Yellowstone Update: Steamboat Geyser Erupts and Over 110 Earthquakes
Yellowstone National Park has always been a hub of natural volcanic and seismic activity, and recent events have been no exception.
Steamboat Geyser’s Subdued Activity
Yellowstone National Park‘s Steamboat Geyser, known for its past impressive eruptions, experienced its seventh major water eruption of the year in October. Following a couple of seasons of more numerous outbursts, the geyser shot off on October 8, 2023 and has now entered a quiet phase, showing no eruptions since. This pattern of activity is not unusual for geysers, but there is a lot of interest in Steamboat Geyser since it roared to life in in early 2018 after 50 years of dormancy.
Winter in Yellowstone Slows Studies
As winter sets in, Yellowstone is doing its seismic and volcanic stuff under a blanket of snow. This signals a slowdown in fieldwork conducted by the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory , most of their operations have wrapped up for the year, with plans to resume in May.
Seismic Activity is Persistent and Normal
The seismic activity in the park continues to create a lot of rumbling. In October 2023, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the Yellowstone Seismic Network, registered 113 earthquakes in the region. The most notable was a minor earthquake with a magnitude of 3.3 on October 10, located near Pahaska Tepee, Wyoming.
Moreover, a swarm of 42 earthquakes occurred from October 3–5, with the largest being a micro earthquake of magnitude 2.4. While these numbers might sound alarming, it’s important to note that this level of seismicity is considered normal for Yellowstone.
Ground Deformation Observations Affected by Snow
Another aspect of Yellowstone’s geological monitoring is ground deformation. GPS stations in the Yellowstone caldera showed a return to subsidence, a trend that has been ongoing since 2015. At the end of October, there was an apparent subsidence of about 2 cm across most GPS stations. Scientists note however, this change is probably attributed to heavy snow accumulating on the GPS antennas, rather than any significant ground movement.
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