Yellowstone Study Traces 15,000 Years of Hydrothermal Swings and Peak Wildfire During 12,000-4,000 Years
Updated
Updated · The Watchers · Sep 21
Yellowstone Study Traces 15,000 Years of Hydrothermal Swings and Peak Wildfire During 12,000-4,000 Years
2 articles · Updated · The Watchers · Sep 21
Summary
Five Yellowstone lake records show hydrothermal input was strongest in wetter periods and weakest in dry intervals with reduced snowpack feeding the subsurface system.
Between 12,000 and 6,000 years ago, summer insolation was about 8% above pre-industrial levels, with July-September temperatures 2.6-2.7C warmer and effective moisture 36-54% lower.
That warm, dry regime coincided with the basin’s highest wildfire activity, with sediment charcoal indicating the peak fire interval stretched from roughly 12,000 to 4,000 years ago.
Sediment evidence also shows shallower, less nutrient-rich lakes during the dry period, while lodgepole pine forests remained comparatively stable after becoming established about 12,800-11,000 years ago.
The authors and USGS say the reconstruction does not imply lower magmatic hazard in dry periods and does not establish any recurrence interval for hydrothermal explosions.