A volcano observatory the University of Utah helped establish is keeping close watch on new hot vents that developed in Yellowstone National Park.
The new vents are located near Nymph Lake. They are part of a volcanic system, as Yellowstone is located on one of the world's largest volcano fields.
Monitoring the site is the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, where U. geology and geophysics professor Robert B. Smith is the coordinating scientist. The observatory was established in 2001 as a partnership among the university, the U.S. Geological Survey and Yellowstone National Park.
Smith's group studies seismic shakes and ground uplifting in an effort to chart changes that may indicate movement of a vast underground chamber of molten rock.
Smith flew over the new features on Sunday. He feels they might be connected to new geyser eruptions in nearby Norris Geyser Basin. "My gut feeling is it's part of the way things evolve," he told the Deseret Morning News.
"The University of Utah, with Bob Smith's group, is part of the three-legged stool of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory," said Henry Heasler, Yellowstone National Park's geologist. "They are integral."
New hot features are nothing new for Yellowstone. They show up frequently, while others may suddenly stop functioning because of the dynamic nature of the geothermal structure.
"The predictability of Old Faithful is one of the true anomalies," Heasler said. Most of the geysers, hot springs, steam vents and mud pots are highly changeable.
In March, more than a dozen new steam vents erupted in a line about 80 yards long near a pine forest.
"Some of them are very, very intense," Heasler said in a telephone interview. "You can hear the steam jetting out of these from the road . . . They're putting out a very, very dense white steam."
Heasler and other experts visited four times, taking measurements and checking for toxic gases. They wore protective gear because "I generally like to err on the side of safety," he said.
The vents were impressive. Only after they were away from the immediate vicinity could the scientists look back and say, "Boy, that is beautiful."
They are forceful steam vents, Heasler added. "It was awesome, it was very impressive."
Yellowstone has had three monster volcanic eruptions in the past 2 million years. According to the USGS, they struck at 2 million, 1.3 million and 640,000 years ago. On that timetable, another eruption could happen anytime. But it might not happen for millennia.
Still, nobody doubts that Yellowstone is still an active volcano. When new features show up, the Park Service can deploy instruments to check ground and water temperature and flow rates.
"Then Bob Smith can analyze seismic patterns," searching for signs of any underground changes, Heasler said.
Earthquakes could signal movement of underground magma. But in a region as active as Yellowstone, temblors are common. "Last year we had around 2,300 earthquakes up there," he said.
"That's again where the University of Utah group is prominent, because we feel that any movement of molten rock underground would be indicated by earthquakes."
The volcano observatory, an institution of collaborating scientists and not a physical building, monitors earth movements and tracks upliftings using GPS satellite data.
Norris Geyser Basin and the new steam vents are outside the huge volcano caldera, which is about 45 miles long in the northeast-southwest direction and 35 miles in the northwest-southeast axis. "So, that's one of the interesting things," he said.
What caused the feature to appear?
"Well," said Heasler, "if you could tell me, I would appreciate it."
E-MAIL: bau@desnews.com