Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week’s contribution is from Michael Poland, geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.<\/p>\n
Happy Birthday to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory!\u00a0 In May 2026, the observatory turned 25 years old.\u00a0 But the idea for the observatory didn\u2019t germinate in Yellowstone National Park.\u00a0Rather, it was another national park where the stage was set.<\/p>\n
In September 2000, a unique workshop was convened in the city of Redding, California.\u00a0 The \u201cVolcanism in National Parks<\/a>\u201d gathering was organized by the Geologic Resources Division of the National Park Service and the Volcano Hazards Program of the U.S. Geological Survey, and it was intended to improve scientific input to park managers, as well as volcano monitoring and research in parks.<\/p>\n Bumpass Hell, a hydrothermal area in Lassen Volcanic National Park. The pools contain hot water that often bubble and steam.<\/p>\n The workshop included a field trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park and a hike to Bumpass Hell, a hydrothermal area near Lassen Peak with hot springs, fumaroles, and boiling mudpots.\u00a0 Sort of a mini-Yellowstone!\u00a0 During the excursion, Dr. Robert (Bob) Smith, a seismologist from the University of Utah who had worked in Yellowstone for decades, found himself chatting with Marianne Guffanti, the coordinator of the USGS Volcano Hazards Program.<\/p>\n Bob asked a simple question.\u00a0Why isn\u2019t there a Yellowstone Volcano Observatory<\/a>?\u00a0 There\u2019s a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory<\/a>.\u00a0 An Alaska Volcano Observatory<\/a>.\u00a0 A Cascades Volcano Observatory<\/a>.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t the largest magmatic system in the United States deserve a volcano observatory?\u00a0Marianne agreed\u2014Yellowstone deserved more attention!\u00a0<\/p>\n Also at the workshop were Paul Doss, who was the Yellowstone National Park geologist, and Bob Christiansen<\/a>, who had been mapping Yellowstone\u2019s volcanic history as a USGS geologist for over three decades.\u00a0 All were in accord.\u00a0 The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory\u2014YVO\u2014needed to be established!\u00a0The goals of the observatory would be to (1) provide a stable foundation for long-term monitoring, hazards assessment, and research, (2) communicate the results of this work to responsible authorities and to the public, and (3) better coordinate geoscience efforts in the region.<\/p>\n But how should the new Yellowstone Volcano Observatory be operated?\u00a0 In Hawai\u02bbi and the Cascades, the USGS was the primary monitoring agency, although there were collaborations with other institutions\u2014in those respective cases, Hawai\u02bbi Volcanoes National Park and the University of Washington.\u00a0In Alaska, however, the observatory was established as a partnership between the USGS, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.<\/p>\n Logo of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory depicting Yellowstone National Park boundary with Yellowstone Caldera in red and Old Faithful Geyser in eruption.<\/p>\n The Alaska Volcano Observatory turned out to be the perfect model for YVO.\u00a0 The University of Utah<\/a> was already doing seismic and ground deformation monitoring in the region, Yellowstone National Park<\/a> had a long history of hydrothermal research and monitoring, and the USGS brought expertise in hazards assessment and geologic mapping.\u00a0In May 2001, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by all three agencies, and the YVO consortium was born.\u00a0Bob Christiansen was the first Scientist-in-Charge of the observatory, and Bob Smith served as the Coordinating Scientist.<\/p>\n Over the years, additional partners were added to the YVO partnership.\u00a0 In 2013, the University of Wyoming<\/a>, UNAVCO (now the EarthScope Consortium)<\/a>, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology<\/a>, Idaho Geological Survey<\/a>, and Wyoming State Geological Survey<\/a> joined the team.\u00a0And in 2020, Montana State University<\/a> became the ninth member of the consortium.\u00a0 Each institution brought unique expertise to the group, and also shared the goals of better understanding and communicating about geologic processes in the Yellowstone region.<\/p>\n Over the years, some of the people have changed, but YVO\u2019s mission of studying Yellowstone\u2019s geologic past, present, and future has remained the same.\u00a0 The past 25 years have seen substantial improvements in monitoring geologic activity, including development of digital geophysical networks and deployment of stations specifically intended to monitor hydrothermal activity.\u00a0 Likewise, research results have provided new understanding of how hydrothermal systems work, the geologic history of the park and its surroundings, and the geologic hazards most likely to impact the region.<\/p>\n