Description: Permanent seismic stations in and around Yellowstone National Park
Service Item Id: 5d4a9ad58e504135abc7ee720976df31
Copyright Text: Seismic stations are from the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, which operates the Yellowstone Seismic Network (https://quake.utah.edu/monitoring-research/station-map); the U.S. Geological Survey Advanced National Seismic System (https://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/network.php?virtual_network=ANSS); the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, which operates the Montana Regional Seismic Network (https://www.mbmg.mtech.edu/MontanaGeology/geohazards/earthquakes/stationmaplist.asp); and EarthScope Consortium, which operates the NOTA Seismic Network (https://www.unavco.org/instrumentation/networks/status/nota/seismic).
Description: Permanent GNSS/GPS stations in and around Yellowstone National Park
Service Item Id: 5d4a9ad58e504135abc7ee720976df31
Copyright Text: GPS stations are maintained and monitored by EarthScope Consortium. Instrument location and status can be viewed at: https://www.unavco.org/instrumentation/networks/status/all.
This material is based on services provided by the GAGE Facility, operated by EarthScope Consortium, with support from the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the U.S. Geological Survey under NSF Cooperative Agreement EAR-1724794.
Description: Radio-equipped temperature sensors in Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park. Various sensors measure the temperature of geyser outlet channels, pools, streams, soil, and the ambient air. Temperature data are recorded every two minutes and are radio transmitted to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory once a day.
Service Item Id: 5d4a9ad58e504135abc7ee720976df31
Copyright Text: The Norris Geyser Basin temperature sensor network is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey.
https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/taking-temperature-norris-geyser-basin
Description: Borehole tiltmeters in Yellowstone National Park
Service Item Id: 5d4a9ad58e504135abc7ee720976df31
Copyright Text: Tiltmeters are maintained and monitored by EarthScope Consortium. Data are available from EarthScope Consortium's Borehole Tilt Data webpage (https://www.unavco.org/data/strain-seismic/tilt-data/tilt-data.html).
Description: Monitoring the chloride (Cl) flux in the major rivers draining Yellowstone National Park (YNP) provides a holistic view of the thermal output from the underlying magma reservoir, and abrupt fluctuations in the Cl flux may signify changes in hydrothermal activity. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Park Service (NPS) have collaborated on Cl flux monitoring of the major rivers since the 1970s. In the past, researchers collected water samples from the major rivers in YNP, but funding restrictions, winter conditions, and the great distances between sites limited the number of samples collected annually. Beginning in 2010, specific conductance, which is relatively easy to measure and can be automated, has been used as a proxy for Cl. The use of specific conductance probes at the various monitoring sites enables a more consistent estimation of Cl flux. Consistent monitoring is useful to identify changes in river chemistry due to geyser eruptions, rain events, or changes in thermal inputs caused by earthquakes or other natural events. The use of specific conductance as a proxy for Cl requires quantification of the relationship between specific conductance, Cl, and other geothermal solutes and the relationship needs to be periodically verified. This data release contains specific conductance measurements (every 15 minutes) and water chemistry data from monitoring sites along the Madison River, Firehole River, Gibbon River, Snake River, Gardner River, Fall River, Yellowstone River, and Tantalus Creek. For several sites, there are periods of time when specific conductance is not reported because the data was likely unreliable due to failure or fouling of the specific conductance probe. There are also specific conductance and discharge data available from the USGS National Water Information System (USGS NWIS, https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt). The following list details the sites included in this data release and the National Water Information System site identification numbers.Yellowstone River near Corwin Springs, 06191500; Gardner River near Mammoth, 06191000; Firehole River near West Yellowstone, 06036905; Firehole River at Old Faithful, 06036805; Fall River near Squirrel, Idaho, 13046995; Gibbon River at Madison Junction, 06037100; Madison River near West Yellowstone, 06040000; Snake River near Flagg Ranch WY, 13010065; and Tantalus Creek at Norris Junction, 06036940.First posted - January 28, 2019 (available from author)Revised - May 6, 2020 (version 2.0)NOTE: While previous versions are available from the author, all the records in previous versions can be found in version 2.0.Data were downloaded and compiled by the Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) in February, 2023 for display on the interactive Geology of Yellowstone Map. The WSGS has not formally reviewed or quality-controlled these data; users are encouraged to consult the original data source.
