Vapor-driven sublacustrine vents in Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, USA

Abstract

Study of the hydrothermal dynamics of Yellowstone Lake (Wyoming, USA) is important for identifying potential changes in sublacustrine hydrothermal systems in response to external perturbations from earthquakes, seiches, large waves, and seasonal effects. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) submersible-based investigations of hydrothermal vents offshore from Stevenson Island reveal numerous non-constructional ~10-cm-diameter orifices with diffuse fluid flow at temperatures up to 174 °C. The vent field occurs in a large roughly conical depression on the lake floor at a water depth of ~120 m. The volatile-rich composition (CO2, H2S) of the vent fluids is preserved by using a novel isobaric sampling system that precludes degassing effects. In addition to high temperatures, the vent fluids have high CO2 and H2S, but low chloride (Cl) and major element concentrations largely indistinguishable from those in ambient lake water. These results are consistent with steam addition to the sublacustrine hydrothermal system. Kaolinite- and boehmite-rich alteration indicates acidic conditions and provides a low-permeability substrate that may contribute to the development of a steam-heated upflow zone. At the scale of individual vent areas (centimeters to meters), perturbations cause bursts of steam-rich fluids that locally expel and disperse sediment and contribute to the formation of vent orifices. Here we report on chemical and physical phenomena associated with the hottest and deepest sublacustrine hydrothermal vents in Yellowstone Lake. Results indicate that vapor-dominated sublacustrine systems are fundamentally different in hydrothermal alteration and hydrothermal dynamic characteristics than their liquid-dominated counterparts.

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Vapor-driven sublacustrine vents in Yellowstone Lake,
Wyoming, USA
Andrew P.G. Fowler1*, Chunyang Tan1, Christie Cino1, Peter Scheuermann1, Michael W.R. Volk1, W.C. Pat Shanks III2,
and William E. Seyfried, Jr.1
1Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
2U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, MS 973, Denver, Colorado 80225-0046, USA
ABSTRACT
Study of the hydrothermal dynamics of Yellowstone Lake (Wyoming, USA) is important for
identifying potential changes in sublacustrine hydrothermal systems in response to external
perturbations from earthquakes, seiches, large waves, and seasonal effects. Remotely operated
vehicle (ROV) submersible-based investigations of hydrothermal vents offshore from Stevenson
Island reveal numerous non-constructional ~10-cm-diameter orices with diffuse uid ow
at temperatures up to 174 °C. The vent eld occurs in a large roughly conical depression on
the lake oor at a water depth of ~120 m. The volatile-rich composition (CO2, H2S) of the vent
uids is preserved by using a novel isobaric sampling system that precludes degassing effects.
In addition to high temperatures, the vent uids have high CO
2
and H
2
S, but low chloride
(Cl) and major element concentrations largely indistinguishable from those in ambient lake
water. These results are consistent with steam addition to the sublacustrine hydrothermal
system. Kaolinite- and boehmite-rich alteration indicates acidic conditions and provides a
low-permeability substrate that may contribute to the development of a steam-heated upow
zone. At the scale of individual vent areas (centimeters to meters), perturbations cause bursts
of steam-rich uids that locally expel and disperse sediment and contribute to the formation
of vent orices. Here we report on chemical and physical phenomena associated with the hot-
test and deepest sublacustrine hydrothermal vents in Yellowstone Lake. Results indicate that
vapor-dominated sublacustrine systems are fundamentally different in hydrothermal altera-
tion and hydrothermal dynamic characteristics than their liquid-dominated counterparts.
INTRODUCTION
The Yellowstone volcanic-hydrothermal
system (Wyoming, USA) is the most recent
expression of a sequence of events that trace
back ~16 m.y. along the track of the Yellowstone
hotspot (Pierce and Morgan, 1992). Heat and
non-condensable gases derived from the volca-
nic system interact with deeply circulating mete-
oric water to produce geochemically diverse and
abundant hydrothermal activity (Hurwitz and
Lowenstern, 2014).
Sublacustrine hydrothermal activity in Yel-
lowstone Lake has been inferred for >100 yr
(Hayden, 1878), yet direct observation and sam-
pling of vents was rst achieved comparatively
recently in 1987 (Klump et al., 1988; Remsen et
al., 2002). Observations from lake-oor bathym-
etry surveys, breccia deposits in sediment cores,
and the rock record exposed around the lake
establish that sublacustrine hydrothermal activity
produced noteworthy hydrothermal explosions
in the past (Morgan et al., 2003, 2009; Wold et al.,
1977). Thus, understanding sublacustrine hydro-
thermal processes is important, considering that
more than four million people visit Yellowstone
annually (National Park Service, 2018). Hun-
dreds of active and inactive vents have now been
identied within the lake (Morgan et al., 2003),
and uids from many vents have been analyzed
to better understand sublacustrine hydrothermal
processes (Balistrieri et al., 2007; Gemery-Hill
et al., 2007; Klump et al., 1988).
