Volcano Updates

Recent Work and News

There were no major eruptions of Steamboat Geyser during the month of March, although minor eruptions have been ongoing since the middle of the month, suggesting that a major eruption could occur within the next few days to weeks.  The geyser has erupted once so far in 2024 (on February 26).

Seismicity

During March 2024, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, located 96 earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park region. The largest event of the month was a minor earthquake of magnitude 2.7 located about 5 miles north of West Yellowstone, Montana, on March 9 at 8:50 PM MST.  

March seismicity in Yellowstone was marked by two swarms:

1. A swarm of 24 earthquakes, located approximately 14 miles east-northeast of West Yellowstone, MT, occurred March 4–6. The largest earthquake in the sequence was a magnitude 1.3 on March 6 at 8:52 AM MST.

2. A swarm of 12 earthquakes, approximately 11 miles west of Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, occurred March 14–15. The largest earthquake in the sequence was a magnitude 1.5 on March 14 at 9:35 PM MDT.

Earthquake sequences like these are common and account for roughly 50% of the total seismicity in the Yellowstone region.

Yellowstone earthquake activity is currently at background levels.

Ground Deformation

During the month of March, continuous GPS stations in Yellowstone caldera showed subsidence, which has been ongoing since 2015, interrupted in summer months by a pause or slight uplift caused by seasonal changes related to snowmelt and groundwater conditions.  The caldera has subsided by 2–3 cm (about 1 in) since the end of September.  No significant deformation has occurred at Norris Geyser Basin since the end of summer.

An example of GPS data can be found at http://www.unavco.org/instrumentation/networks/status/pbo/data/NRWY (click on Static Plots / Cleaned)