Yellowstone's underground shifts being Monitored by Geologists - 27th Nov 2011
Geologists here are getting a better feel for what’s going on beneath Yellowstone’s 2.2 million acres of ever-shifting earth thanks to advances in technology. Last week, park officials released Yellowstone’s “vital signs” report, documenting more than 24 natural resource indicators that affect the park’s ecological and environmental stability, from wildlife disease to climate change.
The report also noted the park’s geological activity. The ground near the White Lake recording station has swelled 25 centimeters — more than 10 inches — since 2004, while more than 3,200 earthquakes rattled the park in 2010 — the largest concentration of tremors recorded since 1985.
Knowing what it all means, however, remains something of a mystery.
“Yellowstone seems to breathe,” said Yellowstone’s chief geologist, Hank Heasler. “That’s the best way to describe it. It goes through cycles of uplift and subsidence. That detailed pattern of ground deformation, well, we’re still in the process of figuring that out.” Read More
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