[Geysers] Yellowstone Thermal Inventory Project

[Carlton Cross]

Here is an item received several days ago from  Carrie_Guiles at nps.gov .  Since it originated from an address that is not on our list, it has required some recovery work.  There was a heading that disappeared quick as a wink by Microsoft magic (and where it went, only Bill knows), but the text is intact.

Carlton Cross
Moderator

Yellowstone Thermal Inventory Project

GOSA Listserve:

The recent amount of traffic concerning the Yellowstone Thermal Inventory data online has prompted us to draft this note.  We would like to give you an idea of the project history, methodology, and the reasoning behind putting the data on the web in its current state.

In 1998, the Yellowstone Spatial Analysis Center (SAC) began a spatial inventory of Park geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles.  A reasonably accurate (sub-meter to within a few meters) location for each feature is collected with a research grade GPS and converted into a GIS (geographic information system) layer.  In addition, digital photographs and measurements of pH, electro-conductivity, and temperature are also collected providing a snapshot of each feature on the day/time the data were collected.

This process was initiated as a baseline inventory of the thermal features in Yellowstone National Park in order to assess the spatial distribution of the features and their basic properties (pH and temperature).  It is not a comprehensive long-term monitoring project.  It is a baseline inventory of the features that existed when the areas were visited.

The project has been minimally funded on a year-to-year basis and relies upon interns and volunteers who commit to a summer of fieldwork, data collection, entry, and quality control.  There is a competitive selection process and the training and work is supervised by SAC staff.

One of the long-term goals of the project is to connect the GPS locations of features with available research data.  For example, if the USGS has sampled for geochemical data from a geyser, a microbiologist has taken 2 samples for DNA analysis from the same feature, and there is also eruption data from a data logger, all of these separate studies could be linked to a location point representing that geyser, providing 'one-stop shopping' for all the available data.  This is cool idea, but lots of work to implement.

In 2006, MSU's Thermal Biology Institute (TBI) approached the park and asked if they could use the thermal inventory as a basis for an on-line coordination of researcher data.  TBI initiated the Research Coordination Network to get all of the thermal researchers working in Yellowstone to be aware of each other and possibly working on some joint projects for mutual benefit.  Since this was in-line with our own goals and beyond our means at the time, we agreed.  With more than 10,000 entries in the database there are bound to still be some errors we haven't caught, but we decided to make it available in order to get more input into the project.  This is a dynamic database that is constantly being updated and improved.  Our assumption is that we will fix errors as we find them and we will find them a lot faster with dozens of people looking.  It seems better to have the data out there being used and improved than to keep it unavailable except to those few who happen to know it exists.

The volunteers and staff who have worked on the Thermal Inventory Project for the past 10 years have each been trained in thermal area safety, data collection methodology, and proper behavior and respect for the unique features here at Yellowstone.  We have in the past relied upon the knowledge of volunteers, NPS, and concessions staff who are experts in particular areas to safely guide our crews into thermal areas.  We thank them wholeheartedly for their help and knowledge.

We take multiple photos of each feature for identification purposes.  If there are people in the photos it is only by chance and all of the people are helping to sample.  If you notice a photo that might give the wrong message to the public, it is there by accident.  There is an excellent chance that we don't want it on-line either.  Help us out by letting us know and we can replace it with a better one.   In that vein, we encourage all of you who find errors in the Thermal Inventory data to please send an email to yell_gis at nps.gov so those errors can be fixed.  Be a little patient because there are many of you and only a few of us.

It is one of the most special things about Yellowstone that groups such as GOSA exist in order to study, enjoy, and be vocal advocates for the spectacular array of thermal features in the park. The resources at hand do not allow us to spend unlimited time working on this data set, so any help you can offer would be appreciated.

Please email us at yell_gis at nps.gov with any concerns or comments, and we will respond as soon as we can.

Thank you very much,

Yellowstone Spatial Analysis Center