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| Activity Recorded by Data Logger - by Ralph Taylor |
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| Introduction |
Plume Geyser has been monitored electronically since at least 1997. The data from 1997 to mid-1998 is nearly complete, then from September 1998 to June 2002 the data covers only the summer months, generally from late June to early October. Since mid-2003 the record is nearly complete but there is a gap from 2 April to 2 May 2006 when the logger was not downloaded and a gap from 10 to 27 February 2008 when a thermistor failed.
Because of the relatively long sample intervals (the different data sets use sample intervals of 30 seconds and 1 minute) it is not feasible to determine Plume's durations. The bursts that comprise a Plume eruption last only seven to ten seconds each. By the time the water reaches the sensor, which only records a temperature every minute, the individual bursts are not distinguishable. I have tried one second samples, but even at that resolution it was not possible to determine the burst count.
Plume has periods during which it stops erupting overnight, known since at least 1991. The early 1990 diurnal changes are detailed in my paper in GOSA Transactions Volume V titled Plume Geyser: History and Recent Changes.
The diurnal variation had disappeared in the late 1990s, but returned in the early years of the 21st century. By 2003 Plume began to have periods of dormancy lasting for many weeks in some cases. 2004 and 2005 saw numerous instances of activity separated by dormancies, with the beginning and end of the active periods often occurring near the time of Giantess eruptions. In January, February, and December of 2006 there were several brief, usually overnight, dormancies.
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| Activity in 2010 |
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The overall statistics for 2010 are shown at Plume Geyser 2010 Statistics. A pdf of this summary is at Plume Geyser Recent Activity Summary.
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The interval graph shows all of the intervals for 2010. The red diamonds show the eruption start times for Little Squirt Geyser. The Little Squirt eruption times are used as a surrogate for the so-called SMax (South [Geyser Hill] water level MAXimum), which is thought to represent a cyclic change in the hydrothermal energy on Geyser Hill. This hypothesis is described in an article in GOSA Transactions Volume IV titled Cyclic Hot Spring Activity on Geyser Hill, Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park-Graphical and Interpretive Descriptions of the Geyser Hill Wave, Diurnal Effects, Seasonal Disturbances, Random (Chaotic?) Events, and Earthquakes by T. Scott Bryan. The green triangles show the first eruption of each recorded Dome Geyser series. Activity in Dome geyser is also known to affect some other features on Geyser Hill.
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The next graph shows the intervals for the past three months at an expanded time scale.
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The next graph shows the intervals for the month prior to the last download, again showing the Little Squirt activity as red diamonds.
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The next graph is a histogram of the distribution of intervals. Note that in this and the other histograms displayed here the labels shown on the X-axis represent the upper boundary of the class, not the midpoint. Geyser times are traditionally truncated. The graph at the right has class widths of two minutes. The bar appearing above the label "1:20," for example, contains intervals from 1h19m through 1h20m.
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The final graph gives the monthly minimum, mean, median, and maximum intervals.
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| Activity since 1997 |
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Plume's activity has been monitored only in the summer months for much of the time, so the full cycle is not shown on the graphs. The first graph shows all of the intervals recorded since 1997. In 1997 intervals were between 22 and 30 minutes, then during 1998 the intervals rose to the 40 minute range and remained in that range until late 2002 when intervals increased and Plume began having periods of dormancy. The discontinuous plot in 2003-5 reflects the periods of activity and dormancy.
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The moving median graph shows the trends a little more clearly than the graph of all intervals. The sudden rise in intervals by more than 10 minutes in midsummer of 1998 and 1999, both followed by a decline lasting for weeks, is unexplained. However, the three notable peaks in 2001, the two peaks in 2002, and the beginning and end of many of the active episodes in 2004 and 2005 correspond with eruptions of Giantess Geyser.
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The monthly statistics graph shows the monthly average (both mean and median) intervals remaining comfortably below one hour until 2003. The rise to more than three hours in 2004 is attributable to long intervals before and after dormant phases. In 2006 the long intervals occurred only in mid-winter and Plume did not have any dormancies.
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The next graph is similar but has an expanded vertical axis to reveal more about the mean and median intervals.
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Activity in 2009
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Activity in 2008
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Activity in 2007
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Activity in 2006
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Activity in 2005
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