinter (geyserite): A cautionary tale
We describe a new effort to date hydrothermal silica sinter deposits (geyserite) from the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park using 14C of co-deposited organic matter, U-series and cosmogenic 10Be methods. A majority of the samples were collected from stratigraphic sections, mainly at Riverside, Giant, and Castle Geysers. Ages obtained from 41 14C analyses range from modern to 12.1 cal
Authors
Dakota M. Churchill, Michael Manga, Shaul Hurwitz, Sara Peek, Joseph Licciardi, James B. Paces
The prevalence and significance of offset magma reservoirs at arc volcanoes
Determining the spatial relations between volcanic edifices and their underlying magma storage zones is fundamental for characterizing long-term evolution and short-term unrest. We compile centroid locations of upper crustal magma reservoirs at 56 arc volcanoes inferred from seismic, magnetotelluric, and geodetic studies. We show that magma reservoirs are often horizontally offset from their assoc
Authors
Allan H. Lerner, Daniel O'Hara, Leif Karlstrom, Susanna K. Ebmeier, Kyle R. Anderson, Shaul Hurwitz
Radiocarbon dating of silica sinter and postglacial hydrothermal activity in the El Tatio geyser field
The El Tatio geothermal field in the Chilean Altiplano contains hydrothermal silica sinter deposits overlaying glacial and volcanic units, providing an opportunity to constrain the timing of deglaciation and volcanic activity in an area with sparse absolute chronologies. We obtained 51 new radiocarbon ages and δ13C values on the organic material trapped in these sinter deposits. Based on the δ13C
Authors
Carolina Munoz Saez, Michael Manga, Shaul Hurwitz, Silvina Salgter, Dakota Churchill, Martin Reich, David Damby, Diego Morata
Hydrothermal activity in the southwest Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field
In the past two decades, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service have studied hydrothermal activity across the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field (YPVF) to improve the understanding of the magmatic-hydrothermal system and to provide a baseline for detecting future anomalous activity. In 2017 and 2018 we sampled water and gas over a large area in the southwest YPVF and used Landsat
Authors
Shaul Hurwitz, R. Blaine McCleskey, Deborah Bergfeld, Sara Peek, David Susong, David A. Roth, Jefferson Hungerford, Erin B White, Lauren Harrison, Behnaz Hosseini, R. Greg Vaughan, Andrew G. Hunt, James B. Paces
Temporal variations in scrubbing of magmatic gases at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
Measurements of gas compositions and emission rates play a major role in monitoring restless volcanoes. However, thermodynamic calculations imply that scrubbing by groundwater will prevent most HCl and significant SO2 emissions until dry pathways are established, thus leading to underestimates of gas released from magma and magma volumes. Despite the significance, direct evidence for scrubbing is
Authors
Shaul Hurwitz, Kyle R. Anderson
Temperature-dependent variations in mineralogy, major element chemistry and the stable isotopes of boron, lithium and chlorine resulting from hydration of rhyolite glass: Constraints from hydrothermal experiments at 150 to 350°C and 25 MPa
Rhyolite-hosted hydrothermal systems in the continental crust contain valuable energy and mineral resources that make them of special interest across several scientific disciplines. Despite extensive research on these systems, the temperature-dependence of chemical reactions between host rocks and aqueous-rich fluids and the mineralogical transformations resulting from these reactions are not well
Authors
Jeffery T. Cullen, Shaul Hurwitz, Jaime D. Barnes, John C. Lassiter, Sarah Penniston-Dorland, Simone Kasemann, James Thordsen
Heat and mass transport in a vapor-dominated hydrothermal area in Yellowstone National Park, USA: Inferences from magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, subsurface temperature and diffuse CO2 flux measurements
Vapor‐dominated hydrothermal systems are characterized by localized and elevated heat and gas flux. In these systems, steam and gas ascend from a boiling water reservoir, steam condenses beneath a low‐permeability cap layer, and liquid water descends, driven by gravity (“heat pipe” model). We combine magnetic, electromagnetic, and geoelectrical methods and CO2 flux and subsurface temperature measu
Authors
Claire Bouligand, Shaul Hurwitz, Jean Vandemeulebrouck, Svetlana Byrdina, Mason A. Kass, Jennifer L. Lewicki
Hydrothermal discharge from the El Tatio basin, Atacama, Chile
El Tatio in northern Chile is one of the best-studied geothermal fields in South America. However, there remain open questions about the mass and energy budgets, water recharge rates and residence time in the subsurface, origin of dissolved solutes, and processes affecting the phase and chemical composition of groundwater and surface water. We measured and sampled surface manifestations of the geo
Authors
Carolina Munoz-Saez, Michael Manga, Shaul Hurwitz
Filter Total Items: 16
Water chemistry data for selected hot springs and rivers in Southwest Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Water analyses are reported for 66 samples collected from numerous thermal and non-thermal (rivers and streams) features in the southwestern areas of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) during 2009, 2017, and 2018. Water samples were collected from sources near Boundary Creek, Bechler River, Falls River, Mountain Ash Creek, Upper Snake River, Spirea Creek, and Lewis Lake. These water samples were coll
