Science:

How do Geysers Erupt Over and Over? (Scientific American)

Yellowstone National Park's Old Faithful mystifies and delights tourists with its recurrent eruptions. But because of its popularity, it is heavily protected: the government limits access to curious scientists and restricts experiments on its plumbing.

At least 80 smaller but equally percussive geysers also burst forth in Chile's Atacama Desert, offering an analogous opportunity to probe the earth's inner workings. Geologists laden with temperature and pressure sensors, GoPro cameras and a host of other gadgets recently observed one such geyser, nicknamed El Jefe, over the course of five days and more than 3,500 eruptions—one every 132 seconds. The result? The most detailed data set yet on the explosive choreography between water and steam.

Dynamics within geyser conduits, and sensitivity to environmental perturbations: Insights from a periodic geyser in the El Tatio geyser field, Atacama Desert, Chile Carolina Munoz-Saeza,et al.

The GRC is hosting a Workshop/Field-trip to Yellowstone National Park, June 22-26. The workshop will include a tour of the major geologic features of the Park, the site of the greatest concentration of geothermal features in the world, and discussions of its volcanic history, geochemistry, and hydrology.
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