USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-YVO-2022-01-01T13:48:43-08:00

YELLOWSTONE VOLCANO OBSERVATORY MONTHLY UPDATE
U.S. Geological Survey
Saturday, January 1, 2022, 2:55 PM MST (Saturday, January 1, 2022, 21:55 UTC)

YELLOWSTONE VOLCANO (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

Recent work and news

2021 is finally over. Thank goodness! During the year, 2,773 eathquakes were located in the Yellowstone region, which is consistent with typical background levels of seismicity (on average, about 1500–2500 earthquakes are located every year). Steamboat Geyser experienced 20 major water eruptions, which is much less than the 48 eruptions in each of the preceding two years.

The members of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory consortium would like to wish everyone a happy new year and a safe and healthy 2022.

Seismicity

During December 2021, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, located just 43 earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park region. The largest event of the month was a minor earthquake of magnitude 2.6 located ~13 miles north of Pahaska Tepee, WY, on December 18 at 2:12 PM MST.

No swarm activity was observed in December.

Yellowstone earthquake activity remains at background levels.

Ground deformation

No significant changes in ground deformation were observed in data from continuous GPS stations through mid-December. At that time, heavy snowfall throughout the rest of the month created artifacts at many high-altitude Yellowstone continuous GPS sites, causing the appearance of subsidence. These artifacts, which are not apparent at lower-elevation stations, should disappear once the stormy weather diminishes.

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, UNAVCO, Inc., Wyoming State Geological Survey, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Idaho Geological Survey



CONTACT INFORMATION:

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