Field, Laboratory, and Numerical Studies of Geyser Eruptions

间歇泉提供了一个天然的实验室来研究喷发过程和地球物理和水文信号，可以在喷发之前，期间和之后进行测量。由于间歇泉比火山喷发小，而且喷发更频繁，因此它们提供了一个难得的机会来收集丰富的数据，并开发整合和解释测量结果的方法。大约有300万游客到黄石公园目睹间歇泉喷发的奇观。然而，对这些现象的解释有限或缺乏。在海底和泥火山上也观察到了水和碳氢化合物的间歇泉状行为。 因此，对间歇泉行为的进一步理解可能会使我们深入了解自然界中其他自组织的间歇过程，这些过程是由能量和质量的局部输入引起的。从间歇泉的研究中获得的见解也可以应用于火山系统。该项目将整合现场测量，实验室研究和数值模拟的间歇泉系统中的多相流，以解决以下有关间歇泉过程的基本问题：管道如何影响喷发的开始和间隔？喷发是从管道顶部还是底部开始的？开始？每次喷发有多少管道喷发？不凝性气体在喷发中起作用吗？哪些外部过程（例如，潮汐、气压变化、地震）和内部动力学（例如，前一次喷发的持续时间）影响喷发的间隔和持续时间？间歇泉管道是如何充电的？蒸汽在何时何地形成？对这个问题的回答可能会为触发地震和火山爆发提供新的见解。

Geysers provide a natural laboratory to study eruption processes and the geophysical and hydrological signals that can be measured before, during, and after an eruption. Because they are smaller than volcanic eruptions, and erupt more frequently, they provide a rare opportunity to collect abundant data and develop approaches for integrating and interpreting measurements.About 3 million visitors to Yellowstone witness the wonders of geyser eruptions. Explanations for these phenomena, however, are limited or lacking. Geyser-like behavior of water and hydrocarbons has also been observed on the ocean floor and at mud volcanoes. Thus improved understanding of geyser behavior may yield insight into other self-organized, intermittent processes in nature that result from localized input of energy and mass. Insights from studies of geysers can also be translated to volcanic systems. This project will integrate field measurements, laboratory studies, and numerical simulations of multiphase flow in geyser systems to address the following basic questions about the geysering process: How does conduit plumbing affect eruption initiation and interval? Do eruptions begin at the top or bottom of the conduit? How many conduit volumes erupt per eruption? Do non-condensable gases play a role in eruptions? Which external processes (e.g., tides, variations in barometric pressure, earthquakes) and internal dynamics (e.g., duration of preceding eruption) influence the interval between and duration of eruption? How are geyser conduits recharged? When and where does vapor form? Answers to this question may offer new insight into triggered seismicity and volcanic eruptions.