YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — As Yellowstone National Park continues to investigate the hydrothermal explosion at Biscuit Basin on July 23, the park is enlisting the help of citizen scientists.
The park put out the call on social media, requesting that observers of the event get in touch with the Yellowstone Geology Program at yell_geology@nps.gov.
The Yellowstone and U.S. Geological Survey team are hoping to hear from the following people:
- Anyone who was in Biscuit Basin or the surrounding area and directly observed the event
- Visitors who took photos and/or videos of the Black Diamond Pool, Black Opal Pool or Wall Pool during the period of July 16 through July 23
“Hydrothermal explosions are common, but not often witnessed,” the park posted on Facebook. “By sharing your observations and media, you can directly contribute to important scientific research on this underappreciated geologic hazard.”
The Biscuit Basin area remains closed to visitors for the rest of the summer season as the park continues to monitor changes to its hydrothermal features.
“Clearly the plumbing system just changed really drastically,” Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Michael Poland told Buckrail last week. “There have been times when an event like this happens and it leads to a fundamental change to how that feature will behave. Maybe it starts to have eruptions really regularly. These things are dynamic features; they can change.”
