HOW GEYSERS WORK - Geysers like Old Faithful create eruptions of this scale every day, to the delight of the millions of visitors who witness them each year. Yet, despite the unbelievable forces that drive their eruptions, geysers are among the rarest and most fragile natural phenomena on Earth. Landslides, earthquakes and many other factors can alter a geyser's eruptions or destroy the geyser altogether. There are only about a thousand geysers left active on the planet, in geyser fields in such diverse locales as Iceland, New Zealand, Chile and the U.S. The one thing all of these locations have in common with one another is a high level of geothermal activity, one of the key components of geyser formations. Geothermal energy, which is taken from heat within the Earth, drives volcanoes, hot springs and other forms of geothermal activity. Still, a geothermal energy source is just one necessary part of a typical geyser formation. In this article, we'll explore what else it takes to form a geyser, what exactly causes one to erupt and what makes some geysers so unique. Along the way, we'll also take a look at some springs that look and act like geysers, but operate in a completely different way. In addition to a heat source, geysers need a constant supply of water and an underground plumbing system that holds the water supply as it heats up. A geyser needs a water supply. What might not be so apparent is where the water in a geyser's eruption comes from. Many geysers are located near rivers and pull water from them. Others seem to depend more on rain and snow filtering miles beneath the ground for their water supply.

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How Geysers Work

BY JONATHAN ATTEBERRY

Imagine taking all of the water from your neighborhood swimming pool, pouring it into a massive, magma-powered pressure cooker and shooting the water hundreds of feet in the air. 

Old Faithful may be the world's most well-known geyser.

Geysers like Old Faithful create eruptions of this scale every day, to the delight of the millions of visitors who witness them each year.

Yet, despite the unbelievable forces that drive their eruptions, geysers are among the rarest and most fragile natural phenomena on Earth. 

Landslides, earthquakes and many other factors can alter a geyser's eruptions or destroy the geyser altogether.

What's more, nature isn't the only thing that can impact a geyser: Man has helped to destroy numerous geysers as well, sometimes unintentionally and sometimes through deliberate acts of vandalism.

As of 2009, there are only about a thousand geysers left active on the planet, in geyser fields in such diverse locales as Iceland, New Zealand, Chile and the U.S.

The one thing all of these locations have in common with one another is a high level of geothermal activity, one of the key components of geyser formations. 

Geothermal energy, which is taken from heat within the Earth, drives volcanoes, hot springs and other forms of geothermal activity.

Still, a geothermal energy source is just one necessary part of a typical geyser formation.

In this article, we'll explore what else it takes to form a geyser, what exactly causes one to erupt and what makes some geysers so unique.

Along the way, we'll also take a look at some springs that look and act like geysers, but operate in a completely different way.

How Geysers Form and Erupt

In addition to a heat source, geysers need a constant supply of water and an underground plumbing system that holds the water supply as it heats up.

We'll examine each of these separately and then explore how they work together to cause geysers to erupt.

·      Water supply: Clearly, a geyser needs a water supply. What might not be so apparent, however, is where the water in a geyser's eruption comes from.

The answer depends on the geyser. Many geysers are located near rivers and pull water from them.

Others seem to depend more on rain and snow filtering miles beneath the ground for their water supply.

·      Plumbing system: A geyser's plumbing system is a series of fissures in the Earth that start at the geyser's mouth and run miles beneath the Earth's surface, where the system connects to the geyser's heat source.

Each geyser's plumbing system is different: Some consist of a single long, vertical shaft, while others connect to large pockets of water beneath the surface.

Certain types of soil are much more suitable for the plumbing system's formation, particularly soils that contain a high concentration of rhyolite, a volcanic rock that contains minerals that seal the geyser's plumbing system.

This mineral lining is crucial to the geyser's formation, as geysers operate under tremendous pressure and the plumbing system must be able to contain this pressure for the geyser to function.

·      Heat source: We already know that geysers occur in areas of high geothermal activity, but where does that energy come from?

The water in geysers is heated by magma that lies around 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) beneath the surface of the Earth.

While that might seem like a long way down, magma underneath a geyser field is actually relatively close to the Earth's surface.

There are different reasons why the magma is so close to the Earth's surface, though many geyser fields are located on the edges of the Earth's tectonic plates.

These plates, which compose the Earth's lithosphere, are constantly in motion, creating faults and generating tremendous energy.

