Even small earthquakes, slight variations in underground temperature, and tiny alterations in water availability can dramatically change the size and appearance of an eruption, and no one is exactly sure how.
So Yellowstone's geysers are very susceptible to environmental changes like the increasing dry periods affecting Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, Hurwitz said.
His team found that over their study period, geyser intervals got longer as the park went into a prolonged dry spell.
The two trends appear to be linked, but only over considerable periods of time.
"As the region went into a drier climate, all intervals got longer," Hurwitz said.
Surprisingly, on a monthly basis not all analyzed geysers responded similarly to precipitation patterns in the park, yet over years the geysers underwent the same trends, he added.
The scientists say that if climate change continues to dry the area out, the intervals between geyser eruptions could get longer and longer. Under extreme conditions, the displays could even cease completely.
Hot and Bothered
Michael Manga, a geologist at the University of California, Berkeley, said the new study may help solve the longstanding puzzle of how earthquakes affect geysers.
"This study shows that changing the ability of water to recharge the geyser affects eruptions," said Manga, who was not involved in the research. "Perhaps this too is how distant earthquakes affect eruptions—by changing the ability of surrounding water to recharge the geyser."
Ken Verosub, a geophysicist at the University of California, Davis, also was not involved with the study.
"While the effects of short-term climate fluctuations do not appear to be too significant, longer-term climate change looks like it can have a big effect on geysers," he said. "This could be bad news for tourism."
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