Hydrothermal Blast Inflicts Damage in Yellowstone National Park
By M Muzamil Shami
A hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone National Park caused damage to a boardwalk and propelled debris several stories into the air on Tuesday morning in the Biscuit Basin area, northwest of Old Faithful, according to Michael Poland, the Scientist-in-Charge at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
The explosion, described by Poland as "small," occurred around 10 a.m. about 2.1 miles northwest of Old Faithful, likely originating from the Black Diamond Pool in Biscuit Basin.
In a statement early Tuesday afternoon, Poland confirmed that no injuries had been reported so far.
Videos shared online by witnesses of the explosion depict several individuals on the boardwalk near the blast site, with subsequent footage revealing debris scattered across the area and a damaged boardwalk.
For safety reasons, Biscuit Basin’s parking lot and boardwalks are temporarily closed as Yellowstone National Park geologists investigate the explosion. They report that current data indicates no unusual volcanic activity.
“Monitoring data show no changes in the Yellowstone region. Today’s explosion does not reflect activity within the volcanic system, which remains at normal background levels of activity,” stated Poland. “Hydrothermal explosions like today’s are not indicators of impending volcanic eruptions and are not caused by magma rising towards the surface.”
He explained that such explosions occur when water rapidly converts to steam underground and are “relatively common” in Yellowstone National Park.
In May 2009, Biscuit Bay experienced a similar explosion, with a smaller one occurring on April 15 in Norris Geyser Basin. Notably, Porkchop Geyser in Norris Geyser Basin also exploded back in 1989.
Hydrothermal explosions typically project boiling water, steam, mud, and rock into the air, reaching heights of up to 1.2 miles, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. A 2018 report stated that large hydrothermal explosions occur approximately every 700 years on average. The report identified at least 25 craters in the park that are at least 328 feet wide.
“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 notes. “Based on the occurrence of large hydrothermal explosion events over the past 16,000 years, an explosion large enough to create a 328-foot-wide crater might be expected every few hundred years.”
The National Park Service reported that Black Diamond Pool spewed black, murky water after an earthquake in July 2006 and experienced "several explosive eruptions" in the following days, though these eruptions have been "infrequent" since. The pool's average temperature is 148.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yellowstone National Park's public affairs office referred the Daily Montanan to a news release from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, stating no additional information was available early Tuesday afternoon.
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory announced that it would provide more details as they become available.
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