Water level, temperature and chemistry in a deep well on the summit of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
Kilauea, on the Island of Hawaii is one of the world's most active volcanoes and it hosts one of the densest volcano monitoring networks. A deep well on the southwest rim of Kilauea's caldera, often referred to informally as the "NSF Well" or the "Keller Well" was drilled in 1973 to a depth of 1,262 meters from an elevation of 1,103 meters. The ultimate goal of the drilling project was to "test pr
Groundwater levels and temperatures in well CH-10b near Hot Creek, Long Valley Caldera, eastern California
Hot Creek Gorge contains the most obvious surface expression of the hydrothermal system in Long Valley Caldera, California, discharging 200-300 L/s of thermal water according to USGS measurements made since 1988. Formerly, Hot Creek was a popular public swimming area, but it was closed in 2006 due to unpredictable temperature fluctuations and sporadic geysering of thermal water within the creek (E
River Chemistry in Yellowstone National Park
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) was established as a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey and Yellowstone National Park to "To strengthen the long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake unrest in the Yellowstone National Park region". Yellowstone National Park is underlain by a voluminous magmatic system overlain by the most active hydrothermal system on Earth. Tracking
Filter Total Items: 18
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 53
The 2018 reawakening and eruption dynamics of Steamboat Geyser, the world’s tallest active geyser
Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park’s Norris Geyser Basin began a prolific sequence of eruptions in March 2018 after 34 y of sporadic activity. We analyze a wide range of datasets to explore triggering mechanisms for Steamboat’s reactivation and controls on eruption intervals and height. Prior to Steamboat’s renewed activity, Norris Geyser Basin experienced uplift, a slight increase in rAuthorsMara Reed, Carolina Munoz-Saez, Sahand Hajimirza, Sin-Mei Wu, Anna Barth, Társilo Girona, Majid Rasht-Behesht, M.S Karplus, Shaul Hurwitz, Michael MangaYellowstone's Old Faithful Geyser shut down by a severe 13th century drought
To characterize eruption activity of the iconic Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park over past centuries, we obtained 41 new radiocarbon dates of mineralized wood preserved in the mound of silica that precipitated from erupted waters. Trees do not grow on active geyser mounds, implying that trees grew on the Old Faithful Geyser mound during a protracted period of eruption quiescence. RAuthorsShaul Hurwitz, John King, Gregory T. Pederson, Justin Martin, David Damby, Michael Manga, Jefferson Hungerford, Sara PeekFrom lava to water: A new era at Kīlauea
No abstract available.AuthorsPatricia Nadeau, Angela K. Diefenbach, Shaul Hurwitz, Donald A. SwansonSources, fate, and flux of riverine solutes in the Southwest Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field, USA
Since the 1970s, temporal variations of hydrothermal discharge and thermal output from the numerous hydrothermal features in the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field (YPVF) have been studied by measuring the chloride flux in the major rivers. In this study, the sources, fate, and flux of solutes in the Fall River and its major tributaries, in southwest Yellowstone National Park, were determined. TheAuthorsR. Blaine McCleskey, Shaul Hurwitz, Erin B White, David A. Roth, David Susong, Jefferson Hungerford, Lonnie A. OlsonDating silica sinter (geyserite): A cautionary tale
We describe a new effort to date hydrothermal silica sinter deposits (geyserite) from the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park using 14C of co-deposited organic matter, U-series and cosmogenic 10Be methods. A majority of the samples were collected from stratigraphic sections, mainly at Riverside, Giant, and Castle Geysers. Ages obtained from 41 14C analyses range from modern to 12.1 calAuthorsDakota M. Churchill, Michael Manga, Shaul Hurwitz, Sara Peek, Joseph Licciardi, James B. PacesThe prevalence and significance of offset magma reservoirs at arc volcanoes
Determining the spatial relations between volcanic edifices and their underlying magma storage zones is fundamental for characterizing long-term evolution and short-term unrest. We compile centroid locations of upper crustal magma reservoirs at 56 arc volcanoes inferred from seismic, magnetotelluric, and geodetic studies. We show that magma reservoirs are often horizontally offset from their assocAuthorsAllan H. Lerner, Daniel O'Hara, Leif Karlstrom, Susanna K. Ebmeier, Kyle R. Anderson, Shaul HurwitzRadiocarbon dating of silica sinter and postglacial hydrothermal activity in the El Tatio geyser field
The El Tatio geothermal field in the Chilean Altiplano contains hydrothermal silica sinter deposits overlaying glacial and volcanic units, providing an opportunity to constrain the timing of deglaciation and volcanic activity in an area with sparse absolute chronologies. We obtained 51 new radiocarbon ages and δ13C values on the organic material trapped in these sinter deposits. Based on the δ13CAuthorsCarolina Munoz Saez, Michael Manga, Shaul Hurwitz, Silvina Salgter, Dakota Churchill, Martin Reich, David Damby, Diego MorataHydrothermal activity in the southwest Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field