The present study is a collaborative multi-
disciplinary effort (Hydrothermal dynamics of
Yellowstone Lake, HD-YLAKE) to understand
the response of the Yellowstone Lake hydrother-
mal system(s) to geological and environmental
perturbations (Sohn et al., 2017). Sublacustrine
hydrothermal vent uids are observed in the
“Deep Hole” area east of Stevenson Island, which
is the deepest (100–125 m) region of the lake.
The Deep Hole is located within a NW-trending
fracture zone 2 km east of Stevenson Island that
is dened by large conical depressions that form
linear arrays with en echelon offsets (Fig. 1).
*E-mail: afowler@umn.edu
CITATION: Fowler, A.P.G., et al., 2019, Vapor-driven sublacustrine vents in Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, USA: Geology, v. 47, p. 1–4, https://doi.org /10.1130
/G45577.1
Manuscript received 11 September 2018
Revised manuscript received 28 December 2018
Manuscript accepted 3 January 2019
https://doi.org/10.1130/G45577.1
© 2019 Geological Society of America. For permission to copy, contact editing@geosociety.org. Published online XX Month 2019
Stevenson
Island
Deep Hole
1,220 Meters6100
0 250 Meters125
Vent YL17F01 and
co-located cores
YL17U03/YL17U04
Deep Hole vent field
Vent
YL16F12
Detail maps
Stevenson
Island
Yellowstone Lake
110.373025 W 110.363250 W 110.353475 W
44.498431 N44.506252 N44.514073 N
Figure 1. Location of Deep Hole sublacustrine
vents (east of Stevenson Island, Yellowstone
Lake, Wyoming, USA). Bathymetry and digi-
tal elevation data modified from Morgan et al.
(2003) and Sohn et al. (2017). Coordinates are
relative to the World Geodetic System 1984
(WGS84).
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Hot liquid and gas bubbles exit through non-
constructional centimeter-scale orices in sedi-
ments that are sparsely populated by white bacte-
rial mats (Fig. DR1 in the GSA Data Repository
1
).
In situ geochemical sensor measurements show
that the hydrothermal uid is acidic, with an in
situ pH at the vent temperature, pH
(T)
, of 4.2–4.5,
and is notably reducing (−0.2 to −0.3 V) (Tan et
al., 2017). A maximum temperature of 174 °C
was measured with a titanium-sheathed tempera-
ture probe inserted ~10 cm into one vent (Tan et
al., 2017), making these the hottest sublacustrine
vent uids reported to date in Yellowstone Lake
or elsewhere.
In comparison, the highest measured vent-
uid temperature in New Zealand’s Lake Taupo
is 45 °C (de Ronde et al., 2002). While high-tem-
perature sublacustrine vent uids are also likely
present in New Zealand’s Lake Rotomahana
based on heat-ow measurements, water-column
temperature anomalies, shoreline hot-spring uid
geothermometry results, and vigorous shallow
vent activity (de Ronde et al., 2016; Stucker et
al., 2016; Tivey et al., 2016; Walker et al., 2016),
vents on the lake oor have not been directly mea-
sured or sampled.
In the present study, a newly designed gas-
tight (isobaric) sampling system, constructed
entirely of titanium and with real-time tempera-
ture monitoring (Wu et al., 2011), was used to
acquire hydrothermal-vent uid samples (See
File DR1 for detailed sampling and analytical
procedures). The isobaric capability means that
lake-bottom pressure is maintained up to the
point of subsampling at the surface, permitting
acquisition of unaltered gas-rich uid samples
from sublacustrine vents for the rst time.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Absolute and relative concentrations of many
dissolved constituents in vent uids are remark-
ably similar to those of Yellowstone Lake water
(Fig. 2). However, elevated CO
2
and H
2
S con-
centrations in all samples and the noteworthy
correspondence between dissolved gases and
temperature (Table 1), combined with stable-
isotope systematics, provide clear evidence of
the dominating inuence of a hydrothermal
component. The high-temperature vent uids
have lower δD (Fig. 3) and Cl relative to lake
water (with as much as 17% less Cl in the high-
est-temperature sample), suggesting that steam
is being added to the sublacustrine system and
providing the heat to achieve high tempera-
tures while diluting conservative species, such
as Cl, in the entrained lake water. Steam-heated
CO2-rich waters are relatively common in sub-
aerial geothermal systems (Hedenquist, 1990),
1
GSA Data Repository item 2019081, File DR1, Fig-
ures DR1–DR6, and Video DR1 (brief footage of gas bub-
bles exiting a sublacustrine hydrothermal vent), is avail-
able online at http://www.geosociety.org /datarepository
/2019/, or on request from editing@geosociety.org.
but have not previously been thoroughly char-
acterized in a sublacustrine setting.
