[Geysers] Old Faithful Plumbing Study (Young)

[Karen Webb]

This is very interesting, although the abstract seems to suggest 
slightly different data than the livescience article describes (so, yes, 
if anyone has access to the full article, I also would like to see it if 
that's not a violation of the terms for article retrieval). I have to 
wish again that someone would also study a fountain geyser so the two 
plumbing systems could be compared. I've been curious about whether a 
multiple-burst Grand or the really vigourous or superburst Great 
Fountain eruptions are tapping a second or different part of their 
aquifers. Also, I think the abstract is saying that this is a 
reexamination of the 1992 data (which I thought used a fiberoptic 
camera) and that what they've found is a previously unidentified part of 
OF's plumbing system. Thanks, Jacob for the links!
Karen Webb


On 4/13/2013 8:20 AM, Jacob Young wrote:
> An article from 
> http://www.livescience.com/28699-old-faithful-hidden-cavern.html with 
> the text below
>
> Here's the actual study: 
> http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/grl.50422/abstract If 
> anyone could send me the PDF of it, I'd appreciate it.
>
> Full Text of LiveScience.com write-up:
>
> Old Faithful's underground plumbing looks more like a bagpipe than a 
> flute, a new study of the Yellowstone National Park geyser finds.
>
> A big chamber sits about 50 feet (15 meters) underground, located 
> southwest of Old Faithful, researchers report in a study published 
> online March 30 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The exact 
> size can't be determined, but they estimate the egg-shaped void is at 
> least 50 feet (15 m) tall and 60 feet (18 m) wide. The cavern connects 
> to a pipe angled about 24 degrees that feeds Old Faithful's maw.
> Tiny tremors extracted from seismic records collected in the 1990s 
> revealed the shape of the cavern and geyser conduit. Popping gas 
> bubbles create the tremors. Not only do the tremors map the shape of 
> underground spaces, they can also track water. For the first time, 
> scientists have a clear view of how Old Faithful works underground.
> "We're able to locate with one- to two-meter precision the place where 
> the boiling occurs," said Jean Vandemeulebrouck, a geophysicist at the 
> University of Savoie in France. "We can see the water rising in the 
> conduit."
>
> How Old Faithful works
>
> Old Faithful earned its name for its regular eruptions, which average 
> every 92 minutes.
> Just after an eruption, there's a 15-minute recharge period with low 
> water levels. Then for about 50 minutes, water levels rise and seismic 
> activity increases. The chamber never empties, but as steam bubbles 
> fill the chamber, they can oscillate water in the conduit, eventually 
> leading to a violent steam explosion. The bubble trap is what helps 
> Old Faithful splash with smaller eruptions before fully blowing its top.
> The research is another nail in the coffin for the long-standing idea 
> that big geysers erupt from long, narrow tubes. Earlier this year, 
> researchers working in Kamchatka's Valley of the Geysers showed the 
> Russian geysers also erupted from conduits fed by caverns. As with Old 
> Faithful, the geysers explode because of underground bubble traps.
> Geysers are rare features --- only about 1,000 exist around the world. 
> To form a geyser, there must abundant groundwater, a volcanic heat 
> source to warm the water, open spaces so the water can escape and a 
> way to trap bubbles.
> Vandemeulebrouck is now collaborating with the U.S. Geological Survey 
> to study another Yellowstone National Park geyser, called Lone Star. 
> Their preliminary results are similar to Old Faithful, he said. 
> [Video: A Scenic Tour of Yellowstone National Park]
> "I think this oscillating system is quite common in geysers," 
> Vandemeulebrouck told OurAmazingPlanet.
>
> -----
>
> Jake Young
>
>
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> Geysers at lists.wallawalla.edu
> 
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