Hydrothermal Explosion Damages Yellowstone National Park Area
Hydrothermal Explosion Damages Yellowstone National Park Area
A hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone National Park caused damage to a boardwalk and propelled debris several stories into the air on Tuesday morning in the Biscuit Basin area, northwest of Old Faithful, according to Michael Poland, the scientist-in-charge at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
The explosion, which Poland described as "small," occurred around 10 a.m. about 2.1 miles northwest of Old Faithful, likely in the Black Diamond Pool in Biscuit Basin.
Poland stated that no injuries had been reported as of early Tuesday afternoon.
Videos posted online by witnesses showed people on the boardwalk near the explosion site and footage of the aftermath revealed debris scattered across the area and a damaged boardwalk.
For safety reasons, the parking lot and boardwalks in Biscuit Basin are temporarily closed. Yellowstone National Park geologists are investigating the explosion but have indicated that data shows no unusual volcanic activity.
“Monitoring data show no changes in the Yellowstone region. Today’s explosion does not reflect activity within the volcanic system, which remains at normal background levels of activity,” Poland said in a statement. “Hydrothermal explosions like today’s are not a sign of impending volcanic eruptions, and they are not caused by magma rising toward the surface.”
He explained that these explosions occur when water rapidly turns to steam underground and are “relatively common” in Yellowstone National Park.
There was a similar explosion in Biscuit Bay in May 2009 and a smaller one in Norris Geyser Basin on April 15. Porkchop Geyser in Norris Geyser Basin exploded in 1989.
Hydrothermal explosions can send boiling water, steam, mud, and rock into the air, sometimes reaching heights of up to 1.2 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A 2018 report stated that large hydrothermal explosions occur on average every 700 years. At least 25 craters in the park are over 328 feet wide.
“Although large hydrothermal explosions are rare events on a human time scale, the potential for additional future events of this sort in Yellowstone National Park is not insignificant,” the report noted. “Based on the occurrence of large hydrothermal explosion events over the past 16,000 years, an explosion large enough to create a 100-meter (328-ft) wide crater might be expected every few hundred years.”
The National Park Service reported that Black Diamond Pool erupted with black, murky water following an earthquake in July 2006 and experienced “several explosive eruptions” in the subsequent days, though eruptions have been “infrequent” since then. Its average temperature is 148.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yellowstone National Park's public affairs office directed inquiries to the news release from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory and indicated that no further information was available early Tuesday afternoon.
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory stated it would provide more information as it becomes available.
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