A hydrothermal explosion damages the an area that is Yellowstone National Park * Washington State Standard
The blast smashed a boardwalk and hurled debris up several stories up in the air across the Biscuit Basin region northwestern Old Faithful.
By Blair Miller
A hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone National Park damaged a boardwalk and sent debris several stories into the air Tuesday morning in the Biscuit Basin area northwest of Old Faithful, according to the scientist-in-charge at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
The blast, which the scientist in charge Michael Poland said was a “small” one, happened at around 10.30 a.m. Tuesday, roughly 2.1 miles to the northwest from Old Faithful, likely in the Black Diamond Pool in Biscuit Basin, Poland said.
Poland has stated in an announcement in the early hours of Tuesday afternoon that it had been reported that there were no injuries reported from the incident.
YouTube videos shared on the internet by witnesses of the blast showed pedestrians on the boardwalk near to the spot where the explosion took place as well as videos from the scene reveal debris scattered throughout the area, as well as a damaged walkway.
Biscuit Basin’s parking area and boardwalks are currently closed to ensure safety. Yellowstone National Park geologists are studying the explosion, but they say that the data does not show any unusual eruptions of volcanic origin.
“Monitoring data show no significant changes for any of the Yellowstone region. The explosion of today does not indicate any activity in the volcanic system that is still at a normal level of background activities,” Poland said in an announcement. “Hydrothermal explosions like that of today are not a sign of impending volcanic eruptions, and they are not caused by magma rising towards the surface.”
The author said that these kinds of explosions occur when steam is rapidly transformed into water underground, and occur “relatively common” in Yellowstone National Park.
There was an explosion similar to the one that occurred in Biscuit Bay in May 2009 as well as less powerful blast within Norris Geyser Basin on April 15. Porkchop Geyser located in Norris Geyser Basin exploded in 1989.
Hydrothermal explosions typically send boiling steam, boiling water and mud in the air. They can attain heights as high as 1.2 miles in the estimation of U.S. Geological Survey. The agency said in an article from 2018 that huge hydrothermal blasts occur once every 700 years. At at least 25 craters have been discovered in the park, which are at least 328 feet in width in the report.
“Although large hydrothermal explosions are rare events on a human time scale, the potential for additional future events of the sort in Yellowstone National Park is not insignificant,” the report claims. “Based on the frequency of large hydrothermal explosions over the last one thousand years, an explosion sufficient to cause an 100-meter (328-ftwide) wide crater could be anticipated every several hundred years.
Based on the National Park Service, Black Diamond Pool was a dark, black water after the earthquake of July 2006, and experienced “several explosive eruptions” in the following days, although there have been eruptions that were “infrequent” since then. The average temperature has been recorded as 148.5 °F.
The office of public affairs for Yellowstone National Park pointed the Daily Montanan to the news release issued by Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Yellowstone Volcano Observatory and said that no additional information was available until late Tuesday afternoon.
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory said it will release more information when it becomes accessible.
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