The Yellowstone volcanic and hydrothermal system

Yellowstone is home to half the world’s active geysers, including Old Faithful and Steamboat (the world’s tallest at ~100m) geysers, as well as over 10,000 individual hydrothermal features. This volcano provides the opportunity to study the Earth on multiple scales, from imaging the mantle fueling the volcanic system down to an individual extremophile. This renowned hydrothermal system is not only visually stunning but is home to thermophile organisms that provide insight into biological processes and even the origin of life on this planet (Brock, 1985). The Yellowstone area is one of the most seismically active areas in the U.S. Intermountain West. The 1959 M7.3 Hebgen Lake earthuake was the largest earthquake to occur in the region in historical times (Pierce and Morgan, 1992; Smith and Braile, 1994). In addition, Yellowstone is a living, breathing volcanic system with the caldera uplifting and subsiding on decadal time scales. The igneous rock record in Yellowstone is world class, preserving ashflow tuffs from multiple caldera-forming explosive eruptions as well as rhyolitic and basaltic lava flows that are a testament to the size and character of underlying magma reservoirs (Christiansen, 2001; Huang et al., 2015). All of these volcanic deposits are overlain on the extensional tectonics of the Basin and Range province, providing the rare opportunity to study magmatic-tectonic interactions.