Service Item Id: 5d4a9ad58e504135abc7ee720976df31
Copyright Text: Yellowstone Volcano Observatory and the National Park Service
McCleskey, R.B., White, E.B., Roth, D.A., and Stevens, E.B., 2019, Specific conductance data for selected rivers and creeks in Yellowstone National Park, beginning in 2010 (version 2.0, May 2020): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7BP011G.
Description: The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) was established as a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey and Yellowstone National Park "To strengthen the long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake unrest in the Yellowstone National Park region." Yellowstone National Park is underlain by a voluminous magmatic system overlain by the most active hydrothermal system on Earth. Tracking changes in water and gas chemistry is of great importance because anomalous fluxes might signal one of the earliest warnings of volcanic unrest.Because of the tremendous number, chemical diversity, and large aerial coverage of Yellowstone's thermal features, it remains daunting to monitor individual features that might serve as proxies for anomalous activity in the hydrothermal system. However, monitoring the chemistry of rivers provides advantages because their chemistry integrates chemical fluxes over a very large area and may reveal large-scale spatial patterns (Hurwitz and others, 2007, 2010). The ongoing monitoring and analysis of river solute flux is a key component in the current monitoring program. In addition, based on the application of the chloride-enthalpy method (Fournier, 1979), quantifying chloride flux in rivers provides an estimate of the total heat discharge from the Yellowstone volcanic system (Norton and Friedman 1985; Fournier, 1989; Friedman and Norton, 2007; Hurwitz and Lowenstern, 2014).Intermittent sampling of the large rivers draining Yellowstone National Park began in the 1960’s (Fournier and others, 1976), but more systematic sampling has been carried out since water year (1 October - 30 September) 1983 excluding water years 1995 and 1996 (Norton and Friedman, 1985, 1991; Friedman and Norton, 1990, 2000, 2007). Prior to 2001, only chloride concentrations and fluxes were determined. This report contains data collected between 2001 and 2014. In addition to chloride, the concentrations and fluxes of other anions of possible magmatic origin (fluoride, bromide, sulfate, and alkalinity) were determined, and several new sampling sites were established (Hurwitz and others, 2007). Beginning in 2007, the concentration of cations and trace metals were also determined. This Data Release supersedes USGS Data Series 278 v. 4.0 (Hurwitz and others, 2012).Following the protocols of Friedman and Norton (2007), water samples were collected from the major rivers once per month between November and February, every two weeks in March, April, August, September and October, and once a week between May and July, for a total of 28 samples per year for each river. As sampling resources decreased during the study period, however, the actual number of collected samples is less in many cases.River discharge at the time of sampling was obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System. Automated stream discharge measurements are made every 15 minutes, and the discharge at each of the rivers is measured manually several times each year to establish rating curves. At low discharges, differences between the manual and automatic measurements are typically less than 5%. At high flow rates, differences between the manual and automatic measurements can be higher than 5%.The list below includes all rivers, along with site abbreviations, that were sampled or have been sampled as part of this study (links are to the gaging stations):Boiling River near Mammoth (YBOI); Falls River near Squirrel, ID (YFAL); Firehole River near Madison Junction (YFIR); Firehole River near Old Faithful, WY (YFOF); Gardner River near Mammoth (YGAR); Gibbon River at Madison Junction (YGIB); Henrys Fork near Ashton, ID (YHEN); Madison River near West Yellowstone, MT (YMAD); Snake River above Jackson Lake at Flagg Ranch, WY (YSNA); Yellowstone River at Yellowstone Lake Outlet (YYFB); and Yellowstone River at Corwin Springs, MT (YYCR).Beginning in 2010, continuous specific conductance measurements at most river sites (except for the Boiling River and Yellowstone River at Fishing Bridge) have been used as a surrogate for chloride and other geothermal solute concentrations (McCleskey and others, 2012; McCleskey and others, 2016); thus substantially decreasing the number of water samples collected annually.ReferencesFournier, R.O., 1979. Geochemical and hydrologic considerations and the use of enthalpy-chloride diagrams in the prediction of underground conditions in hot-spring systems: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 