YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — On Tuesday, Dec. 3, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) revealed that this year saw a second hydrothermal explosion in addition to the one that made headlines at Biscuit Basin.
According to Michael Poland in a YVO Facebook video, a smaller hydrothermal explosion occurred in Norris Geyser Basin in an area called Porcelain Terrace on April 15 at 2:56 p.m., and was detected by new infrasound sensors that were installed this past September.
Poland confirms there was no one around at the time of the explosion, but the sensors detected seismic waves and noise on the infrasound microphones.
While the explosion was small, smaller than Biscuit Basin, Poland reports it did create a crater roughly 10 feet across. It also disrupted ground nearby. The area continues to steam, but water that had been flowing into nearby Nuphar Lake has stopped.
“The April 15, 2024, event at Porcelain Terrace is yet another example of the most frequent geologic hazard in Yellowstone – a hydrothermal explosion,” Poland says.
While hydrothermal activity abounds, there are currently no signs of an impending volcanic eruption based on monitoring data, and YVO writes that the magmatic system beneath YNP is mostly solid.
Read about more November 2024 updates here.
