Whats going on at yellowstone?

reply to post by Hx3_1963


So the fog is what makes the Old Faithful webcam look so grey and dark there.

Ok next question - is that normal to have fog on such a cold day?

Isn't fog more mixed with moisture and heat coming up from the ground?

Or am I wrong?

reply to post by questioningall


Actually it's warmed up compared to past days..the cold is here in Michigan now!!! Moisture hugging the ground?

Is that Lake signal still correlating to increased outflow? That's just strange if it is... It would have to be a massive pump to affect the whole lake... And if it's natural, geeze... The fact it's back and much, much more powerful than before is... concerning.

Or is the relationship to outflow coincidence?

Regardless, strange that the same type signal should come back so much stronger... Unless of course the compressor or whatever it is has been moved closer?

here...lets study this class...see if anything looks familiar...

Analysis of Noise on Seismograph Records

web.ics.purdue.edu...

I just have to mention this right now......
my ears are Killing me right now! They began hurting about 2 hours ago and now it is like I am in a plane and can not depressurize them! They are really really hurting bad! Like pressure in the air. Anybody else having that problem right now? I don't know what to do about them, how does someone stop the pain?

In relation to this thread ----- could there be pressure in the air or something? Anyone any ideas?

reply to post by questioningall


hmm are you kidding me?

reply to post by Thought Provoker


No Problemo...I thought about it after posting and came to the conclusion that pulling in the graphics/thumbnailing/ect on a rig like mine (Q6600 Quad/4GB RAM/1.25 TB HD's) on Cable Modem (sound familiar?) PLUS the outflow would be a little excessive also, but, good lookin' out fer us!!!

reply to post by questioningall


My Ears are on the Fritz as well...maybe the Van Gosh method would work?



Wonder if we'll get any YS updates today after they poke through all that garbage from yesterdays Whammy's?

[edit on 1/16/2009 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by Shirakawa


i'm going to confess that I am not sure we can tell anything much about background noise from the right hand values , it seems to be just a DC correction to the voltage .. the rest is eyeballing it only .... To make a solid argument my way or your way, we need to get the RAW data for several of these bursts and look at their magnitudes in a printout ... IMHO ....

it is also possible that the path of propagation is from from compressor through AIR to geophone enclosure ... (in oil exploration, this is called "AIRBLAST", and is more common than U might think ) ... so far we have been assuming that the path of propagation had been compressor to ground directly underneath it to geophone .. If the PATH is through the AIR , then the wind direction or lack of it would have an effect(affect?) on the signal strength ...

reply to post by questioningall


hold nose tight, close mouth tight, and try hard to exhale (don't burst your ear drums ..)

[edit on 16/1/09 by geogeek]

Well it looks like they sent two calibration pulses into LKWY

And the pipe cleaner traces are -still- there

www.seis.utah.edu...

Also I'm still seeing that surge of water approximately in the same time those pulses go off.

waterdata.usgs.gov...

Check the 544 cuF times versus the pipe cleaners. (It's not exact but close)

Hmmm.

M.

www.isthisthingon.org...


This is a great way to see everything at once.

May ears are fine today. Im in New Mexico.

reply to post by Hx3_1963

Way to go HX .. absolutely excellent link

TI: Temporal gravity and mass changes accompanying the 2004-2008 unprecedented uplift of the Yellowstone caldera

AF: Department of Geology and Geophysics University of Utah,

AB: Beginning in late 2004, GPS and InSAR data revealed the beginning of an unprecedented episode of uplift in the 0.64 Ma Yellowstone caldera at rates up to 7 cm/yr. The caldera tumescence has been modeled as an expanding volcanic sill of ~1200 square kilometers at 10 km depth beneath the caldera, coincident with the top of the seismically imaged crustal magma chamber. The modeled rate of source volume increase of 0.1 cubic kilometers per year is evidence of an influx of molten material to the system as the main mechanism for the uplift and is consistent with the 2,000 mW/m2 total heat flux. To evaluate the mass rate change of the volcanic source of the accelerated uplift, temporal variations in gravity were measured from 2007-2008 at the precision Yellowstone gravity network established in 1975. We compare the changes in gravity and equivalent mass changes to infer whether the uplift is due to the influx of magma or a change in the orthometric height alone.

TI: Seismic Evidence for Dilatational Source Deformation of the Yellowstone Accelerated Uplift Episode

AF: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah,
AB: Dominant dilatational deformations associated with earthquakes in the area of the 2004-2008 Yellowstone accelerated uplift episode were identified through detailed analysis of moment tensor inversions of two unusual M3+ earthquakes characterized by notable coseismic volumetric changes. Highly pressurized hydrothermal fluids are suggested to be associated with the source processes of these events, which is consistent with the mechanism of the GPS-InSAR derived deformation signal of the above uplift modeled as intrusion of a near horizontal magmatic sill at ~10 km depth beneath the Yellowstone caldera. One of the unusual earthquakes, the 5 November 2007 Mw 3.3 event, occurred near the West Thumb Geyser Basin and was located at the southeast side of the deforming area of the uplift. This unusual event occurred in a volume of expected crustal expansion above the inflating magmatic sill. A notable 60% explosive isotropic source component was determined for this West Thumb event with a 2.2 cm opening across an area of 0.06 km squared. We propose that the inflation of the magmatic sill activates a high-pressurized fluid migration upward that triggers a dilatational deformation inducing the unusual earthquake. The other earthquake with a dilatational deformation, the 9 January 2008 Mw 3.8 event, occurred on the northern rim of the caldera. The moment tensor solution for this event shows that the source mechanism had a 30% of tensile dislocation corresponding to a 1.2-cm opening crack over an area of 0.5 km squared. The source region of this event appears to be composed of dense micro fractures, inferred from tomographically imaged seismic velocity structure. We also suggest that stress changes produced by a collocated Mw 3.4 earthquake, occurring one week before the unusual event, may have increased the fracture permeability promoting fluid migration and thus encouraging the dilatational (tensile) dislocation. The dilatational deformations that we detected are very important for hazard mitigation efforts in volcanic fields because such deformations may eventually cause hydrothermal explosions that are considered to be a serious volcanic hazard. These explosive-source earthquakes are the first to be observed in the 35 year recording period of the Yellowstone seismic network.