The proportion of steam required to heat
lake water to the sampling temperature of
150 °C for sample YL17F01 was estimated using
enthalpy values from steam tables (Wagner and
Kretzschmar, 2008), assuming binary conserva-
tive mixing, as follows:
=⋅ +− ⋅xxMixturecomponent A(1)component B
=⋅ +− ⋅xxMixturecomponent A(1)component B
. (1)
The enthalpy corresponding to a temperature
of 188 °C was used in the calculation, the tem-
perature of steam condensation for pure water
at the lake-oor pressure of 1.2 MPa (Wagner
and Kretzschmar, 2008). While the temperature
of the vapor source is unknown, using steam
enthalpy values at liquid-steam saturation cor-
responding to temperatures from 188 °C to
the critical point for pure water makes only a
minor (3%) difference in the calculated mix-
ing fraction. The result shows that condensation
of 19% steam into 4 °C lake water produces a
vent uid at a sampling temperature of 150 °C.
This mixing ratio is in close agreement with the
chloride dilution factor of 17% calculated for
sample YL17F01 and suggests minimal conduc-
tive cooling or mixing with lake water for this
sample following steam condensation.
Consistent with dissolved-species concentra-
tions, vent-uid oxygen isotope (δ18O) and hydro-
gen isotope (δD) values indicate limited reaction
between the lake-oor substrate and vent uids
or high water-to-rock ratios in an upow zone.
Should the sampled steam-heated lake water have
reacted extensively with lake sediments at low
water-to-rock ratios, vent uid δ
18
O would be
shifted to heavier values as is typical for thermal
waters relative to local meteoric water recharge
(Fig. 3). Instead, sublacustrine vent uids are
shifted to lower δ18O and δD values, suggestive
of mixing with isotopically light uid. The δ18O
and δD values of isotopically light sublacustrine
steam can be calculated by mass balance (Equa-
tion 1) using a 17% steam fraction and stable iso-
tope values listed in Table 1 for sample YL17F01.
The result (δ18O = −20.7‰ and δD = −148.1‰)
falls within the range of values of subaerial fuma-
roles in Yellowstone (Fig. 3).
The dominant gases in Yellowstone fuma-
roles after steam (H2O) are CO2 and H2S (Low-
enstern et al., 2015), and enrichments of these
gases in vent-uid samples relative to ambient
lake water (Fig. 2) further support our vapor-
source model. Ubiquitous gas bubbles observed
exiting vents (Video DR1) and in situ pH val-
ues are consistent with vent uids being CO
2
saturated (Tan et al., 2017). Using CO2 solubil-
ity relations in the CO2-H2O system (Duan and
Sun, 2003), CO2 in vent-uid sample YL17F01
is consistent with saturation at 180 °C and
1.2 MPa pressure. This temperature estimate lies
between the maximum measured vent tempera-
ture of 174 °C and the liquid-vapor transition
temperature of 188 °C for pure water at 1.2 MPa.
Yellowstone research drill hole Y-11 at the
subaerial Mud Volcano thermal area, completed
0.01
0.1
1
10
100
Cl SO4Ca KMgNaSiTCO2H2S
Concentration (mmol/kg)
YL16F12
YL17F01
BLW 1
Elevated in
vent fluid
Similar relative concentrations
in vent fluid and lake water
zero
Figure 2. Major and trace element concen-
trations (logarithmic scale) of two offshore
Stevenson Island (Yellowstone Lake, Wyo-
ming, USA) hydrothermal vent fluid samples
(YL16F12 and YL17F01) compared to typical
sample of bottom lake water (BLW 1). Refer to
Table 1 for values. TCO
2
—total carbon as CO
2
.
