Monitoring of thermal activity in southwestern Yellowstone National Park and vicinity, 1980-1993
Friedman I, Norton DR, Hutchinson RA. 1994. Monitoring of thermal activity in southwestern Yellowstone National Park and vicinity, 1980-1993. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Bulletin. 2067. United States Geological Survey. Washington, D.C.
Stream monitoring in Yellowstone National Park is being carried out to obtain baseline information on the natural variations in thermal activity against which to assess possible future impacts of geothermal, oil and gas, and other types of development adjacent to the Park and to relate these variations to seismic events and the possible movement of magma under the Park. The proximity of the Island Park Geothermal Area in Idaho and its possible future development places particular emphasis on investigation of the southwestern part of the Park. Continuous automated measurements of thermal flux from features in this remote section of the Park proved to be impractical because of the necessity of visiting the sites frequently to service the equipment. A practical protocol was developed requiring the instantaneous measurement of the flux in surface streams once a year during the winter baseflow regime. The installation of weirs and staff gauges on the thermal streams made it possible to collect data from this area during a one-day helicopter trip. The changes in discharge of thermal streams, which originate from hot springs, correlated with changes in discharge of the major rivers draining the Park and also with changes in precipitation over the Park. Because over 94 percent of the chloride in the rivers and streams in the Park is of geothermal origin, chloride flux can also be used as a measure of thermal flux. Annual values in both discharge and chloride flux at 10 of the 11 monitoring stations during base flow fluctuated as much as 90 percent over the 1986-93 period. About 5 percent of the thermal water exits the Park along the western boundary into the Henrys Fork drainage in Idaho. Monitoring of the chloride flux in this water may be a sensitive indicator of the effects of development of energy resources adjacent to the western boundary of the Park in the Island Park area.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Friedman, Irving; Norton, Daniel; Hutchinson, Roderick
- Date of Issue
- 1994
- Publisher
- United States Geological Survey
- Units
- HIST , YELL
- Keywords
- Chemistry, Chlorine (Cl), Discharge, ehistory, Geology, Geothermal Studies, Geysers, History, Hydrothermal Activity, Magma, Monitoring, pH, Seismicity, Springs, Streams, Thermally Derived Chloride, Water Temperature