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Terra Cotta Complex
Mike Keller
Abstract
Starting
in 1989, the author began observing
and documenting the behavior of the geysers within the Terra Cotta Complex. During this time a total of 6 independent
geysers and a total of 13 overall erupting vents were observed.
The following article will discuss the observations made by the author over
the past 20 years and provide a quick historical summary of the activity of the
geysers in this area.
West Triplet and Rift Geysers, Grand Group,
Upper Geyser Basin, 2003-2008
Vicki Whitledge, Ryan Frank and James Hollman
Abstract
West Triplet
and Rift Geysers in the Grand Group, Upper Geyser Basin, have been electronically
monitored for a number of years. The
eruptions times, from 2003 through 2008, derived from the electronic data, are analyzed.
Basic descriptive statistics on these data and a quantitative description of the
relationship between West Triplet and Rift geysers are given.
Events at the Daisy Geyser Complex,
September 8, 1997
Andrew Hafner
Abstract
On September
8, 1997, the author had the opportunity to observer a sequence of eruptive events
in the Daisy Geyser Complex in Yellowstone’s Upper Geyser Basin. Following a short
introduction to Splendid Geyser’s activity in 1996 and 1997, this article briefly
describes the types of events that could occur while Splendid was in an active series
and describes the events of September 8, 1997 in detail.
Fan and Mortar:
A Summary of the 2000-2005 Active Phase
and Details
from 2004 and 2005
Tara Cross
Abstract
The active cycle of Fan and Mortar from early 2000 to August 2005 was one
of the best on record for the geysers. Fan and Mortar’s behavior during this period
is summarized, with more detailed observations given for 2004 and 2005.
Ragged and Jagged Springs at
Black Sand
Basin: July 2008
Stephen Michael Gryc
Abstract
Ragged Spring
and the unofficially named Jagged Spring erupt together. During the summer of 2008,
eruptions were frequent with some bursts from Ragged reaching a height of 7 feet
while bursts from Jagged occasionally reached 25 feet. This paper describes an eruption
sequence typical of those seen on July 4, 5 and 6 and provides a summary of data
from 173 eruptions logged during nearly 8 hours of observation.
Green Spring Erupts: July 6, 2008
Stephen Michael Gryc
Abstract
Green Spring in Black Sand Basin has been known to have
infrequent episodes as a geyser. In July of 2008 the author witnessed what may have
been the only eruption reported that summer. The characteristics and timing of that
single eruption are described.
Black Diamond Pool Erupts, May 17, 2009
Photos Reprinted with Permission from the National Park
Service
(photographer unknown), Account Recap by Tara Cross.
Additional Information About the 1985
Eruptive Episode of Excelsior Geyser
Lynn Stephens
Abstract
Mary Ann Moss’s
observations and Mike Keller’s personal recollections of the September 1985 activity
of Excelsior Geyser were printed in Transactions X. This article supplements their personal
accounts and observations. Roderick (Rick) A. Hutchinson’s report, “Rejuvenation
of Excelsior Geyser,” prepared on September 18, 1985, is included in this article.
The article also includes correspondence between Hutchinson and Daryl Lafferty,
a park visitor who first reported the eruptions, and comments from Rocco Paperiello
about his observations of some of the 1985 eruptions.1
Reports of possible activity in 1946 and 1952 are also discussed.
Wild Phase Activity by Great Fountain Geyser
T. Scott Bryan
Abstract
On relatively infrequent
occasions, Great Fountain Geyser undergoes what is referred to as “wild phase” activity,
in which it erupts with frequent bursts for total durations longer than two days.
The wild phase that started on June 4, 2008, was perhaps the most closely observed
of these events from start-to-finish and is described along with an historical perspective.
Summary and Analysis of a
National Park Service Geyser Activity Report
for Summer 1919
Vicki Whitledge
Abstract
Geyser reports from 1900 to 1920 are scarce. (Keller 2002, 27) The advent
of Google Books (books.google.com) has made the search for older publications about
geysers easier than in the past. A
document from 1919 titled “Reports of the Department of the Interior” by Franklin
K. Lane was recently found on Google Books. This report is unique for the period
in that it contains a table of geyser eruption times from the summer of 1919 and
limited descriptions of geyser activity. This article presents the material relating
to geysers in the Lane report along with analysis and commentary by the author based
on comparisons current observations of geyser activity and information from other
historical records.
The Land of Wonders:
Promenade
in North America’s National Park
by Belgian travel writer Jules Leclercq
Observations of Yellowstone geysers
from a nineteenth-century account of a visit to the Park.
