Magma intrusion and volatile ascent beneath Norris Geyser Basin,
Yellowstone National Park
Abstract
Recent activity has provided new insights into the causes of surface
deformation in and around the Yellowstone Caldera, a topic that has been
debated since the discovery of caldera-floor uplift more than four
decades ago. An episode of unusually rapid uplift (>15
cm/yr) centered near Norris Geyser Basin along the north caldera rim
began in late 2013 and continued until a Mw 4.9 earthquake on 30 March
2014; thereafter, uplift abruptly switched to subsidence. Uplift at
rates of several cm/yr resumed in 2016 and continued at least through
the end of 2018. Modeling of Global Positioning System (GPS) and
interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data suggests an
evolving process of deep magma intrusion during 1996-2001 followed by
volatile ascent and accumulation at shallow levels, perhaps as shallow
as a few hundred meters depth. The preferred deformation model in which
the volatiles accumulated is a shallow uplifted (domed) reservoir. The
depth of shallow volatile accumulation appears to have shallowed from
the 2014 to the 2016 deformation episode, from 3.2 km depth to 1.8 km
depth respectively, and frequent eruptions of Steamboat Geyser since
March 2018 might be a surface manifestation of this ongoing process.
Hydrothermal explosion features are prominent in the Norris Geyser Basin
area, and the apparent shallow nature of the inferred volatile
accumulation might represent an increased risk of hydrothermal
explosions in the vicinity of Norris Geyser Basin.