Cold-water geysers are geysers that have eruptions whose water spurts are propelled by CO2 bubbles, instead of the hot steam which drives the more familiar hot-water geysers: The gush of a cold-water geyser is identical to the spurt from a freshly-opened bottle of soda pop. Cold-water geysers look quite similar to their steam-driven counterparts; however, their CO2-laden water often appears whiter and more frothy. [1]
In cold-water geysers, the supply of CO2-laden water lies confined in an aquifer, in which water and CO2 are trapped by less permeable overlying strata. The more familiar hot-water geysers derive the energy for their eruptons from the proximity to (relatively) near-surface magma. In contrast, whereas cold water geysers might also derive their supply of CO2 from magmatic sources, by definition of "cold-water", they do not also obtain sufficient heat to provide steam pressure, and their eruptions are propelled only by the pressure of dissolved CO2. The magnitude and frequency of such eruptions depend on various factors such as plumbing depth, CO2 concentrations and refresh rate, aquifer water yield, etc.
The water and its load of CO2 powering a cold-water geyser can escape the rock strata overlying its aquifer only through weak segments of rock, like faults, joints, or drilled wells. A borehole drilled for a well, for example, can unexpectedly provide an escape route for the pressurized water and CO2 to reach the surface. The column of water rising through the rock exerts enough pressure on the gaseous CO2 so that it remains in the water as dissolved gas or small bubbles. When the pressure decreases due to the widening of a fissure, the CO2 bubbles expand, and that expansion displaces the water above and causes the eruption.
A geyser is a spring with an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. The formation of geysers is fairly rare, and is caused by particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in a few places on Earth.
The geothermal areas of Yellowstone include several geyser basins in Yellowstone National Park as well as other geothermal features such as hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles. The number of thermal features in Yellowstone is estimated at 10,000. A study that was completed in 2011 found that a total of 1,283 geysers have erupted in Yellowstone, 465 of which are active during an average year. These are distributed among nine geyser basins, with a few geysers found in smaller thermal areas throughout the Park. The number of geysers in each geyser basin are as follows: Upper Geyser Basin (410), Midway Geyser Basin (59), Lower Geyser Basin (283), Norris Geyser Basin (193), West Thumb Geyser Basin (84), Gibbon Geyser Basin (24), Lone Star Geyser Basin (21), Shoshone Geyser Basin (107), Heart Lake Geyser Basin (69), other areas (33). Although famous large geysers like Old Faithful are part of the total, most of Yellowstone's geysers are small, erupting to only a foot or two. The hydrothermal system that supplies the geysers with hot water sits within an ancient active caldera. Many of the thermal features in Yellowstone build up sinter, geyserite, or travertine deposits around and within them.
A spring is a natural exit point at which groundwater emerges from an aquifer and flows across the ground surface as surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere, as well as a part of the water cycle. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh water, especially in arid regions which have relatively little annual rainfall.
A diapir is a type of intrusion in which a more mobile and ductilely deformable material is forced into brittle overlying rocks. Depending on the tectonic environment, diapirs can range from idealized mushroom-shaped Rayleigh–Taylor instability structures in regions with low tectonic stress such as in the Gulf of Mexico to narrow dikes of material that move along tectonically induced fractures in surrounding rock.
John Alan Glennon is an American geographer and explorer. His work has been mapping and describing caves and geysers.
Crystal Geyser is a cold water, carbon dioxide driven geyser located on the east bank of the Green River approximately 9 miles (14 km) downstream from Green River, Utah, United States.
Volcanic gases are gases given off by active volcanoes. These include gases trapped in cavities (vesicles) in volcanic rocks, dissolved or dissociated gases in magma and lava, or gases emanating from lava, from volcanic craters or vents. Volcanic gases can also be emitted through groundwater heated by volcanic action.
A soda geyser is a physical reaction between a carbonated beverage, usually Diet Coke, and Mentos mints that causes the beverage to be expelled from its container. The candies catalyze the release of gas from the beverage, which creates an eruption that pushes most of the liquid up and out of the bottle. Lee Marek and "Marek's Kid Scientists" were the first to publicly demonstrate the experiment on the Late Show with David Letterman in 1999. Steve Spangler's televised demonstration of the eruption in 2005 became popular on YouTube, launching a chain of several other Diet Coke and Mentos experiment viral videos. Experiments carried out at altitudes ranging from below sea level in Death Valley to the summit of Pikes Peak have demonstrated that the reaction works better at higher elevations.
Volatiles are the group of chemical elements and chemical compounds that can be readily vaporized. In contrast with volatiles, elements and compounds that are not readily vaporized are known as refractory substances.
Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 26 countries, while geothermal heating is in use in 70 countries.
Hot Creek, starting as Mammoth Creek, is a stream in Mono County of eastern California, in the Western United States. It is within the Inyo National Forest.
A geyser is a periodic steam hot spring.
pCO2, pCO2, or is the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (CO2), often used in reference to blood but also used in meteorology, climate science, oceanography, and limnology to describe the fractional pressure of CO2 as a function of its concentration in gas or dissolved phases. The units of pCO2 are mmHg, atm, torr, Pa, or any other standard unit of atmospheric pressure. The pCO2 of Earth's atmosphere has risen from approximately 280 ppm (parts-per-million) to a mean 2019 value of 409.8 ppm as a result of anthropogenic release of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning. This is the highest atmospheric concentration to have existed on Earth for at least the last 800,000 years.
Woodside is a ghost town located on the west bank of the shallow Price River in the nearly uninhabited eastern part of Emery County, Utah, United States. Its fenced-in filling station is one of the only signs of human activity along the lonely stretch of U.S. Route 6/191 between Wellington and Green River.
Martian geysers are putative sites of small gas and dust eruptions that occur in the south polar region of Mars during the spring thaw. "Dark dune spots" and "spiders" – or araneiforms – are the two most visible types of features ascribed to these eruptions.
A sand geyser,sand fountain or sand blow is a geologic phenomenon which occurs in association with earthquakes and other seismic events. In the geologic record, these are seen as clastic dikes. It is described as "a geyser of sand and water that shoots from the ground during a major earthquake." A quake can cause underlying sand to liquefy while pressure forces the eruption of the sand mixture to the surface. The mixture of sand and water can also contain dissolved gases such as methane and carbon dioxide.
The Wallender Born or Wallenborn is a cold water geyser in the village Wallenborn. It is adjacent to the reactivated Andernach Geyser an active cold water geyser in Germany.
The Soda Springs Geyser is an Artesian well drilled into the carbonated aquifer that lies beneath Soda Springs, Idaho. Thousands of natural springs in the area were a landmark on the Oregon Trail.
Andernach Geyser is the highest cold-water geyser in the world, reaching heights of 30 to 60 metres. The geyser was first bored in 1903 on the Namedy Peninsula in the Rhine near Andernach. In 2006 it was turned into a tourist attraction and one of the sights in the volcano park and part of the Geopark Vulkanland Eifel.