Glossary
- Cone-Type Geyser:
- A geyser whose eruption is jetted as a steady column of
water and steam from a vent with little or no surface
pool. It is not necessary that the vent be at the top of
a cone formation. Old
Faithful Geyser is a cone-type geyser.
- Cyclic:
- A geyser that has a series of
eruption at relatively short intervals separated from the
next series by a relatively long quiet period.
- Disturbance:
- When applied to Norris Geyser Basin, describes a basin
wide or partial basin change in not only geyser and pool
behavior but also water temperatures and chemistry. When
a disturbance occurs, many dramatic changes can take
place. Many previously quiet geysers and pools start
erupting. Other pools become murky or change color. And
many geysers erupt much more vigorously. Not all geysers
are affected positively though. The possibility of a
major Steamboat
eruption seems to be quenched by the onset of a
disturbance for instance. What causes the disturbance?
Well, one theory holds that the disturbance is the
manifestation of a second hot water reservoir interacting
with the surface features. This theory is supported by
the change in water chemistry. Disturbances were first
noted occurring in the Fall and covering the entire basin
but have since been recognized in other seasons and
sometimes only affecting small portions of the basin at a
time.
- Dormant:
- When a geyser is not active, it is dormant.
- Duration:
- The period of time from the start of an eruption to the
end of that eruption.
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- Fountain-Type Geyser:
- A geyser whose eruptions occur in a series of separate
burst, usually through a pool of water over the vent. Grand Geyser is a
fountain-type geyser.
- Fumarole:
- A steam vent. A fumarole is related to a hot spring but
the temperature is so high and the water supply so
limited that all water is emitted as steam and no pool is
able to form.
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- Geyser Gazer:
- A geyser aficionado.
-
- Geyser Hill Wave:
- A theory proposed by T. Scott Bryan that attempts tie
together some of the activity seen on Geyser Hill. The
geyser hill wave can be thought of as a wave of energy
propagating across geyser hill from southeast to
northwest. The cycle of the wave can be anywhere from 4
to 12 days. The cycle is easiest to see on the southeast
side of Geyser Hill, particularly in Silver Spring,
Bronze Spring and Little
Squirt Geyser. The water level in Silver and Bronze
fluctuates but at its lowest sits below overflow, up to 2
inches below overflow for Bronze and 4 inches below
overflow for Silver. At the time of SMax, south
maximum, Silver and Bronze rise to overflow or near
overflow. Usually, It is only at this time that Little
Squirt can erupt. The theory is that SMax is a
manifestation of the Geyser Hill Wave. As the Geyser Hill
Wave propagates out from the Little Squirt area, there is
evidence that it affects other geysers on Geyser Hill. Dome Geyser appears to like
to erupt shortly after SMax. Beehive Geyser has been
known to dramatically shorten its interval near the time
of SMax and then return to its pre-SMax interval within a
day or two. Plume Geyser
has at times shown a response to the Geyser Hill Wave. Giantess Geyser may
prefer to erupt shortly after SMax. Evidence of the
Geyser Hill Wave is harder to see on the north and west
sides of Geyser Hill. It is possible that a weaker, time
delayed affect is being seen on that side of Geyser Hill.
For instance, a rising in the water level of Exclamation
Point and Beach Springs may be due to the Geyser Hill
Wave. Also, there may be some evidence the Aurum Geyser's intervals
show a Geyser Hill Wave type of fluctuation.
-
- Intermittent Spring:
- Intermittent Springs are are hot springs that exhibit
occasional overflow, often at predictable intervals.
-
- Interval:
- There are two definitions for Interval in common usage.
-
- The first, often used in general conversations in
Yellowstone and on these pages is: The period of time
from the START of one eruption to the START of the next
eruption. Some scientific publications refer to this as
IBE, Interval Between Eruptions.
The second, often
used in publications and outside Yellowstone (New Zealand
for instance) is: The period of time from the END of one
eruption to the START of the next eruption.
- Major/Minor:
- For geysers with two types of eruptions distinguished by
size and/or duration, the larger is called a major and
the smaller is called a minor. Lion Geyser, Castle Geyser and North Goggles Geyser
are examples of geysers that have major and minor
eruptions.
- Perpetual Spouter:
- A spouting spring that looks like a geyser but does not
stop. While related to geysers, there are functional
differences in how they erupt.
- Preplay:
- The activity by a geyser prior to the eruptions. Such
activity can be as little as light overflow and bubbling
to heavy overflow, splashing and surging. The preplay is
often watched to determine if a geyser is ready to erupt.
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- Series:
- An active period wherein the geyser erupts repeatedly. A
series is over when the geyser takes a long break. Such a
geyser can also be called a cyclic
geyser. Lion Geyser is a
good example of a geyser that erupts in series.
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- Siliceous Sinter:
- The deposit of noncrystaline silica that is formed by
most hot springs and geysers.
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- Sinter:
- Any form of of hot spring deposit regardless of chemical
composition. See also siliceous
sinter. Sinter deposits form the characteristic gray
rock formations seen in the geyser basins.
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- Steam Phase:
- The part of an eruption (typically occurring after the
water phase) that is mostly steam. The transition from
water to steam is usually gradual. A major eruption of Castle Geyser is an
example of a geyser with a steam phase.
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