USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-YVO-2022-07-01T13:15:31-07:00

YELLOWSTONE VOLCANO OBSERVATORY MONTHLY UPDATE
U.S. Geological Survey
Friday, July 1, 2022, 2:21 PM MDT (Friday, July 1, 2022, 20:21 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

Recent Work and News

The Yellowstone region saw record flooding owing to heavy rainfall and snowmelt during June 10–13. Several roads and bridges were washed out, and many small landslides and rockfalls occurred, especially in the northern part of Yellowstone National Park. Although severe, the flooding is not expected to have any significant impact on seismic or hydrothermal activity in the Yellowstone region. The only potential impact would be on geyser activity, because some geysers tend to erupt slightly more frequently during high-precipitaiton years compared to drier years. The timing shift is subtle but statistically significant. For more information on how flooding might impact seismic and hydrothermal activity, see the June 20, 2022, Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles article at https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/how-might-devastating-june-2022-floods-and-around-yellowstone-national-park.

Steamboat Geyser erupted twice during the past month, on June 10 and June 20; there have now been a total of 8 major water eruptions of the geyser in 2022.

Seismicity

During June 2022, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, located 149 earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park region. The largest event of the month was a small earthquake of magnitude 2.4 located ~13 miles south-southwest of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park on June 12 at 9:49 PM MDT.

June seismicity in Yellowstone was marked by three swarms:

1) A swarm of 67 earthquakes, ~13 miles south-southwest of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park occurred during June 9–14, with the largest event (magnitude 2.4) on June 12 at 9:49 PM MDT.

2) A swarm of 29 earthquakes, continuing in the same area ~13 miles south-southwest of Mammoth Hot Springs occurred during June 20–30. The largest event of the swarm (magnitude 1.4) occurred June 24 at 2:34 PM MDT.

3) A small swarm of 11 earthquakes, ~15 miles south of West Thumb in Yellowstone National Park occurred on June 7. The largest event of the swarm (magnitude 1.5) was recorded on June 7 at 11:39 AM MDT.

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

Yellowstone earthquake activity remains at background levels.

Ground deformation

Conitinuous GPS stations in Yellowstone Caldera continue to record gradual subsidence of 2–3 centimeters (1 inch) per year, which has been ongoing since 2015. In the area of Norris Geyser Basin, a continuous GPS station suggests slight subsidence of about 2 centimeters (less than 1 inch) over the past 2–3 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, 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