Hydrothermal explosion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
 |
This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (May 2008) |
 |
This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (May 2008) |
 |
The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject. Please help improve the article with a good introductory style. |
A Hydrothermal explosion is where water rapidly converts from its liquid state to boiling state causing an explosion. Hydrothermal explosion activity drives geothermal activities such as geysers.
Contents |
[edit] Cause of explosion
Water usually boils at 100 degrees Celsius but under increasing pressure the boiling point increases. If very hot liquid water confined under pressure is released of the pressure, pockets of water boil very suddenly and quickly; in this change of state an explosion is often caused: Hence hydrothermal explosions.
[edit] Yellowstone
It is estimated that the magma reservoir bellow Yellowstone is at a temperature exceeding 800 degrees Celsius and this causes the rocks in the region to be heated. If this is so, it means that the average heat flow supplied by convection currents is 30 times greater than anywhere in the Rocky mountain range. Snowmelt and rainfall seep into the ground at a staggering pace and in doing so can conduct enough heat to raise the temperature of ground water to almost boiling: The also natural phenomena geyser basins are the product of such extra ordinary events; hot ground water rises close to the surface, it sometimes even bubbles through and it has been recorded some water temperatures at Norris Geyser basin have reached 238 degrees Celsius at only 332 meters.
[edit] Geysers
One very well known hydrothermal geyser is “Old Faithful” which throws up plumes of steam and water approximately every half an hour: rarely but violently has any steam explosion hurled water and rock thousands of feet above the ground; however in Yellowstone’s geological history these colossal events have been recorded numerous times and have been found to have created new hills and have also been found shaping parts of the landscape.
The largest hydrothermal explosion ever documented was located near the northern edge of Yellowstone Lake; on an embankment commonly know as “Mary Bay”: now consisting of a mere 1.5 mile crater formed very recently at about 13,800 years ago, it is believed this crater was formed by several corresponding hydrothermal explosions in a short time sequence. What triggered the series of events has not yet been established, but volcanologists and scientists believe: a large earthquake/s, by melting glaciers from the near to last ice age or from fast unpredictable changes in the level of Yellowstone Lake could have played a large role in the Explosions.
[edit] Recent explosions
Most of Yellowstone’s recent large hydrothermal explosions have been consequences of sudden changes of pressure deep within the hydrothermal system. Generally these larger explosions have persisted to create craters in a north-south pattern (between Norris and Mammoth Hot Springs): It is estimated that all the hydrothermal craters seen to us now were created between 14,000 and even more the recently; 3,000 years ago. Strangely after every hydrothermal explosion volcanologists believe no magma has even broken through the fragile crust of Yellowstone Park, or for that matter stirred the movement of magma in the boiling reservoir located beneath Yellowstone: Because this has to now be considered a mutually exclusive event, hydrothermal explosions cannot be associated with volcanism; although throughout the world all hydrothermal systems are heated and caused by magma.
