Geyser

Geyser: Hot spring that erupts periodically, ejecting a column of hot water and steam into the air.

A geyser is a type of hot spring that erupts periodically, ejecting a column of hot water and steam into the air (Bryan 1995). The name geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the verb gjósa, "to gush".

The formation of geysers requires a favourable hydrogeology which exists in only a few places on Earth, and so they are fairly rare phenomena. About 1000 exist worldwide, with about half of these in Yellowstone National Park, USA (Glennon, J.A. 2005). Geyser eruptive activity may change or cease due to ongoing mineral deposition within the geyser plumbing, exchange of functions with nearby hot springs, earthquake influences, and human intervention (Bryan, T.S. 1995).

Erupting fountains of liquefied nitrogen have been observed on Neptune's moon Triton. These phenomena are also often referred to as geysers. On Triton, the geysers appear to be driven by solar heating instead of geothermal energy. The nitrogen, liquefied by a kind of greenhouse effect, may erupt to heights of 8 km.

Types of Geyser

There are two types of geyser; Fountain geysers erupt from pools of water, typically in a series of intense, even violent, bursts; and cone geysers which erupt from cones or mounds of siliceous sinter (also known as geyserite), usually in steady jets that last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. Old Faithful, perhaps the best-known geyser at Yellowstone National Park, is an example of a cone geyser.

The intense transient forces inside erupting geysers are the main reason for their rarity. There are many volcanic areas in the world that have hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles, but very few with geysers. This is because in most places, even where other necessary conditions for geyser activity exist, the rock structure is loose, and eruptions will erode the channels and rapidly destroy any nascent geysers.

Most geysers form in places where there is volcanic rhyolite rock which dissolves in hot water and forms mineral deposits called siliceous sinter, or geyserite, along the inside of the plumbing systems. Over time these deposits cement the rock together tightly, strengthening the channel walls and enabling the geyser to persist.

Geysers are fragile phenomena and if conditions change, they can 'die'. Many geysers have been destroyed by people throwing litter and debris into them; others have ceased to erupt due to dewatering by geothermal power plants. The Great Geysir of Iceland has had periods of activity and dormancy. During its long dormant periods, eruptions were sometimes humanly-induced---often on special occasions---by the addition of surfactants to the water. Inducing eruptions at Geysir is no longer done, as the forced eruptions were damaging the geyser's special plumbing system. Following an earthquake in Iceland in 2000 the geyser became somewhat more active again. Initially the geyser erupted about eight times a day. As of July 2003, Geysir erupts several times a week.

The specific colours of geysers derive from the fact that despite the apparently harsh conditions, life is often found in them (and also in other hot habitats) in the form of thermophilic prokaryotes. No known eukaryote can survive over 60 °C (140 °F).

In the 1960s, when the research of biology of geysers first appeared, scientists were generally convinced that no life can survive above around 73 °C (163 °F) - the upper limit for the survival of cyanobacteria, as the structure of key cellular proteins and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) would be destroyed. The optimal temperature for thermophilic bacteria was placed even lower, around 55 °C (131 °F).

However, the observations proved that it actually is possible for life to exist at high temperatures and that some bacteria prefer even temperatures higher than boiling point of water. Dozens of such bacteria are known nowadays. Thermophiles prefer temperatures from 50 to 70 °C whilst hyperthermophiles grow better at temperatures as high as 80 to 110 °C. As they have heat-stable enzymes that retain their activity even at high temperatures, they have been used as a source of thermostable tools, that are important in medicine and biotechnology, for example in manufacturing antibiotics, plastics, detergents (by the use of heat-stable enzymes lipases, pullulanases and proteases), and fermentation products (for example ethanol is produced). The fact that such bacteria exist also stretches our imagination about life on other celestial bodies, both inside and outside of solar system. Among these, the first discovered and the most important for biotechnology is Thermus aquaticus.

Resources about Geyser

Geysers and the Earth's Plumbing Systems by Meg Streepey
The vast majority of water in a geyser system is meteoric. Often geyser fields are found on the banks of rivers, which is usually a significant component of a geyser's water source...

The Legend of the Geysers
Long, long ago, the peaceful Ashochimi Indian tribe inhabited a rich and luxuriant valley on both sides of a river, now known as the Russian River north of San Francisco.

The Total Yellowstone Geyser Page
Geyser information provided by the Geyser Guru David Monteith.

Beowawe Geysers, Eureka County, Nevada
They have been drilled and are now used to produce geothermal electric power by the dual flash technique.

About Geysers by Alan Glennon
A geyser is a hot spring that periodically erupts, throwing water into the air. Though that sounds simple, geysers are extremely rare. As of May 2005, the total of active geysers on earth number approximately 1000.

Upper Geyser Basin
Five of the major geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin are predicted by the Park Rangers at the Old Faithful Visitor Center.

Resources:

Geyser Valley: Kamchatka - The Geyser Valley is a unique and world-famous natural feature situated on the east of Kamchatka Peninsula, about 200 kilometres north east of Petropavlovsk.

The Geyser Observation and Study Association (GOSA) - To collection and dissemination of information about geysers and other geothermal phenomena in Yellowstone National Park and elsewhere.

Quake shakes, awakens park geysers by Michael Milstein - Plume Geyser, one of the hill's most frequent performers, erupted even more frequently, once waiting just 19 minutes between eruptions. Little Cub Geyser sped up until Jan. 6 and then slowed back down.

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