[Rockhounds] Hydrothermal explosions -- a worldwide phenomena

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

*Yellowstone Caldera
<https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary> Chronicles
is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Michael
Poland, geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey and
Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.*

The July 23, 2024,
<https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/july-23-2024-hydrothermal-explosion-biscuit-basin>hydrothermal
explosion <https://www.usgs.gov/glossary/volcano-hazards-program-glossary> at
Biscuit Basin was a spectacular and hazardous event, throwing water, rock,
and mud for more than 330 feet (100 meters) around its source: Black
Diamond Pool. The pool is known to be the location of numerous previous
hydrothermal explosions, and it probably formed as a result of an explosion
between 1902 and 1912
<https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/digging-history-hydrothermal-explosions-biscuit-basin>
.

Although seemingly rare because such an event had never been so well
recorded in Yellowstone, hydrothermal explosions
<https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/hydrothermal-explosions-yellowstone-national-park>
are
relatively common.  A few small events, leaving craters at least one to a
few yards (meters) across, probably happen multiple times each year in some
part of the park but are usually unwitnessed because they occur in
backcountry areas, at night, or during the winter.  Events the size of the
July 23, 2024, Biscuit Basin explosion probably occur every decade to a few
decades
<https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/probability-hydrothermal-explosions-yellowstone>
in
Yellowstone.

Hydrothermal explosions, which are caused by pressure changes that result
from the transition of liquid water to steam, are not restricted to the
Yellowstone region. They also occur in hot-water systems located elsewhere
in the USA and around the world.

https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/hydrothermal-explosions-a-worldwide-phenomena