USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-YVO-2024-07-01T18:25:55+00:00

YELLOWSTONE VOLCANO OBSERVATORY MONTHLY UPDATE
U.S. Geological Survey
Monday, July 1, 2024, 12:32 PM MDT (Monday, July 1, 2024, 18:32 UTC)

YELLOWSTONE (VNUM #325010)
44°25'48" N 110°40'12" W, Summit Elevation 9203 ft (2805 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL
Current Aviation Color Code: GREEN

Summary

Yellowstone caldera activity remains at background levels, with 72 located earthquakes in June (maximum = M2.5). Deformation measurements indicate a pause in subsidence (which has been ongoing since 2015) due to seasonal changes in snowmelt and groundwater conditions.

Recent Work and News

Steamboat Geyser did not erupt in June, although small minor eruptions have been occurring since the middle of the month, suggesting that a major eruption will occur in the coming weeks.

June field work by members of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory consortium included maintenance of monitoring equipment and geologic mapping. July will see continued work, especially related to mapping the products of Yellowstone’s most recent caldera-forming eruption, which occurred 631,000 years ago.

Seismicity

During June 2024, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, located 72 earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park region. The largest event of the month was a micro earthquake of magnitude 2.5 located about 8 miles north of Lake in Yellowstone National Park on June 10 at 9:29 AM MDT.

June seismicity in Yellowstone was marked by one swarm of 29 earthquakes that occurred June 6–9 and was located about 9 miles north-northeast of West Yellowstone, Montana. The largest earthquake in the sequence was a magnitude 1.5 on June 7 at 6:19 PM MDT.

Earthquake sequences like these are common and account for roughly 50% of the total seismicity in the Yellowstone region.

Yellowstone earthquake activity is currently at background levels.

Ground Deformation

During the month of June, continuous GPS stations in Yellowstone caldera showed little deformation, probably reflecting the onset of the annual summertime pause in subsidence (ongoing since 2015), which is caused by seasonal changes related to snowmelt and groundwater conditions. The caldera has subsided by about 3 cm (1.2 in) since the end of September 2023. A slight amount of subsidence (about 1 cm, or 0.4 in) has occurred at Norris Geyser Basin over the past four months.

An example of GPS data can be found at http://www.unavco.org/instrumentation/networks/status/pbo/data/NRWY (click on Static Plots / Cleaned)

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) provides long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake activity in the Yellowstone National Park region. Yellowstone is the site of the largest and most diverse collection of natural thermal features in the world and the first National Park. YVO is one of the five USGS Volcano Observatories that monitor volcanoes within the United States for science and public safety.

YVO Member agencies: USGS, Yellowstone National Park, University of Utah, University of Wyoming, Montana State University, Earthscope Consortium, Wyoming State Geological Survey, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Idaho Geological Survey

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Michael Poland, Scientist-in-Charge
mpoland@usgs.gov