YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — Last July, a powerful steam explosion rocked Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park, raising questions about whether this popular site will reopen for the coming spring and summer seasons.
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While no one was hurt, the explosion was a close call for some visitors and caused significant damage to the nearby boardwalk.
Dr. Mike Poland, Chief Scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, says there is a "huge multi-institutional group that's been studying this," including scientists from several universities and government agencies.
"We're just sort of now trying to put it back together, like investigators after some event trying to piece it back together and understand exactly what this thing looked like before it exploded," Poland said.
Thermal areas, such as the terraces at Mammoth and Yellowstone, are always some of the park's most popular features. Biscuit Basin, located in the southern end of the park, is not as prominent but benefits from being close to a road, having good parking, and featuring a nice boardwalk, making it popular over the years.
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"Small explosive events continue. A couple of these have been observed," said Dr. Poland. "There were some scientists out there pulling up some of their equipment in November, and they observed an explosion that lasted a few seconds and went about 20 or 30 feet high and threw rocks and mud, a lot of water. And then there was a tour group that was passing by on Jan. 3, and they observed something very similar.”
According to Poland, throughout the winter, instruments left at the site have seen dozens of similar explosions. A close inspection of the debris showed something very interesting.
"It’s almost like if the plumbing at your house exploded and you had pieces of the insides of the water pipes as part of the explosive debris," said Poland.
That gives researchers a unique insight into the inner workings of these thermal sites. The underground architecture that could only be observed before by indirect ground radar, sound waves and magnetic reflections is now laid out right on the ground. But what’s left underground?
"We really don't know what it looks like or how it's been healing itself since that event, just because we can't see it," admitted Dr. Poland.
Last summer’s explosion has led scientists to place seismic monitors in Biscuit Basin and other popular thermal areas.
"Lower and midway, I think mud volcano is also worth a look. Places where there's a lot of people, especially during the summers, I think, should be targets for these sorts of monitoring, and where there's a history of some sort of explosive activity," Poland said.
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Poland says that although these monitors do not predict future explosions, they help scientists identify potential trouble spots.
"They detect low frequency acoustic energy, so not the kind of things that we hear. But because they're an array of three stations, we can use the array to determine the direction that the sound is coming from. So the more of these you put out, the more you can triangulate exact locations."
For now, the National Park Service has announced that Biscuit Basin will remain closed, and no repairs will be made until the area is deemed safe.
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