Translated from the French book, La Terre des Merveilles, and
annotated by Janet Chapple and Suzanne Cane
Abstract
Jules Joseph Leclercq, Belgian lawyer, world traveler, and president of the Royal
Geographical Society of Belgium, visited Yellowstone Park in 1883 and published
his lively account three years later. Until the twenty-first century, the only known
partial translation of
The Land of Wonders
into English was unpublished and in the hands of Yellowstone Park Historian, Lee
H. Whittlesey. For
GOSA Transactions
readers, the translators present a new translation of the six chapters Leclercq
devotes to his unique observations of the geyser basins.
The Activity of Several Backcountry Geysers
as Determined Through Automatic
Data Logger
Studies
Jeff Cross, Carlton Cross and Tara Cross
Abstract
From 1998 through 2009, several geysers in the Shoshone,
Heart Lake, Lone Star and Gibbon Geyser Basins were monitored through the use of
automatic data loggers. Data obtained
via loggers is combined with data from literature sources and visual observations
to describe the recent eruptive history of Glade Geyser, Double Geyser, Frill Spring,
The Hydra, Buried Geyser, Phoenix Geyser and Oblique Geyser.
A Model of a Geyser that Erupts in Series
Jeff Cross
Abstract
A model geyser, having two reservoirs and
erupting in series with several minor eruptions preceding a single major eruption,
is described. Minor eruptions originated in the upper reservoir and major eruptions
originated in the lower reservoir. The mechanism by which the series occurs is described.
Interactions between the two reservoirs constrained the major eruption to begin
during specific parts of the minor eruption cycle.
Periodicity of an Underwater Geyser
Varying
with Tide
Masayuki Nagao
Institute of Geology and Geoinformation,
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology (AIST),
AIST Central 7, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8567, Japan
nagao-masayuki@aist.go.jp
Yasuo Furushima
Institute of Biogeosciences,
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
(JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho Yokosuka 237-0061 JAPAN
Atsushi Suzuki
Institute of Geology and Geoinformation,
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology (AIST),
AIST Central 7, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8567, Japan
Hiroyuki Yamamoto
Tadashi Maruyama
Institute of Biogeosciences,
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
(JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho Yokosuka 237-0061 JAPAN
Abstract
The periodicity of an underwater geyser in the Taketomi submarine hot spring
in Yaeyama archipelago, Japan, has been investigated for the first time by Furushima
et al. (Marine Technology Society Journal, 43(3), 13-22, 2009). After conducting
a time-series analysis of the upward velocity using an acoustic current meter, they
concluded the time cycle of the geyser responded to the tide. The time cycles of
the geyser at high and low tide were 66 s and 41 s, respectively. They also considered
the relationship between the temperatures of the heat source and the recharge water,
based on the vertical tube theory (Yuhara and Seno, 1969), a physics model of an
onshore geyser. Assuming that the heated domain was just below the sea floor, and
that the temperature of the heat source (Q) was over 200 ºC, they calculated that a recharge water
temperature (q0)
of 117.96 ºC could sustain the observed time cycles at high and low tide. However,
the relationship between Q and
q0 can vary according to the underground depth of the
heated domain (H). In this study we obtained a time series of
H
from the averaged integration of upward flux per each eruption, after assuming that
the cross-sectional area of the vertical tube had a constant value throughout the
vertical direction. Results showed that
H ranged from
6.6 m to 14.9 m with an average of 9.9 m. With some exceptions, we could regard
H as a constant value of 10 m, as the tide changed from
high to low. Again according to the vertical tube theory, this new
H
of 10 m indicated that at least the
Q must be above
the boiling point of the recharge water (Q>133.82 °C), and to stably sustain the cycles, the
conditions of Q > 200 °C and
q0®q0s=130.57 °C are desirable. These estimations of
Q
were consistent with the previous estimations of the “deep underground water temperature”
at the Taketomi Submarine Hot Spring, which ranged from 160 to 200 ˚C as reported
by Kaneshima et al. (1983), Kimura et al. (1985) and Oomori (1987).
The Effect of a Constriction on the
Function
of a Model Geyser
Jeff Cross and Ron Keam
Abstract
It is sometimes suggested that a geyser can erupt periodically if and only if its
plumbing system contains a constriction. In this paper, we examine the effect that
the presence and absence of a constriction has on the function of a model geyser.
One of us (J.C.) has shown by experiment that a model geyser that lacks a constriction
can erupt periodically. We propose an explanation for this observation. We also
describe a physical model that explains how a constriction, if present, can help
initiate the eruption process in a geyser.
Addendum to The GOSA Transactions
Volume 10, 2008
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