5, p. 1-16.Fournier, R.O., 1989, Geochemistry and dynamics of the Yellowstone National Park hydrothermal system: Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Science, v. 17, p. 13-53.Fournier, R.O., White, D.E., and Truesdell, A.H., 1976, Convective heat flow in Yellowstone National Park: in: Proceedings of the 2nd U.N. Symposium on the Development and Use of Geothermal Resources, San Francisco, p. 731-739.Friedman, I. and Norton, D.R., 1990. Anomalous chloride flux discharges from Yellowstone National Park: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 42, p. 225-234.Friedman, I. and Norton, D.R., 2000, Data used for calculating chloride flux out of Yellowstone National Park for the water years 1983-1999: U. S. Geological Survey Open-File Report: OF 00-0194, 48 pp.Friedman, I. and Norton, D.R., 2007. Is Yellowstone losing its steam? Chloride flux out of Yellowstone National Park, in Morgan, L.A., (Ed.), Integrated geoscience studies in the Greater Yellowstone Area: Volcanic, Hydrothermal and tectonic Processes in the Yellowstone Geoecosystem: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1717, p. 275-297.Hurwitz, S., Lowenstern, J.B. and Heasler, H., 2007, Spatial and Temporal Geochemical Trends in the Hydrothermal System of Yellowstone National Park: Inferences From River Solute Fluxes: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. p. 162, 149-171.Hurwitz, S., Eagan, S., Heasler, H., Mahony, D., Huebner, M.A., and Lowenstern, J.B., 2007, revised 2012, River chemistry and solute flux in Yellowstone National Park: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 278, v. 4.0.Hurwitz, S., Evans, W.C., Lowenstern, J.B., 2010. River solute fluxes reflecting active hydrothermal chemical weathering of the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field USA: Chemical Geology, v. 276, p. 331–343.Hurwitz, S. and Lowenstern, J.B., 2014. Dynamics of the Yellowstone Hydrothermal System: Reviews of Geophysics, v. 51.Ingebritsen, S.E., Galloway, D.L., Colvard, E.M., Sorey, M.L. and Mariner, R.H., 2001. Time-variation of hydrothermal discharge at selected sites in the western United States: implications for monitoring: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 111, p. 1-23.McCleskey, R.B., Clor, L.E., Lowenstern, J.B., Evans, W.C., Nordstrom, D.K., Heasler, H.P., and Huebner, M.A., 2012, Solute and geothermal flux monitoring using electrical conductivity in the Madison, Firehole, and Gibbon Rivers, Yellowstone National Park: Applied Geochemistry, v. 27, p. 2370-2381.McCleskey, R.B., Lowenstern, J.B., Schaper, J., Nordstrom, D.K., Heasler, H.P., and Mahony, D., 2016, Geothermal solute flux monitoring and the source and fate of solutes in the Snake River, Yellowstone National Park, WY: Applied Geochemistry, v. 73, p. 142-156.Norton, D.R. and Friedman, I., 1985. Chloride flux out of Yellowstone National Park: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 26, p. 231-250.Norton, D.R. and Friedman, I., 1991, Chloride flux and surface water discharge out of Yellowstone National Park, 1982-1989: U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin, B 1959, 42 pp.Data were downloaded and compiled by the Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) in May, 2025 for display on the interactive Geology of Yellowstone Map. The WSGS has not formally reviewed or quality-controlled these data; users are encouraged to consult the original data source.
Service Item Id: 5d4a9ad58e504135abc7ee720976df31
Copyright Text: Yellowstone National Park Service
McCleskey, R.B., Mahony, Dan, Hurwitz, Shaul, Heasler, Henry, Huebner, M.A., Lowenstern, J.B., 2017, River chemistry in Yellowstone National Park: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7GF0RRD.
Description: Streamgage stations in and around Yellowstone National Park
Service Item Id: 5d4a9ad58e504135abc7ee720976df31
Copyright Text: Streamgages are operated by the U.S. Geological Survey; the nationwide network can be accessed from the National Water Dashboard (https://dashboard.waterdata.usgs.gov/app/nwd/?region=lower48&aoi=default)
Description: Snow telemetry (SNOTEL) sites in and around Yellowstone National Park
Service Item Id: 5d4a9ad58e504135abc7ee720976df31
Copyright Text: SNOTEL sites are operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/snowClimateMonitoring/
Description: This InSAR interferogram was constructed from Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar data acquired on September 29, 2021, and October 6, 2022. The colored fringes mark deformation of the Earth's surface, and in this image depict subsidence of Yellowstone caldera; a full cycle of color indicates 2.8 cm of displacement.
Service Item Id: 5d4a9ad58e504135abc7ee720976df31
Copyright Text: Data were derived from the Copernicus Open Access Hub, maintained by the European Space Agency
https://scihub.copernicus.eu/