[Geysers] China quake effects?

[Ralph Taylor]

Lynn did a nice summary of what we found.  There have been other equally
powerful quakes closer than the Denali quake that had no measurable effects
in Yellowstone.  There may have been an alignment of the movement during the
Danali quake that resulted in more energy arriving at Yellowstone, but I
can't say for sure.

As Lynn noted, most of the changes we detected in geysers reverted to
pre-quake status eventually, but Castle kept its longer intervals as did
Lone Pine.  It also appears that in addition to Lone Pine jumping to much
longer intervals concurrent with the Denali quake, nearby Occasional Geyser
emerged from a years-long dormancy and has remained active.  

Ralph Taylor 

-----Original Message-----
From: geysers-bounces at lists.wallawalla.edu
[mailto:geysers-bounces at lists.wallawalla.edu] On Behalf Of Lynn Stephens
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 10:50 PM
To: Geyser Observation Reports
Subject: RE: [Geysers] China quake effects?




________________________________
> Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 14:29:03 -0700
> From: udo.freund at lmco.com
> To: geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu
> Subject: [Geysers] China quake effects?
> 
> I recall some discussion about an Alaskan quake a few years ago having
several surprising effects on geysers in Yellowstone.  Since the early
Monday (00:28:01 MDT) M7.9 quake in China there have been 46 aftershocks
M4.4 to M6.0.  Despite this happening even farther away than previously
"related" quakes has anyone considered if the recent odd activity may also
be related?  Yellowstone's own activity map seems "normal" to "quiet".  The
biggest is M2.1 about 9 hours prior to China's biggie.  Just guru geyser
gazing from afar.
> 
> Thanks,
> Udo Freund


I should probably let Ralph Taylor respond to this since he was a co-author
on the paper that discussed the effects of the 2002 Denali earthquake on
Yellowstone geysers.  But, for those who are interested, here is some
information about the effects the 2002 Denali quake had on Yellowstone.

Per the summary of their paper that appears on the University of Utah
seismographic website:

22 geysers monitored

8 showed effects
10 no noticeable effects
4 too erattic to determine

8 changed
     5 increased--Daisy, Depression, Plume and Riverside, Pink
     3 decreased--Castle, Plate, Lone Pine


Here's (most of the) information from the University of Utah seismographic
website about the effects of the Denali quake.  I've reproduced this because
some of the newspaper accounts garbled the information, and some websites
still have misinformation.

"Less than 18 hours after the Denali earthquake in Alaska, Smith and
colleagues at the University of Utah Seismograph Stations reported the major
jolt had triggered more than 200 small earthquakes in Yellowstone -
something widely reported by news media in the days following the quake.

Smith now says the triggered quakes at Yellowstone numbered more than 1,000
within a week of the Denali quake - if the count includes tiny temblors that
were not "located," meaning their epicenters and depths were not determined.
He says the quakes ranged in magnitude from minus 0.5 to just under 3.0.
(Tiny quakes have negative magnitudes because modern seismic equipment can
detect quakes smaller than was possible when the logarithmic magnitude
scales were devised.)

Most of the triggered quakes were centered near geysers and hot springs."

"Several small hot springs, not known to have geysered before, suddenly
surged into a heavy boil with eruptions as high as 1 meter [about 39
inches]," Smith and colleagues wrote in Geology. "The temperature at one of
these springs increased rapidly from about 42 to 93 degrees Celsius [about
108 to 199 degrees Fahrenheit]" and became much less acidic than normal. "In
the same area, another hot spring that was usually clear showed muddy,
turbid water."

Meanwhile, some geysers erupted more frequently than normal, while others
erupted less frequently.

Yellowstone has more than 10,000 geysers, hot springs and fumaroles (steam
vents), and scientists monitored how often 22 of the geysers erupted during
the winter of 2002-2003. Eight of the 22 "displayed notable changes in their
eruption intervals" after the Denali quake, 10 showed no significant changes
and the other four were too erratic in the timing of their eruptions to
determine if the quake changed them, the researchers wrote. Of the eight
that changed:

-- Geysers that erupted more frequently following the Denali quake included
Daisy, Depression, Plume and Riverside geysers in Upper Geyser Basin, and
Pink Geyser in Lower Geyser Basin.

-- Geysers that erupted less frequently after the Denali quake included
Castle and Plate geysers in Upper Geyser Basin and Lone Pine Geyser in West
Thumb Geyser Basin.

Most geysers returned to their normal timing days to months after the Denali
quake.

Oddly, geysers affected by earlier nearby earthquakes - most notably Old
Faithful and Grand Geyser in Upper Geyser Basin - were not affected by the
Denali earthquake.


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