U. geologists hot on volcanic trail

A volcano observatory the University of Utah helped establish is keeping close watch on new hot vents that developed in Yellowstone National Park.

The new vents are located near Nymph Lake. They are part of a volcanic system, as Yellowstone is located on one of the world's largest volcano fields.

Monitoring the site is the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, where U. geology and geophysics professor Robert B. Smith is the coordinating scientist. The observatory was established in 2001 as a partnership among the university, the U.S. Geological Survey and Yellowstone National Park.

Smith's group studies seismic shakes and ground uplifting in an effort to chart changes that may indicate movement of a vast underground chamber of molten rock.

Smith flew over the new features on Sunday. He feels they might be connected to new geyser eruptions in nearby Norris Geyser Basin. "My gut feeling is it's part of the way things evolve," he told the Deseret Morning News.

"The University of Utah, with Bob Smith's group, is part of the three-legged stool of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory," said Henry Heasler, Yellowstone National Park's geologist. "They are integral."

New hot features are nothing new for Yellowstone. They show up frequently, while others may suddenly stop functioning because of the dynamic nature of the geothermal structure.

"The predictability of Old Faithful is one of the true anomalies," Heasler said. Most of the geysers, hot springs, steam vents and mud pots are highly changeable.

In March, more than a dozen new steam vents erupted in a line about 80 yards long near a pine forest.

"Some of them are very, very intense," Heasler said in a telephone interview. "You can hear the steam jetting out of these from the road . . . They're putting out a very, very dense white steam."

Heasler and other experts visited four times, taking measurements and checking for toxic gases. They wore protective gear because "I generally like to err on the side of safety," he said.

The vents were impressive. Only after they were away from the immediate vicinity could the scientists look back and say, "Boy, that is beautiful."

They are forceful steam vents, Heasler added. "It was awesome, it was very impressive."