Carbon Dating Reveals Climate Change, Drought Hinder Yellowstone Steamboat Geyser From Future Eruptions

Future eruptions of the Yellowstone Steamboat geyser will be curtailed by climate change and dryness, according to carbon dating of nearby skeleton trees.

Yellowstone Steamboat Geyser

According to scientists, climate change might cause Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser, the tallest active geyser on Earth, to stop erupting as drought spreads over the area.

According to a recent study, the groundwater reserves beneath the national park may not be enough to maintain the famous geyser as temperatures rise and rainfall decreases throughout the American West.

According to research geophysicist Michael Poland, the scientist-in-charge at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory who was not involved in the current research, groundwater is the source of energy for geysers.

He explained that without water, there would be nothing for the geysers to shoot out.

Unlike the Old Faithful geyser, which now erupts 20 times a day, Steamboat does not have a regular eruption schedule and occasionally goes dry for periods of three to 50 years.

Analyzing Dry Spells

Researchers looked for hints in the trees that grew around the geyser vent to understand what triggers these dry periods.

Silica, a material found in the volcanic rocks that make geysers, is sprayed into the nearby vegetation when Steamboat erupts often.

The research provides solid evidence of Steamboat's past activity by showing that trees within a 100-foot distance from the vent are choked by silica rain.

According to Shaul Hurwitz, a US Geological Survey research hydrologist, the silica-rich water gushing from the geyser restricts the routes necessary for the trees to breathe, photosynthesize, and grow.

As noted by Hurwitz, the spray kills neighboring trees and forms a barrier against germs and fungi that would otherwise prompt the wood to deteriorate.

He said that trees at Yellowstone typically don't live past 300 years, but the blasts from the geyser can keep their wooden structures intact for generations, according to AGU.

The study by lead author Hurwitz and his team was recently published in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

Carbon Dating Tree Skeletons

Therefore, the wooden, dead structures that grew close to the vent represent periods when there were no eruptions by the Steamboat geyser.

The silica-rich mist that was released when eruptions restarted covered and destroyed the trees.

The late 15th century, the middle of the 17th century, and the late 18th century were shown to have three stages of growth when scientists investigated via radiocarbon-dating tree skeletons standing within 46 feet radius of the vent.

After comparing these periods to local climate records, they discovered that drought-like conditions were present during Steamboat's dry episodes.

According to Hurwitz, even slight variations in precipitation can have an impact on the time between eruptions.

Less water results in less frequent eruptions, whereas more water results in more frequent eruptions.

Climate Change and Drought

Nevertheless, the theory that a drought might lead to water shortages and starving geysers is not new.

According to a 2020 research that was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a severe drought in the 13th century may have caused Old Faithful in Yellowstone to go dormant for an extended period of time.

These consequences might be made worse by changing weather patterns along with temperature extremes associated with climate change, as per the lead author.

The geysers are anticipated to exhibit completely different behavior in regard to the time between eruptions, erupting less frequently and possibly even going extinct in some cases.

But according to Poland, geysers that stop working during difficult times might restart, just like Old Faithful.

He explained that as the hydrothermal plumbing system beneath the shallow subsurface develops, there is always a potential that a geyser may die out or a new geyser will erupt because geysers are very dynamic systems that change all the time, Live Science reported.