The Physics Of Geyser In Yellowstone National Park

A geyser is a vent in Earth's surface that periodically ejects a column of hot water and steam. Even a small geyser is an amazing phenomenon; however, some geysers have eruptions that blast thousands of gallons of boiling-hot water up to a few hundred feet in the air. Geysers are extremely rare features. They occur only where there is a coincidence of unusual conditions. Worldwide there are only about 1000 geysers, and most of those are in Yellowstone National Park (USA).

Geysers are hot springs with constrictions in their plumbing, usually near the surface, that prevent water from circulating freely to the surface where heat would escape. The deepest circulating water can exceed the surface boiling point (199°F/93°C). Surrounding pressure

Although when it reaches its boiling point it doesn’t convert into steam. This occurs because it is deep down in to the earth, and the weight of cooler water above causes a high confining pressure. This is known as “Superheated” – the water is hot enough to convert into steam; wants to become steam, but it is unable to expand because of the confining pressure. Eventually the water becomes hot enough, or the pressure is reduced, and the frustrated water explodes into steam in an enormous amount. The steam blasts the confining water out of the vent as a

The plumbing system of a cone-type geyser usually has a narrow constriction close to the vent. While erupting, the constrictions act as a nozzle, causing the water to jet in huge columns. The cone is created by the constant deposition of silica around the geyser’s vent. Thermal water travels through volcanic rhyolite, then carries it to the surface. Some of the silica stays underground, while the rest gets deposited around the top of the geyser to form the cone and the silica-rich water forms geyserite. The vents are usually narrow, causing the water to splash as it comes out. Each eruption carries its own silica, making he geyser bigger and bigger as time goes. Geysers around the world are hundreds of years old. Fountain Geysers, erupt in different directions, usually from a pool. Fountain geysers have a large opening at the surface that fill up before or during the eruption. Fountain geysers are the most common of the two