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RESEARCH AT OLD FAITHFUL

In the 1970s and 1980s, researchers brought seismometers to the Upper Geyser Basin in an attempt to decipher Old Faithful Geyser’s underground activity. The scientists found that Old Faithful emits seismic signals, indicating that there is enough heat within the system to boil some of the water between eruptions.

Following an eruption, researchers lowered a small, flexible probe into the geyser’s vent to measure temperature and pressure at 10-foot (3 m) intervals. The temperature sensors recorded wild fluctuations, illustrating that the plumbing system was refilling—and that water from deep channels was mixing with cooler water entering the system from near the top of the vent.

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