This activity can cause earthquakes and volcanoes, and it can also create heat sources for geysers.

In the next section, we'll learn why the boiling point of water is so critical to understanding how a geyser erupts.

How Do Geysers Erupt?

Now that we understand how the key components of a geyser work, let's figure out how these parts work together to create such spectacular eruptions.

The process begins as water migrates to the geyser's plumbing system through fissures in ground.

Since the plumbing system is miles deep, the water at the bottom of the geyser's plumbing is under incredible pressure from the water above it. Think of the entire system as a giant pressure cooker.

Pressure cookers work by creating a sealed, pressurized enclosure that helps to cook food much faster than cooking it in a normal pot.

Pressure cookers can do this because water's boiling point rises as it's pressurized. Think of what actually happens when water boils: Water starts to churn and bubbles of air begin to surface.

If more pressure pushes down on the water, water needs more and more energy (in the form of heat) to overcome that pressure and start pushing bubbles to the surface.

This explains why water inside a pressure cooker can reach temperatures of more than 125 degrees Celsius (257 degrees Fahrenheit), while the boiling point of water at standard pressure is only 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit).

Now consider the massive pressures placed on water within a geyser's plumbing system.

Water in such a system can reach incredibly high temperatures (and store incredible amounts of energy as a result) before it starts to boil.

As the magma at the base of the geyser transfers heat throughout the system, more energy gets trapped in the water. Eventually, pockets of water begin to reach their boiling point and become turbulent.

This turbulence pushes a relatively small quantity of water out of the opening of the geyser, decreasing the amount of pressure on the water remaining in the geyser.

With this sudden pressure drop (and corresponding drop in boiling point), the water in the geyser flashes into steam.

The steam quickly expands to 1,500 times the volume of water and this expansion violently pushes water and steam from the mouth of the geyser in an eruption.

These eruptions last as long as the water in the geyser remains hot enough to push water out of the geyser opening.

Eventually, the entire system will either run out of water or the water will cool down enough for the eruption to stop. The cycle, of course, starts all over again.

COLD GEYSERS

While most geysers are hot enough to scald you, so-called cold-water geysers are a different story.

These geysers, such as Crystal Geyser in Utah and Brubbel Geyser in Germany, are driven by carbon dioxide-rich water trapped beneath the surface of the Earth.

Similar to how heat-driven geysers work, when pressure on a cold-water geyser decreases, the carbon dioxide bubbles in the water expand and push water out of the geyser in an eruption.

Exploring the World's Most Famous Geysers

While every geyser operates in fundamentally the same way, all geysers are not created equal. In this section, we'll explore some of the world's most famous geysers and what makes them stand out above the rest.

·      Geysir: This geyser, located in Iceland's Haukadalur valley, was first discovered in 1294, making the Geysir the oldest known geyser on the planet. Geysir's activity slowed toward the end of the 19th century and it became dormant around 1915.

In 1935, however, an earthquake reactivated the geyser, which currently erupts about every eight to 10 hours. Geysir remains a major tourist attraction to this day.

·      Old Faithful: Probably the most famous geyser on Earth, Old Faithful is famous for its 100- to 180-foot (30 to 55 meter) high eruptions, as well as for the regularity with which these eruptions occur (hence the name).

The geyser takes about 45 to 110 minutes between eruptions, though more recently, its eruptions have tended to be larger and consequently farther apart as more water is needed to replenish the geyser.

Old Faithful is also a great example of a cone geyser.

Unlike fountain geysers, which erupt from a pool of water, cone geysers erupt from a cone shaped structure formed from the mineral-rich water that constantly shoots from its opening.

·      Grand Geyser: The tallest regularly erupting geyser on Earth, Grand Geyser routinely fires water up to 200 feet (61 meters) into the air.

Located in Yellowstone National Park, Grand Geyser is a great example of a fountain geyser.

Unlike cone geysers, which tend to produce a fairly vertical, constant column of water, fountain geysers erupt in a much more chaotic fashion.

·      Strokkur Geyser: This geyser, named after the Icelandic verb "to churn," is known for its frequent eruptions, which occur five to 10 minutes apart.

First active in 1789, Strokkur became inactive in 1896 after an earthquake hit the area and blocked its plumbing system.

In 1963, locals cleared the blockage and the geyser has remained active ever since.

·      Steamboat Geyser: Don't bother waiting for one of Steamboat's massive eruptions.