TI: Fracture Mechanics Approach to Forecasting Volcanic Eruptions
AU: Sammonds, P
AF: Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre, UCL,
AB: A medium to short-term increase in the rate of volcano-tectonic earthquake events provides one of the most useful and promising tools for eruption forecasting, particularly at subduction-zone volcanoes reawakening after a long repose interval. Two basic patterns of accelerating seismicity observed prior to eruptions are exponential and faster than exponential increases with time. While theoretical and empirical models exist that can explain these observed trends, less is known about seismic unrest at volcanoes that does not end in eruption. A comprehensive model of fracturing and failure within an edifice must also explain why volcanoes do not erupt. We have developed a numerical fracture mechanical model for simulating precursory seismic sequences, associated with the opening of a new magmatic pathway to the surface. The model reproduces the basic patterns of precursory seismicity and shows that the signals produced vary according to changes in the extent of damage and in the mechanical properties of the host rock. Local stress conditions and material property distributions exist under which the model is also able to produce seismic swarms that do not lead to failure and eruption. It can therefore provide insight into factors determining whether or not a seismic crisis leads to eruption. Critically, when combined with field data this may provide information on how often 'failed' eruptions can be expected, or suggest a step towards an observational method for distinguishing between a seismic swarm leading to quiescence and a pre-eruptive seismic sequence.

TI: Volcanic Unrest Induced by Hydrothermal Fluid Flow: Insights from Models Incorporating Heterogeneous Property Distributions and Fluid Sourcing
AU: * Hutnak, M
AF: U.S. Geological Survey,
AB: One facet of volcanic unrest is ground-surface displacement (GSD), which is typically thought to result from magma intrusion at depth. Although many caldera-hosted volcanic systems show evidence of vigorous hydrothermal activity between the ground surface and underlying magma chamber, the potential contribution of circulating aqueous fluids and gases to GSD is often overlooked. Estimates of magma source depth, geometry, and composition depend critically on whether crustal deformation is caused by magmatic intrusion or hydrothermal phenomena. Recent advances in geodetic measurements of GSD reveal complex and multi- faceted deformation patterns. Further, recent increases in the power and availability of computing resources permit quantitative assessment of the complex thermal interplay between groundwater flow and crustal mechanics. We carry out numerical simulations of multi-phase (liquid-–gas), multi-component (H2O-- CO2) hydrothermal fluid flow and poroelastic deformation using a range of realistic physical parameters and processes, including heterogeneous permeability distributions (both lateral and vertical) and fluid sourcing. Hydrothermal fluid injection, circulation, and gas formation can generate complex, temporally and spatially varying patterns of GSD, with deformation rates (mm--10's of cm/yr), magnitudes (10's of m), and geometries (including subsidence) similar to those observed in several large calderas. The potential for both rapid and gradual deformation resulting from magma-derived fluids suggests that hydrothermal fluid circulation may help explain many occurrences of gradual and rapid deformation that have not culminated in magmatic eruption.

Originally posted by sugrbare03
www.isthisthingon.org...


This is a great way to see everything at once.

May ears are fine today. Im in New Mexico.

Awesome site! Thanks for that! I will watch that one! GOOD FIND!

Looks like there is fresh snow everywhere - the trees are covered with it.
Great day to watch the cams, for any melting along the hillsides etc, due to the snow should stick around due to the cold.

Great observance day!

Regarding my ears - they have lessened up some - but when I say they were "killing" me - I mean the pain was almost unbearable!

reply to post by xoxo stacie


The first third doesn't sound to encouraging, second, kind of double talky, third, like I'm watching Super Volcano's Control room Computer Simulation again...

Okay, bear with me here.

We can see new snow on the trees and ground at yellowstone, right? So we know it snowed, we also know it is Very cold right now.

In watching Old Faithful for a few days, the snow has been melted around it and the other geysers. That is normal - right? since it is heated around there, or so I just always assumed.

I began researching photos of Old Faithful in the past during winter.

Here is one of many I have found. Interesting - please compare to live webcam...even with new snow there is no snow around Old Faithful......

But look at this picture.....




What do you see? Snow all the way up to the geyser hole?

That is what I see, so does that mean in the past, the ground all around Old Faithful was not as hot as it is now?

Another thing about the picture above.....it is NOT fresh snow on the ground, it is not as if the photographer took this picture right after it snowed....how do I know that? No snow on the trees, and this morning with the live cam, snow is covering all the trees.

I live in So. Cal, Ventura County to be more specific, and I am wondering about the area from Riverside, all the way up to Salinas. This area has been relatively quiet during these past couple weeks. Large earthquakes are known to hit here, or at least feel the effects of one closeby. I'm thinking within the next few 3.0-5.0 mags in California will be in this area. Bets?

reply to post by questioningall


I have to agree with you. Have been watching and researching older images as well. I believe it is hotter and snow is melting off at a much faster rate than in the past.

I also think that it seems to be producing more steam.