Uzon

Hydrothermal 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…