While Steamboat is considered to be the world's tallest active geyser, shooting water up to 300 feet (91 meters) in the air, the geyser is also notoriously finicky.

At one point, the geyser went 50 years without an eruption.

·      Waimangu Geyser: The highest geyser eruption of all time took place at New Zealand's Waimangu Valley.

In 1902, a geyser in the valley reportedly spouted water 1,475 feet (450 meters) in the air.

Unfortunately, the geyser became inactive after a landslide in 1904, putting a premature end to a truly spectacular sight.

WHAT'S WITH THE NAME?

You probably don't have to stretch your imagination to figure out how geothermal features like hot springs and mud pools get their names.

The origin of the word "geyser," on the other hand, is a bit more mysterious.

The word "geyser" actually relates back to the first geyser ever discovered, Iceland's Geysir. Geysir, discovered in 1294, is fittingly named after the Icelandic verb "to gush" (gjósa).

Human Interaction with Geysers

People should be careful around geysers. In 2001, an erupting geyser
in Kuirau Park, New Zealand, damaged trees in the area and splattered
 the park with mud.

Now that we've taken a comprehensive look at how geysers work, we're ready to look at man's past and present interaction with them.

Considering the spectacle of a geyser eruption, it's no surprise that tourism is the most common way that people interact with geysers.

Tourism serves to educate the public both on how geysers work and on what it takes to protect these natural resources.

Parks often take great care to control how tourists interact with geysers, in part because tourists can harm geysers with their trash and debris, but also because geysers are quite capable of harming tourists as well.

In 1903, four tourists visiting New Zealand got caught in a geyser jet in Waimangu Valley. The eruption killed all four people and carried them more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) away from its source.

While such incidents are rare, we should always remain conscious of the amazing forces behind geysers.

Geysers serve as more than tourist attractions, however.

The same geothermal energy that drives geyser activity can also be used to generate power for houses and businesses.

While geothermal energy can provide a clean source of electricity, tapping into that source can sometimes create major consequences for geothermal features in the area by draining the geyser fields of their water or energy.

People have also been known to intentionally destroy geysers through vandalism, throwing trash and debris into a geyser's opening and blocking its plumbing system.

It's somewhat ironic, then, that man has also gone to great lengths to create "artificial" geysers by digging wells that tap into a geothermal heat source.

While that type of geyser has a man-made plumbing system, its eruptions are driven by the same forces that power its natural counterparts.

People have also put a lot of energy into repairing natural geysers, as in the case of Iceland's Strokkur Geyser.

As we understand more about how fragile geysers are, we'll see more measures put in place to protect these natural wonders.

Articles on HowStuffWorks that were written by Planet Green bloggers represent those bloggers' own opinions and viewpoints on subjects related to the environment and conservation. To provide feedback or corrections to these articles, please visit our Contact Us page and select "Planet Green feedback."

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/geyser.htm

EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENTS THAT COULD END LIFE ON EARTH - You know about some of the threats that could end life as we know it. The Sun could do something nasty. A meteor could strike. We could nuke ourselves out of existence. These are only a few well-known extinction level events. There are so many more ways to die! An extinction level event or ELE is a catastrophe resulting in the extinction of the majority of species on the planet. It's not the normal extinction of species that occurs every day. It isn't necessarily the sterilization of all living organisms. If a strong solar flare hit the Earth, the results could be devastating. Scientists estimate a big meteor needs to be about 100 kilometers (60 miles) across to wipe out all life on earth. Most extinction level events have been caused by volcanoes. Volcanoes kill by releasing dust, sulfur oxides, and carbon dioxide that collapse food chains by inhibiting photosynthesis, poison the land and sea with acid rain, and produce global warming.

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Extinction Level Events

7 Extinction Level Events That Could End Life as We Know It

by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

If you've watched the movies "2012" or "Armageddon" or read "On the Beach," you know about some of the threats that could end life as we know it.

The Sun could do something nasty. A meteor could strike. We could nuke ourselves out of existence. These are only a few well-known extinction level events. There are so many more ways to die!

But first, what exactly is an extinction event?

An extinction level event or ELE is a catastrophe resulting in the extinction of the majority of species on the planet.

It's not the normal extinction of species that occurs every day. It isn't necessarily the sterilization of all living organisms.

We can identify major extinction events by examining the deposition and chemical composition of rocks, the fossil record, and evidence of major events on moons and other planets.

