Yellowstone Volcano Update — Video Collection

What geologic hazard is most likely to occur in the Yellowstone region on human timescales? The answer might not be what you think.

What geologic hazard is most likely to occur in the Yellowstone region on human timescales?

Geysers and hot springs are some of the most dynamic geologic features on the planet. They are always changing and sometimes that change happens in places where we can see and appreciate it. This has been the case on Geyser Hill, near Old Faithful, in Yellowstone National Park.

Old Faithful, one of the icons of Yellowstone National Park and probably the most famous geyser in the world. But how faithful is it really? That's the question we're going to tackle in this June 1, 2023 update from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

May is traditionally the start of the field season and plans are underway to strengthen monitoring networks, collect data, and conduct research to better understand volcanic activity in the Yellowstone region. Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, outlines upcoming projects in this YVO monthly video update for May 1, 2023.

Do animals prank humans? It sometimes feels that way, says Yellowstone Volcano Observatory’s scientist-in-charge Mike Poland. Mike shows some of the ways animals have “interacted” with monitoring equipment in this April 1, 2023 monthly update of activity at Yellowstone Volcano.

Could an external event trigger a Yellowstone eruption? No, says Yellowstone Volcano Observatory’s scientist-in-charge Mike Poland, that’s not how volcanoes work. Most of the pressure that drives a volcano toward eruption comes from within, from the exsolution of gases in the magmatic system.

Winter has arrived in the Yellowstone region. The deep snow and cold temperatures are harsh for animals, harsh for humans, and also harsh for volcano monitoring equipment.

Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, provides an overview of 2022 events and December activity in this monthly update for January 1, 2023. 

Just a few days ago, Mauna Loa, the tallest active volcano on the planet, started erupting for the first time in 38 years.

November is Native American Heritage Month. Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, talks about Indigenous peoples in the Yellowstone region and describes Yellowstone’s recent seismic, deformation, and geyser activity in this November 1, 2022 monthly update.

Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone in this monthly update for October 1, 2022. 

The update comes to you from Artist Paintpots in Yellowstone National Park. The paintpots are acid sulfate springs, one of three different types of thermal features in Yellowstone. 

Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone volcano in this monthly update for September 1, 2022.

Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone in this monthly update for August 1, 2022. 

Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone volcano in this monthly update for July 1, 2022. 

This monthly video update of activity at Yellowstone Volcano comes to you from Mammoth Hot Springs, in Yellowstone National Park, where the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory consortium had its first face-to-face meeting in four years.

Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, talks about Yellowstone’s recent earthquakes, trends in ground deformation, and Steamboat Geyser activity in this video update of May 1, 2022.

Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Scientist-in-Charge Mike Poland talks about a recent earthquake swarm in Yellowstone National Park, trends in ground deformation, and water eruptions at Steamboat Geyser, in this video update of recent activity (April 1, 2022).

Happy 150th birthday to Yellowstone National Park! The Park is truly a wonderland, and a place of continuous inspiration and learning. Listen, as Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Scientist-in-Charge Mike Poland recounts some of its unique history and provides an update of recent earthquakes, ground deformation, and geyser activity.

This monthly update from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory begins with a story.

Before we get into what happened during the month of December 2021, let’s review what happened at Yellowstone over the past year.

Some people have characterized the seasonal rise and fall of Yellowstone as being like breathing. During the summer there is a little pause in the overall trend of subsidence and sometimes even a short episode of slight uplift. The trend reverses in early winter.

Busting Myths About One of the Largest Volcanic Systems in the World - The Top 10 Misconceptions about Yellowstone Volcanism

By Michael Poland, USGS Scientist-in-charge, Yellowstone Volcano Observatory

The November 2021 YVO Yellowstone Volcano update comes to you from a very snowy Norris Geyser Basin with a story about Porkchop Geyser’s 1989 explosion.

From the boardwalk near Echinus Geyser (the largest acid geyser in the world), Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Scientist-in-Charge Mike Poland provides an update on activity in Yellowstone during the month of June. The Yellowstone Seismic Network located 445 earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park region.

During July, Yellowstone caught everyone’s attention with 1,000+ earthquakes located in seven distinct earthquake swarms. The largest swarm occurred beneath Yellowstone Lake and had 764 earthquakes, the largest of which was a Magnitude 3.6.

Yellowstone Volcano Observatory scientist-in-charge Mike Poland tells the story behind the color change of Morning Glory Pool and shows how to recognize seasonal changes in ground deformation data in this September 1, 2021 video update of volcano and earthquake activity at Yellowstone Volcano.

Yellowstone’s semi-permanent GPS sensors head home for the winter.

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of May, 2019.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of June, 2019.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of July 2019.

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of August 2019.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of September 2019.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of October 2019
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of November 2019.

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during 2019, with an emphasis on the month of December.

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during January 2020.

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during February 2020.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during March 2020.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during April 2020.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during May 2020.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during June 2020.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during July 2020.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during August 2020.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during September 2020.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during October 2020.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone during November 2020.
 

Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Scientist-in-Charge Mike Poland visits Yellowstone National Park to tell the story of how the ground there moves up and down over time. This motion has been measured using a variety of techniques over the past 100 years, and from geological mapping scientists can even tell how the ground has moved going back about 15,000 years!

Just what is the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory? In this video, Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of YVO, gives an overview of the institutions that make up the Observatory, how YVO monitors volcano and earthquake activity at Yellowstone, the geologic hazards of the region, and some of the noteworthy new results and observations from YVO scientists.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, provides an overview of activity at Yellowstone during December 2020.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, gives an overview of activity at Yellowstone Volcano during January 2021.
 

Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, debunks the misconception that if Yellowstone were to erupt, it would be Armageddon. In fact, the most common form of eruptive activity at Yellowstone is a lava flow, and even those aren't that common. They happen only once every few tens of thousands of years.

There are thousands of volcanic features distributed throughout the southwest United States, which are grouped together in volcanic fields. The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory monitors these volcanoes using a combination of techniques.

It's May, the snow is melting and the roads are mostly open, so it's time for geologists, geophysicist and geochemists to head into Yellowstone to start projects they have been planning for the last several months. Next week, a field team will deploy a temporary GPS network to help “densify” the network of continuous GPS stations already in place.

Yellowstone Volcano Observatory scientist-in-charge Mike Poland provides the YVO monthly update from the rim of Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon. The V-shaped gorge tells an amazing geologic story. About half a million years ago, a large rhyolite lava flow erupted. Over time, hot water and gases heated by the magma chamber rose through faults in the lava flow.