[Geysers] Data Collection

[Peggy Treat]

I agree! personally I am ever so grateful for all the data collected by
gazers and all the knowledge you have all shared with me ( a wanna be).
Because of many generous gazers I have met while waiting, I have caught the
love of geysers! I also have become quite lucky at catching them :) Thanks
so much for sharing the joy!
Peggy Treat

On Mon, Dec 26, 2011 at 9:13 PM, Stephen Eide <stepheneide at cableone.net>wrote:

> Greetings and Salutations,
>
> I too have enjoyed the discussion on gathering geyser stats.  But several
> people have said something I feel I must disagree with.  They said some
> variation on "collecting data on geyser activity probably not important
> or has no use in the long run".  Science lives and dies on proper data
> collection.  And science has many instances where old "useless" data is
> later found to be very useful and even essential.  Of course, it also may
> turn out to have very little benefit in the future, but no one knows one
> way or the other.  I believe it is important to collect the data as
> accurately as possible because I do not know when, where, or how it may be
> useful in the future (or present) but there is always the chance it will
> be.  But it can only be useful if it is collected and recorded. I am quite
> sure when the first bacteria were pulled out of Mushroom Pool no one had
> any idea the effect it would have on genetic research.  All data is
> essential for the progress of science.
>
> Which brings me to the other reason why the data should be recorded.  For
> the same reasons we record all of history.  Ten years from now I (and I am
> sure others) be interested in what the activity was in 2010 at Fan and
> Mortar, Grotto, Jet, Bead, or what ever geyser you can name  A hundred
> years from now will there be people who would want to know about the
> eruptions of Fan and Mortar in 2010?  I hope so, I do believe geyser geeks
> will live on.  And I think the same will be true a thousand years from
> now.  Beyond the realm of science the data would be important to record if
> just for the historical information it contains.  Historians always moan
> about the huge amounts of information that has been lost forever because no
> one thought it was important to record at the time it was happening.  If
> you spend much time looking into the history of a geyser or thermal area I
> think you will be amazed by how little of the "commonly known" data was
> recorded for posterity.  If I am dismayed by that loss of past data, then I
> must have a duty to help record and preserve the current data.
>
> Of course, this is just my personal credo.
>
> Stephen Eide
>
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