There are dozens of phenomena capable of causing widespread extinctions, but they can be grouped into a few categories:

The Sun Will Kill Us

If a strong solar flare hit the Earth, the results could be devastating.

Life as we know it wouldn't exist without the Sun, but let's be honest. The Sun has it out for planet Earth.

Even if none of the other catastrophes on this list ever happen, the Sun will end us. Stars like the Sun burn brighter over time as they fuse hydrogen into helium.

In another billion years, it will be about 10 percent brighter. While this might not seem significant, it will cause more water to evaporate.

Water is a greenhouse gas, so it traps heat in the atmosphere, leading to more evaporation. Sunlight will break water into hydrogen and oxygen, so it can bleed away into space.

Should any life survive, it will meet a fiery fate when the Sun enters its red giant phase, expanding out to the orbit of Mars. It's not likely any life will survive inside the Sun.

But the Sun can kill us any old day it wants via a coronal mass ejection (CME). As you can guess from the name, this is when our favorite star expels charged particles outward from its corona.

Since a CME can sent matter any direction, it doesn't usually shoot directly toward Earth. Sometimes only a tiny fraction of particles reach us, granting us an aurora or a solar storm. However, it's possible for a CME to barbecue the planet.

The Sun has pals (and they hate Earth too). A nearby (within 6000 light years) supernova, nova, or gamma ray burst could irradiate organisms and destroy the ozone layer, leaving life at the mercy of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation.

Scientists think a gamma burst or supernova might have led to the End-Ordovician extinction.

Geomagnetic Reversals May Kill Us

Scientists believe magnetic pole reversals were involved in some past mass extinctions.

The Earth is a giant magnet that has a love-hate relationship with life. The magnetic field protects us from the worst the Sun throws at us.

Every so often, the positions of the north and south magnetic poles flip. How often the reversals occur and how long it takes the magnetic field to get settled is highly variable.

Scientists aren't completely sure what will happen when the poles flip. Maybe nothing. Or maybe the weakened magnetic field will expose the Earth to the solar wind, letting the Sun steal a lot of our oxygen.

You know, that gas humans breathe. Scientists say magnetic field reversals aren't always extinction level events. Just sometimes.

The Big Bad Meteor

A big meteor impact could be an extinction level event.

You may be surprised to learn the impact of an asteroid or meteor has only been connected with certainty to one mass extinction, the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.

Other impacts have been contributing factors to extinctions, but not the primary cause.

The good news is that NASA claims about 95 percent of comets and asteroids bigger than 1 kilometer in diameter have been identified.

The other good news is that scientists estimate an object needs to be about 100 kilometers (60 miles) across to wipe out all life.

The bad news is there are another 5 percent out there and not much we can do about a significant threat with our present technology (no, Bruce Willis cannot detonate a nuke and save us).

Obviously, living things at ground zero for a meteor strike will die. Many more will die from the shock wave, earthquakes, tsunamis, and firestorms.

Those that survive the initial impact would have a hard time finding food, as the debris thrown into the atmosphere would change the climate, leading to mass extinctions. You're probably better off at ground zero for this one.

The Sea

A tsunami is dangerous, but the sea has more lethal tricks.

A day at the beach might seem idyllic, until you realize the blue part of the marble we call Earth is deadlier than all of the sharks in its depths. The ocean has various ways of causing ELEs.

Methane clathrates (molecules made of water and methane) sometimes break from the continental shelves, producing a methane eruption called a clathrate gun.

The "gun" shoots immense amounts of the greenhouse gas methane into the atmosphere. Such events are linked to the end-Permian extinction and Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

Prolonged sea level rise or fall also leads to extinctions. Falling sea levels are more insidious, as exposing the continental shelf kills off innumerable marine species. This, in turn, upsets the terrestrial ecosystem, leading to an ELE.

Chemical imbalances in the sea also cause extinction events. When the middle or upper layers of the ocean become anoxic, a chain reaction of death occurs. The Ordovician-Silurian, late Devonian, Permian-Triassic, and Triassic-Jurassic extinctions all included anoxic events.

Sometimes the levels of essential trace elements (e.g., selenium) fall, leading to mass extinctions.

Sometimes the sulfate-reducing bacteria in thermal vents get out of control, releasing an excess of hydrogen sulfide that weakens the ozone layer, exposing life to lethal UV.

