[Geysers] Artemisia and Atomizer Geysers

[Lynn Stephens]

THIS POST IS FOR THE PERSONAL USE OF THE READERS OF THIS LISTSERV AND IS NOT TO BE REPRODUCED FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE, INCLUDING PUBLICATION IN EITHER THE SPUT OR THE TRANSACTIONS.
 
My objective today was to get a closed major to major interval on Atomizer.  I assumed I would have to miss the morning Fountain to close the interval, but never expected it would take almost all day to close the interval.
 
i spent about seven hours at Artemisia/Atomizer yesterday.  Artemisia was in full overflow when I arrived and was still in full overflow when I left about 1745.  Andy (sorry I don't have his last name) stayed until about 1930 (sorry, I didn't write down the exact time) and said Artemisia had still not erupted when he left.
 
When I arrived about 6:30 this morning, Artemisia was in full overflow.  I got my Artemisia bonus at 0955, duration 19 minutes.  Did it erupt after Andy left, and then pull a fairly short interval?  Who knows.  Full overflow data points could be used to guess either one very short interval after he left or one very interval that started before I arrived yesterday morning.  Either would fit the 2011 minimum and maximum intervals.
 
A little background on Atomizer.  When I first started watching Atomizer in the late 1980's, Rocco Paperiello said there where three types of ways majors could occur.  One is the "quick comeback major" where Atomizer stops for a few minutes following a long duration minor, then starts splashing and the splashing builds to a major 7 to 15 minutes after the end of the minor.  I haven't seen one of those yet this year.  A second type is an eruption that just is the major.  The eruption starts and just doesn't die.  I saw one of those yesterday.  It caught me somewhat by surprise because the preceding minor had been about 60 seconds in duration and there had been some post-eruptive splashing, so I was mentally prepared for a 2-3 hour interval before the next minor, which would then be followed by about a one hour interval before the major.  The interval from the 60 second minor was a llittle over 2 1/2 hours, but the eruption went straight to the major, which was started at 1718.  i'll discuss the third type further down this post.
 
I arrived at Atomizer this morning at 0640.  The first minor occured a few minutes later, lasted about 40 seconds, and there was no post-eruptive splashing.  The next minor happened just under 2 hours later, lasted a little over 50 seconds, and was followed by extensive post-eruptive splashing.  So, I was thinking 2-3 hours before the next minor, then about another hour to the major.  Barbara Lassiter and MA Bellingham came up about 2 1/2 hours later and I foolishly said I thought we should get a minor in another hour and the major about an hour after that.  Instead the next minor held, and held, and held.  Water came up overflowed, bubbled, dropped several times.  As far as I know we set two records today with Atomizer, and neither one was the sort of record I wanted to set.  The interval between those two minors was 4h59m50s!  I don't have all my logbooks here with me, but I know I have never recorded an interval from one minor to the next minor in excess of 4 hours, and don't think I have recorded any in excess of much over 3 hours.  The minor that closed that interval lasted just under 60 seconds, and was followed by some post-eruptive splashing.  I did see a sequence of minors last year iwth 2 minors followed by post-eruptive splashing such that there were two long intervals in the sequence of minors and there was also another hour between the last minor and the major.  Thankfully that didn't happen today, although it appeared Atomizer tried.
 
The third type of entry into a major eruption is an eruption that lasts about 60 seconds or so, then tries to die.  The column drops and starts "stuttering" such that you think the eruption is going to end.  But then the column starts to build, then becomes continuous again, and the major starts.  That happened this afternoon.  Two hours 15 minutes after the last minor, an eruption started, which tried to die, but then rejuvenated into the major.  Closed interval major to major 22h37m.  To the best of my knowledge, that is the longest recorded major to major interval, unless someone recorded one last summer I didn't hear about.
 
Last summer Atomizer major to major intervals had lengthened, as shown below.  Hopefully this one data point does not mean they have lengthened again.
 
 For "historical" purposes, average intervals have been:
                      Mean                     Minimum             Maximum
2005      14h33m              13h28m       16h25m   
2006      14h09m              15h51m               16h30m  
2007      15h18m              13h39m               16h57m   
2008      14h58m              13h06m               16h28m   
2009      15h11m              13h10m               18h20m    
2010      one data point only double interval averaged 13h20m2011      17h38m              <=16h26m*        21h58m    
 
*Half of a double interval   I did get to see this evening's eruption of Fountain, but didn't do any of the things I thought I might do this afternoon. Lynn Stephens


 		 	   		  
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