[Geysers] Geyser Report September 7

[Lynn Stephens]

First, items from the OFVC logbook--

 

Addendum to the 9/6 logbook

    Castle 22:55 major

    Beehive 2343, Indicator 2329

 

9/6/2009 logbook

 

Castle 11:42, minor; 16:22ie major

Daisy 6:54, 9;04, 11:13, 13:22, 15:26ie, 17:31, 19:31

Fountain  18:17ie

Grand 4:24ie, 4:44E, 13:22

Great fountain 6:50E, 18:35

Riverside 3:29, 9:17, 15:12

Beehive 12:27 (Indicator = 12:11)

Fan & Mortar 19:56, d = 37 min

Lone Star 7:45vr, 10;07vr, 13:16, 16:10 major

Plume 5:33, 6:29, 7:27, 8:20, 9:17, 11:05, 11:57, 12:46ie, 13:33, 14:25, 15:19, 16:06, 16:56, 18:41

Artemisia 15:28

Aurum 17:07

Grotto 8:59 marathon still ie 30:20

Grotto Fountain 8:51

Lion 4:51, 6:19ie, 15:22, 16:52 (minor ?) 17:14ie

West Triplet 13:15

Oblong 5:47ie, 14:36ie, 19:52ie

Atomizer minors 13:51, 15:22, 16:51

Plate 17:10ns

Sputnik

13:17

Spa 12:19ie

Depression 17:39ie

 

The Fan & Mortar eruption:  I arrived at F&M about 6 am 9/7 and decided I was just going to plant myself there for the day.  As Tara reported, I stayed there until I "handed off" babysitting duties to Dean.  The last cycle before the eruptive cycle consisted of a River Vent on at 17:48 with Angle, then Gold following almost immediately.  The cycle drug on forever.  Activity in Gold would momentarily halt and River Vent would try to shut off, only to have Gold return to splashing water and River Vent pouring out enough water to create plenty of steam.  Finally, River Vent shut off at 18:40, for a duration of 52 minutes.  Frying Pan did put out some water during this cycle but I did not note the start time, just noted FP-Y in my notes.  Angle kept trying to shut off for the next 25 minutes.  Finally, I noted it had shut off at 19:05 and did not resume splashing.

 

River Vent turned on at 19:23 followed by Gold at 19:26 and Angle at 19:30.  Dean had called to let me know I could leave because he was on his way down.  I had told him I was going to stay to watch the activity for a little while because River Vent had just come off a long cycle.  He replied he would wait for Daisy, then come on down.

 

I watched the water levels for a few minutes after Angle started and they were not looking good.  High wasn't drooling, Gold wasn't pooling, and Gold 2 and 3 did not come on when Gold came on and had not come on when I left.  Dean called Daisy at 19:31.  I don't know whether he waited until the end of Daisy, but if he did, he would not have left Daisy until about 19:35 at the earliest.  I thought I had stayed at F&M until almost the 10-minute mark, then left because water levels had never looked exciting.  He and I passed each other near Spa and we briefly stopped so I could tell him the start times for the three vents.  I then made my usual slow way on my bike with my big pack back toward the parking lot.

 

I was just turned off the asphalt trail and was nearing the road when Dean called asking for a repeat of the vent start times.  I stopped the bike, then fumbled around through the various layers of clothing trying to locate my radio.  Dean said it took me long enough to respond that he was thinking about calling me again, when I finally came on the radio and gave him the times.  He did the calculations and said that for 12 minutes in, water levels were looking really good.  (In the meantime, Dean had arrived at F&M, spent a few minutes talking with Norm, from Canada, sorry I don't know his last name, and was just getting ready to go to the outhouse to add a layer of clothing when he noticed the water levels and got on the radio.)  In the panic/excitement/confusion last night, I did not think to question Dean's calculation of 12 minutes, etc., but after I returned to the trailer, I realized the activities that occurred didn't fit that time line, especially since I had stayed to the 10-minute mark on Gold.

 

A minute later Dean said at 13 minutes water levels were improving and getting stronger.  I tossed my pack in the back of the pickup and responded I was turning around.  At that point I started really pedalling the bike, actually using different gears, and was moving as quickly as I could.  About the time I reached Castle, Dean made an announcement that High was going 6 feet and Gold was steady.  Instead of coasting down the grades, I was pedalling as fast as I could.  I noted Oblong ie at 19:52, then heard Dean announce "It's a lock" at 19:53, just as I crossed the bridge.  I had time to note that Frying Pan was leaking water before Main Vent splahed, followed by an East Vent splash, with was followed almost immediately by East Vent taking off at 19:56, 30 minutes after the start of Gold.

 

Although Dean was saying on the radio water levels were looking good 12, then 13, etc. minutes after the start of Gold, I think in the excitement/confusion that his reports actually started 22, then 23, etc. minutes after the start of Gold because the timing of subsequent events doesn't fit 12, then 13, etc. minutes after the start of Gold.  I thought I had stayed through the 10 minute mark, or 19:36 and KNOW I stayed at least a few minutes after the start of Angle at 19:30.  Twelve minutes after Gold would have been 19:38, and I don't think I could have made it to the parking lot in less than 8 minutes (the latest I could have left F&M was 19:30 since I recorded the start of Angle at 19:30), then taken 15 minutes on the return trip since I know I was moving at a much faster pace on the return trip than I was on the trip to the parking lot.  Also, Dean said he had been there a few minutes talking with Norm and that water levels were not looking good when he arrived, but picked up sometime during his conversation with Norm.  

 

Anyway, whether or not Dean's "12-minutes, etc." should have been "22-minutes, etc.", Fan & Mortar have found another way to cause us consternation.  Water levels did not look good during the first 10 minutes of the cycle.  So, people can add me to the list of people who rode away from Fan & Mortar thinking water levels had not looked good enough at the right time for the geyser to erupt.  Luckily, I was able to get back for the start of the eruption this time.

 

Tara wrote:  "Observers will have to pay attention to water levels more, looking to see if they are still good 10+ minutes into Gold.  We hope that things will return to normal for the next eruption."

 

Unfortunately, even that won't necessarily work, because water levels were not looking good at the 10 minute mark into Gold. 

Hopefully we're not back to the brute force F&M geyser gazing days when the only safe time to leave is after River Vent has turned off.

 

Lynn Stephens

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