Recent ups and downs of the Yellowstone Caldera

Multicolor bands on Yellowstone InSAR image from 2004 to 2006. This interferogram provides a map view of ground movements at Yellowstone. Each color contour represents a line of equal uplift relative to the ENVISAT satellite between Sept. 2004 and Aug. 2006. The center of the uplift is an elliptical region stretching from the northeastern part of the Yellowstone Caldera (the dashed black line) to the southwest. This area of maximum uplift encompasses both Yellowstone's resurgent domes, features long known for similar movements. During this time period, the north-rim uplift anomaly subsided (bullseye in the upper left part of the interferogram). The yellow lines are roads. The yellow triangles are locations of GPS stations with continuous data. The light blue lake within the caldera is Yellowstone Lake. Thin black lines are mapped faults. Figure courtesy of C. Wicks, USGS.

The November 9, 2007 issue of Science Magazine features an article, Accelerated uplift and magmatic intrusion of the Yellowstone Caldera, 2004 to 2006, by YVO scientists from the University of Utah and USGS. The lead author, Wu-Lung Chang is a Post-doctoral associate with Robert B. Smith, YVO Coordinating Scientist at the University of Utah. Chang specializes in use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to measure very small movements of the Earth's crust. Using GPS and another satellite-based technique (InSAR), the authors find that parts of the Yellowstone Caldera rose as much as 7 cm (~3") per year during the period 2004-2006. The uplift is most noticeable at the White Lake GPS station, as has been discussed in our monthly YVO updates during the past year. As of late October 2007, the total uplift since 2004 at that location is about 17 cm. Chang and his colleagues credit the relatively rapid rise to recharge of magma into the giant magma chamber that underlies the Yellowstone Caldera. They also used numerical modeling to infer that the magma intruded about 10 km (6 miles) beneath the surface.

North of this region of uplift, another area at Yellowstone has moved downward over the past three years. This north rim uplift anomaly (NUA) had risen during the period 1996-2003, when the rest of the caldera had subsided. The activity was featured in a 2006 article in Nature Magazine with lead author Charles Wicks, one of the co-authors on the new article in Science Magazine. Chang and others hypothesize that magma input after 2004 caused fracturing of the crust that resulted in release of hydrothermal fluids from the north rim area. The loss of fluid pressure then resulted in deflation, or subsidence of the ground surface.

Interestingly, the Yellowstone caldera has remained seismically quiet during the past three years of uplift. An earlier article on our website, Satellite Technologies Detect Uplift in the Yellowstone Caldera provides context on the techniques used to study these movements. The new activity, though more rapid than those previously measured at Yellowstone, is not unprecedented at large calderas around the globe. Given the absence of large earthquakes, earthquake swarms and anomalous behavior of Yellowstone's hydrothermal system (its geysers, mud pots and fumaroles), we find little indication that the volcano is moving towards an eruption. At this time, volcanic eruptions and hydrothermal explosions remain an unlikely possibility. Given the geologic history of the area, it is likely that the current period of uplift will cease, to be followed by another cycle of subsidence. When this might happen, though, is unknown.


plot of deformation from LKWY station

This plot shows the up-down movement of the LKWY GPS station at the north end of Yellowstone Lake. After moving downward about 50 mm (2 in.) between 1997 and 2004, this area moved 90 mm (3.5 in.) upward from mid-2004 to mid-2006. The most recent data shows that as of October 2007 the total uplift at LKWY had reached 140 mm (5.5 in.). Figure courtesy of University of Utah.






Useful references on the ups and downs of the Yellowstone Caldera

For the lay audience on the YVO Web Site:

Other articles for the lay audience:

  • Brantley, S. R., Lowenstern, J. B., Christiansen, R. L., Smith, R. B., Heasler, H., Waite, G., and Wicks, C., 2004, Tracking Changes in Yellowstone's Restless Volcanic System, U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 100-03. http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs100-03/
  • D. Dzurisin, R.L. Christiansen, and K.L. Pierce, 1995, Yellowstone: Restless Volcanic Giant, U. S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-59. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Yellowstone/Publications/OFR95-59/framework.html
  • Good, J.D., and Pierce, K.L., 1996, Interpreting the Landscapes of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, Recent and Ongoing Geology: Grand Teton National History Association, 58 p. 57 illus., Third printing, 2002.
  • Lowenstern, J.B., Smith, R.B., and Hill, D.P., 2006, Monitoring Super-Volcanoes: Geophysical and Geochemical signals at Yellowstone and other caldera systems. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, v.264,no. 1845, p. 2055-2072. http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/2006/royalsoc.pdf
  • Smith, R. B., and Siegel, L., 2000, Windows into the Earth: The Geologic Story of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park: New York, Oxford University Press, p. 242
  • University of Utah Seismology and Active Tectonics web site

More technical publications:

  • The new article: Chang, W-L, Smith, R.B., Wicks, C., Farrell, J.M., and Puskas, C.M., 2007, Accelerated uplift and magmatic intrusion of the Yellowstone Caldera, 2004 to 2006. Science.
  • Dzurisin, D., Wicks, C.J., Jr., and Thatcher, W., 1999, Renewed uplift at the Yellowstone caldera measured by leveling surveys and satellite radar interferometry: Bulletin of Volcanology, v. 61, p. 349-355.
  • Puskas, C.M. Smith, R.B., Meertens, C.M., and Chang, W.L., 2007, Crustal deformation of the Yellowstone-Snake River Plain volcano-tectonic system: Campaign and continuous GPS observations, 1987-2004. , Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 112, doi:10.1029/2006JB004325. http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/2007/PuskasJGR.pdf
  • Vasco, D.W., Puskas, C.M., Smith, R.B.,and Meertens, C.M., 2007, Crustal deformation and source models of the Yellowstone volcanic field from geodetic data: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 112, p. B07402 http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/2007/Vasco_etal2007.pdf
  • Wicks, C., Thatcher, W., Dzurisin, D. and Svarc, J., 2006, Uplift, thermal unrest, and nagma intrusion at Yellowstone caldera: Nature, v. 440, p. 72-75. http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/research/deformation/modeling/papers/2006/Yellowstone_nature2006.pdf