A sudden eruption of steam in Yellowstone National Park’s geyser basin that sent people running for safety as basketball-sized rocks flew overhead has highlighted a little-known danger that scientists hope to someday predict. Tuesday’s hydrothermal explosion at Biscuit Basin caused no injuries because dozens of people fled via a boardwalk before the boardwalk collapsed. The blast sent rocks, steam, water and soil into the air, according to a witness and a scientist who reviewed video footage of the incident.
The eruption occurred in a park filled with geysers, hot springs and other hydrothermal features that draw millions of tourists each year. Some, like the famous Old Faithful, erupt like clockwork and are well understood by scientists who monitor the park’s seismic activity. But this week’s type of explosion is less common and less understood, and potentially more dangerous because it comes without warning. “It highlights that even small events — and this one is relatively small in the scheme of events, though dramatic — can be really dangerous,” said Michael Poland.
Chief scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. “We’ve gotten pretty good at understanding the signs that a volcano is active and might erupt. We don’t have the knowledge base for hydrothermal systems like the ones at Yellowstone.” Poland and other scientists are trying to change that with a new monitoring system recently installed at another Yellowstone geyser basin. The system measures seismic activity, deformation of the Earth’s surface and low-frequency acoustic energy that can signal an eruption.
The hydrothermal explosion is believed to have been caused by a blockage in the vast network of natural pipes beneath Yellowstone, Poland said. The blockage can cause pressurized hot water to instantly turn into steam and explode. Witness Vlada March, who recorded widely circulated video of the explosion, said steam began billowing out of Biscuit Basin “and within seconds, it turned into this big thing. ... It exploded and turned into this black cloud that covered the sun.” March’s tour guide, Isaac Fisher, told The Associated Press that he heard a hiss coming from Cliff Pool and told his group that it was unusual.
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