geyser
carlyo | March 12, 2012By Joe Schwarcz PhD, Author, USASEF Expo Performer, AT&T Sponsored Nifty Fifty Program Speaker
Yellowstone National Park's iconic "Old Faithful" geyser is pretty faithful. It can be counted on to erupt every 50-90 minutes. Iceland's "Great Geysir," from which all other geysers get their name is less reliable. It was mostly dormant for sixty five years before it began semi-regular eruptions again in 2000 thanks to an earthquake. But in New Zealand, you can set your watch by the eruption of the Lady Knox Geyser, named after a former Governor of the country. At exactly 10:15 AM every…
eklemetti | December 31, 2009Here it is, my attempt to recap a year's worth of volcanic events. By no means is this supposed to capture every event, but rather the highlight/lowlights and what most captivated me during 2009. I'll be announcing the winner of the 2009 Pliny for Volcanic Event of the Year tomorrow.
Waimangu Geothermal Valley in New Zealand, taken in January 2009 by Erik Klemetti.
January
The year started out with a trip to New Zealand (well, for me at least) and vistas of the Waimangu Valley, formed in the 1886 eruption of Tarawera on the North Island. We were also still thinking about the late 2008…
eklemetti | July 9, 2009Hydrothermal fields are tricky beasts. They can wax and wane as the magmatic system heats and cools, as the water table rises and falls and as other events such as earthquakes or explosions might change the conduit systems. Changes are relatively common, as we've seen in recent events in the Yellowstone Basin and with the changes within the Waimangu Valley in New Zealand. Understanding the cause-and-effect relationships in these fields can be a challenge even to the most seasoned volcanologist.
Prikolny Geyser near Uzon Caldera in Kamchatka. Image taken in July 2009.
Case in point is the…