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Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park has erupted for the fourth time this year.
It’s the longest streak of eruptions for Steamboat in recent memory, made all the more startling by Steamboat’s usual dormancy.
According to Geyser Times, Steamboat started erupting close to midnight May 4, 2018. Seismographs in Norris Geyser Basin picked up the eruption, as did a gauge in Tantalus Creek. In the tweet below, you can see charts and seismic data pertaining to the Steamboat eruption, courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.
#Steamboat #geyser erupts water again in @YellowstoneNPS, May 4 at 11:50 PM local time — 4th time in 7 weeks. Detected by seismic and discharge at Tantalus Creek. All other monitoring normal — Yellowstone is a dynamic and spectacular place! pic.twitter.com/HtRYElnxuC
— USGS Volcanoes🌋 (@USGSVolcanoes) May 6, 2018
The USGS added that activity at Steamboat doesn’t indicate the Yellowstone caldera is liable to blow.
Steamboat Geyser roared back to life March 15, 2018, following nearly four years of dormancy since its last major eruption. It erupted again April 19 and April 27. The May 4 eruption marks the fourth time in seven weeks Steamboat Geyser has erupted.
According to researchers at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, this uptick in eruptions may be signaling a new period of activity for Steamboat Geyser. Since the start of recordkeeping in 1878, Steamboat has flitted between spectacular activity and utter dormancy. Between 1911 and 1961, it didn’t erupt at all! Then, all of a sudden, between 1962 and 1965, it erupted 77 times!
In addition, the YVO notes that Steamboat’s last eruptions have been milder than eruptions observed in 2013 and 2014. The May 4 eruption is no different.
