Climate change is expected to affect many natural phenomena. As such, one of the fields that could be affected includes Yellowstone's geysers which are at risk of resulting in extinction.
Yellowstone's Geysers At Risk
According to Live Science, warmer and drier climates pose a significant risk to the groundwaters used to fuel Yellowstone's geysers. The risk could lead not just to less frequent eruptions but also to final extinction.
The National Park Service reports that Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser is regarded as the tallest active geyser in the world. Scientists now say the geyser could fall victim to climate change as the region experiences drought.
Michael Poland, a Yellowstone Volcano Observatory research geophysicist and in-charge scientist, explained how groundwater fueled geysers. Should there no longer be water available, the geysers would stop erupting.
Yellowstone's Geysers
Another one of Yellowstone's geysers, the Old Faithful, differs from Steamboat regarding eruption frequency. The Old Faithful blasts 20 times daily, while the latter has no fixed eruption schedule.
The span between Steamboat blasts can stretch from three months to 50 years. Researchers have tried to study the mysterious reasons for its dry spells by looking at trees around its vent.
Scientists' findings were published in the Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems journal describing how they discovered a thin silica layer covering the surrounding greenery whenever the Steamboats eruptions happen more frequently.
The trees the researchers observed grew within 30 meters of the Steamboat's vent. As noted by the AGU, Shaul Hurwitz, a US Geological Survey research hydrologist, explained how geyser eruption water is rich in silica.
Effects of Silica
Hurwitz shared how the spray would kill the trees and how wood decomposition would be stopped due to a protective barrier created against the bacteria and fungi. He also highlighted that Yellowstone trees won't live past 300 years, but their structures can be preserved for centuries due to geyser blasts.
Scientists measured intervals between the Steamboat's eruption based on dead wooden structures around the vents. Whenever eruptions resumed, they would find that trees would die, and through radiocarbon dating, they discovered tree skeletons having three growth periods.
Live Science reports that these trees experienced growth periods during the late 15th century, mid-17th century, and late 18th century, which also matches regional climate records regarding the steamboat's activities and dry spell periods. They also discovered that these periods coincided with when drought happened.
Impact of Climate Change
As noted by Poland, geyser starvation due to drought-caused water shortages is not a new concept. In 2020, the Geophysical Research Letters journal published a study that revealed that the Old Faithful, despite being very active today, experienced severe drought in the 13th century, which could've led to it shutting down.
Hurwitz also highlighted how they expect geysers to behave differently, saying they would erupt less frequently while others could become extinct.
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