Scientist-in-Charge Michael Poland described the explosion as “small” and reported that it occurred around 10 a.m., approximately 2.1 miles northwest of Old Faithful, likely originating from the Black Diamond Pool in Biscuit Basin.
In an information statement released early Tuesday afternoon, Poland confirmed that there had been no reported injuries from the explosion.
Videos posted online by witnesses show several people on the boardwalk near the explosion site, with footage of the aftermath displaying debris scattered across the area and a damaged boardwalk.
For safety reasons, Biscuit Basin’s parking lot and boardwalks have been temporarily closed. Yellowstone National Park geologists are investigating the explosion but have stated that data shows 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,” Poland explained. “Hydrothermal explosions like today’s are not indicative of impending volcanic eruptions and are not caused by magma rising toward the surface.”
These types of explosions occur when water rapidly converts to steam underground and are “relatively common” in Yellowstone National Park, according to Poland.
There was a similar explosion in Biscuit Basin in May 2009, and a smaller one in Norris Geyser Basin on April 15. Porkchop Geyser in Norris Geyser Basin exploded in 1989.
Hydrothermal explosions can launch boiling water, steam, mud, and rocks into the air, sometimes reaching heights of up to 1.2 miles, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. A 2018 report from the USGS noted that large hydrothermal explosions occur, on average, every 700 years, and at least 25 craters in the park 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 this type in Yellowstone National Park is not insignificant,” the report stated. “Based on the occurrence of large hydrothermal explosion events over the past 16,000 years, an explosion large enough to create a 100-meter (328-ft-) wide crater might be expected every few hundred years.”
The National Park Service reported that Black Diamond Pool erupted with black, murky water following an earthquake in July 2006 and experienced “several explosive eruptions” in the days after, though eruptions have been “infrequent” since. The pool’s average temperature is 148.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yellowstone National Park’s public affairs office referred inquiries to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory’s news release and indicated that no further information was available as of early Tuesday afternoon.
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory stated it would provide more information as it becomes available.
This article was originally published by the Daily Montanan, part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and donor coalitions as a 501(c)(3) public charity. The Daily Montanan maintains editorial independence
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