The ocean also undergoes a periodic overturn in which the high-salinity surface water sinks to the depths. Anoxic deep water rises, killing surface organisms. The late-Devonian and Permian-Triassic extinctions are associated oceanic overturn.

The beach doesn't look so nice now, does it?

And the "Winner" Is... Volcanoes

Historically, most extinction level events have been caused by volcanoes.

While falling sea level has been associated with 12 extinction events, only seven involved a significant loss of species.

On the other hand, volcanoes have led to 11 ELEs, all of them significant. The End-Permian, End-Triassic, and End-Cretaceous extinctions are associated with volcanic eruptions called flood basalt events.

Volcanoes kill by releasing dust, sulfur oxides, and carbon dioxide that collapse food chains by inhibiting photosynthesis, poison the land and sea with acid rain, and produce global warming.

The next time you vacation at Yellowstone, take a moment to stop and ponder the implications when the volcano erupts. At least the volcanoes in Hawaii aren't planet killers.

Global Warming and Cooling

Runaway global warming could make Earth more like Venus.

In the end, the ultimate cause of mass extinctions is global warming or global cooling, usually caused by one of the other events. Global cooling and glaciation are believed to have contributed to the End-Ordovician, Permian-Triassic, and Late Devonian extinctions.

While the temperature drop killed some species, the sea level fall as water turned to ice had a much greater effect.

Global warming is a much more efficient killer. But, the extreme heating of a solar storm or red giant isn't required.

Sustained heating is associated with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, the Triassic-Jurassic extinction, and the Permian-Triassic extinction.

Mostly the problem seems to be the way higher temperatures release water, adding the greenhouse effect to the equation and causing anoxic events in the ocean.

On Earth, these events have always balanced out over time, yet some scientists believe there is potential for Earth to go the way of Venus. In such a scenario, global warming would sterilize the entire planet.

Our Own Worst Enemy

Global nuclear war would irradiate the planet and likely lead to either nuclear summer or nuclear winter.

Humanity has plenty of options at its disposal, should we decide it's taking too long for the meteor to strike or the volcano to erupt.

We're capable of causing an ELE via a global nuclear war, climate change caused by our activities, or by killing enough other species to cause a collapse of the ecosystem.

The insidious thing about extinction events is that they tend to be gradual, often leading to a domino effect in which one event stresses one or more species, leading to another event that destroys many more.

Thus, any cascade of death typically involves multiple killers on this list.

Key Points

Extinction level events or ELEs are calamities that result in the annihilation of most species on the planet.

Scientists can predict some ELEs, but most are neither predictable nor preventable.

Even if some organisms survive all other extinction events, eventually the Sun will eradicate life on Earth.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Chemistry Expert

Education

Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville

B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College

Introduction

Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville - Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Science educator with experience teaching chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.

ThoughtCo and About Education chemistry expert since 2001.

Widely-published graphic artist, responsible for printable periodic tables and other illustrations used in science.

Experience

Anne Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and About Education since 2001, and other sciences since 2013. She taught chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels. She has worked as a research scientist and also abstracting and indexing diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy.

In addition to her work as a science writer, Dr. Helmenstine currently serves as a scientific consultant, specializing in problems requiring an interdisciplinary approach. Previously, she worked as a research scientist and college professor.

Education

Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. in physics and mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Hastings College. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.

ThoughtCo and Dotdash

ThoughtCo is a premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are one of the top-10 information sites in the world as rated by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company. Every month, more than 13 million readers seek answers to their questions on ThoughtCo.

For more than 20 years, Dotdash brands have been helping people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired. We are one of the top-20 largest content publishers on the Internet according to comScore, and reach more than 30% of the U.S. population monthly. Our brands collectively have won more than 20 industry awards in the last year alone, and recently Dotdash was named Publisher of the Year by Digiday, a leading industry publication.

https://www.thoughtco.com/extinction-level-events-4158931

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65 million years ago a meteor struck the Mexican Yucatan peninsula,
throwing tons of dust in the air and contributing to mass extinctions.

If a strong solar flare hit the Earth, the results could be devastating.

Scientists believe magnetic pole reversals were involved in some past mass extinctions. 

A big meteor impact could be an extinction level event. 

A tsunami is dangerous, but the sea has more lethal tricks.

Historically, most extinction level events have been caused by volcanoes. 

Runaway global warming could make Earth more like Venus. 

Global nuclear war would irradiate the planet and likely lead to either nuclear summer or nuclear winter.