Learning about eruptions and thumping at geysers in Yellowstone through seismic, temperature, and pressure data
Michael Manga, Professor
Earth and Planetary Science
Closed. This professor is continuing with Fall 2023 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Spring 2024.
Artemisia and Oblong are two geysers in Yellowstone National Park that ‘thump’ before they erupt, with ground vibrations that can be heard and felt from nearby. Bubble formation and collapse inside geysers creates seismic energy that can be detected by seismometers. The purpose of this project is to investigate seismic signals, as well as temperature and pressure data, at Artemisia and Oblong in order to learn about the timing of eruptions and what conditions give rise to thumping.
Role: Downloading and processing seismic, temperature and pressure data. Modifying codes to determine certain aspects of the seismic data (e.g. peak seismic frequency). Possibly creating animations/visualizations that help understand the relationship between the different data types.
Qualifications: Physical science or engineering background. Some experience with python coding.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Anna Barth, Post-Doc
Hours: to be negotiated
Mathematical and Physical Sciences