In the past two decades, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service have studied hydrothermal activity across the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field (YPVF) to improve the understanding of the magmatic-hydrothermal system and to provide a baseline for detecting future anomalous activity. In 2017 and 2018 we sampled water and gas over a large area in the southwest YPVF and used LandsatAuthorsShaul Hurwitz, R. Blaine McCleskey, Deborah Bergfeld, Sara Peek, David Susong, David A. Roth, Jefferson Hungerford, Erin B White, Lauren Harrison, Behnaz Hosseini, R. Greg Vaughan, Andrew G. Hunt, James B. PacesTemporal variations in scrubbing of magmatic gases at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
Measurements of gas compositions and emission rates play a major role in monitoring restless volcanoes. However, thermodynamic calculations imply that scrubbing by groundwater will prevent most HCl and significant SO2 emissions until dry pathways are established, thus leading to underestimates of gas released from magma and magma volumes. Despite the significance, direct evidence for scrubbing isAuthorsShaul Hurwitz, Kyle R. AndersonTemperature-dependent variations in mineralogy, major element chemistry and the stable isotopes of boron, lithium and chlorine resulting from hydration of rhyolite glass: Constraints from hydrothermal experiments at 150 to 350°C and 25 MPa
Rhyolite-hosted hydrothermal systems in the continental crust contain valuable energy and mineral resources that make them of special interest across several scientific disciplines. Despite extensive research on these systems, the temperature-dependence of chemical reactions between host rocks and aqueous-rich fluids and the mineralogical transformations resulting from these reactions are not wellAuthorsJeffery T. Cullen, Shaul Hurwitz, Jaime D. Barnes, John C. Lassiter, Sarah Penniston-Dorland, Simone Kasemann, James ThordsenHeat and mass transport in a vapor-dominated hydrothermal area in Yellowstone National Park, USA: Inferences from magnetic, electrical, electromagnetic, subsurface temperature and diffuse CO2 flux measurements
Vapor‐dominated hydrothermal systems are characterized by localized and elevated heat and gas flux. In these systems, steam and gas ascend from a boiling water reservoir, steam condenses beneath a low‐permeability cap layer, and liquid water descends, driven by gravity (“heat pipe” model). We combine magnetic, electromagnetic, and geoelectrical methods and CO2 flux and subsurface temperature measuAuthorsClaire Bouligand, Shaul Hurwitz, Jean Vandemeulebrouck, Svetlana Byrdina, Mason A. Kass, Jennifer L. LewickiHydrothermal discharge from the El Tatio basin, Atacama, Chile
El Tatio in northern Chile is one of the best-studied geothermal fields in South America. However, there remain open questions about the mass and energy budgets, water recharge rates and residence time in the subsurface, origin of dissolved solutes, and processes affecting the phase and chemical composition of groundwater and surface water. We measured and sampled surface manifestations of the geoAuthorsCarolina Munoz-Saez, Michael Manga, Shaul Hurwitz - Science
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Filter Total Items: 16
Water chemistry data for selected hot springs and rivers in Southwest Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Water analyses are reported for 66 samples collected from numerous thermal and non-thermal (rivers and streams) features in the southwestern areas of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) during 2009, 2017, and 2018. Water samples were collected from sources near Boundary Creek, Bechler River, Falls River, Mountain Ash Creek, Upper Snake River, Spirea Creek, and Lewis Lake. These water samples were collWater level, temperature and chemistry in a deep well on the summit of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
Kilauea, on the Island of Hawaii is one of the world's most active volcanoes and it hosts one of the densest volcano monitoring networks. A deep well on the southwest rim of Kilauea's caldera, often referred to informally as the "NSF Well" or the "Keller Well" was drilled in 1973 to a depth of 1,262 meters from an elevation of 1,103 meters. The ultimate goal of the drilling project was to "test prGroundwater levels and temperatures in well CH-10b near Hot Creek, Long Valley Caldera, eastern California
Hot Creek Gorge contains the most obvious surface expression of the hydrothermal system in Long Valley Caldera, California, discharging 200-300 L/s of thermal water according to USGS measurements made since 1988. Formerly, Hot Creek was a popular public swimming area, but it was closed in 2006 due to unpredictable temperature fluctuations and sporadic geysering of thermal water within the creek (ERiver Chemistry in Yellowstone National Park
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) was established as a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey and Yellowstone National Park to "To strengthen the long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake unrest in the Yellowstone National Park region". Yellowstone National Park is underlain by a voluminous magmatic system overlain by the most active hydrothermal system on Earth. Tracking - Multimedia
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Filter Total Items: 18