TABLE 1. AQUEOUS SAMPLE ANALYTICAL DATA, OFFSHORE STEVENSON ISLAND,
YELLOWSTONE LAKE, WYOMING, USA
SAMPLE Vent
YL16F12
Vent
YL17F01
Lake water
BLW 1
Latitude (WGS84) 44.510690 44.510725 44.511110
Longitude (WGS84) −110.356660 −110.356544 −110.356590
Date collected 17 August 2016 10 August 2017 19 August 2016
Depth (m) 114 11 5 –
Temperature (°C) 110 – 11 4 150 4
Cl (mmol/kg) 0.11 0.10 0.12
SO4 (mmol/kg) – 0.10 0.11
Ca (mmol/kg) 0.11 0.12 0.13
K (mmol/kg) 0.039 0.039 0.042
Mg (mmol/kg) 0.09 0.09 0.10
Na (mmol/kg) 0.36 0.35 0.39
Si (mmol/kg) 0.45 0.42 0.20
TCO2 (mmol/kg) 7. 0 1 7. 8 0.63
H2S (mmol/kg) 2.1 1. 0 –
H2 (mmol/kg) < 0.031 <
δ18O ‰ (VSMOW) −15.53 −16.06 −15.12
δD ‰ (VSMOW) −124.7 −126.6 −122.0
Note: WGS84—World Geodetic System 1984; TCO2—total carbon expressed as CO2; VSMOW—
Vienna standard mean ocean water. Dash (–) represents not analyzed; < represents not detected.
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during 1967 and 1968 (White et al., 1975),
provides insight into rock alteration in a vapor-
dominated zone under similar pressure, tempera-
ture, and f
O2
conditions to those in the Deep Hole
off Stevenson Island. Hole Y-11 encountered a
165 °C subsurface steam zone where kaolinite
and pyrite are the most abundant alteration prod
-
ucts (White et al., 1971). Kaolinite in hole Y-11
rocks formed from acidic CO2-saturated steam
condensate that altered silicate minerals, while
H2S in the steam combined with rock-derived
Fe to form pyrite (White et al., 1971). Similar
to hole Y-11 and steam-heated areas elsewhere
(e.g., Hedenquist, 1990; Simmons and Browne,
2000), the vent substrate at the Deep Hole con-
tains ~90% kaolinite, with pyrite and pyrrhotite.
Additionally, boehmite, mixed-layer clay, dia-
toms, and quartz are present (Figs. DR2–DR5).
The occurrence of a dominantly kaolinite
substrate is critical for sustaining the steam zone.
In porous media, steam zones can develop when
a permeability contrast is imposed by the pres-
ence of a low-permeability cap (Ingebritsen and
Sorey, 1988; Schubert et al., 1980). Permeabil-
ity values for kaolinite (Al-Tabbaa and Wood,
1987; Olsen, 1966) are generally within the
range required for a steam cap (e.g., Raharjo et
al., 2016), particularly when contrasted to the
high permeability values expected for fracture-
controlled uid ow evidenced from the broader
structural setting of the Deep Hole vents. We
suggest that the occurrence of kaolinite and other
alteration minerals in surcial Deep Hole sedi-
ments may enhance steam zone development and
prevent gravitational ooding of the underlying
steam by overlying lake water.
Why do the offshore Stevenson Island vents
lack constructional amorphous silica features
found at some inactive sites in Yellowstone Lake
(Shanks et al., 2007)? The Si concentration in
the sampled vent uids is above ambient lake
water values (Table 1), but is undersaturated with
respect to amorphous silica at any temperature
or with respect to quartz above 74 °C. This is
consistent with steam-heated lake water enhanc-
ing silicate mineral dissolution rather than pre-
cipitation. Indeed, dissolution of diatomaceous
material that constitutes unaltered Yellowstone
Lake sediment may have contributed to the for-
mation of conical depressions at an earlier stage
in the formation of the Deep Hole vents (Shanks
et al., 2007).
Trace pyrrhotite is present in all samples (Fig.
DR5), however the high H
2
S
(aq)
/H
2(aq)
log ratio of
1.52 for uid sample YL17F01 is well within
the pyrite stability eld at any reasonable tem-
perature. Clearly, pyrrhotite formed under more
reducing conditions at some time in the past
based on its occurrence in vent muds (Fig. DR5),
and the current system has moved toward equi-
librium with pyrite based on the occurrence of
pyrite replacing pyrrhotite (Fig. DR2). The com-
mon association of pyrrhotite with steam zones
is noted in other areas and in epithermal min-
eral deposits where H2S(aq)/H2(aq) ratios are lower
(Browne and Ellis, 1970; Hedenquist, 1990; Sim-
mons and Browne, 2000), which suggests a simi
-
lar association in the Deep Hole area.
The ~16-cm-long YL17U03 push core, located
1 m from a vent orice (Fig. DR6), recovered a
clast supported semi-lithied mud breccia, likely
the buried equivalent of angular slabs (up to 10 cm
long) observed scattered around vent orices (e.g.,
Fig. DR1). The breccia is capped with a distinct
4–5-cm-thick layer of sediment with similar min-
eralogy to breccia clasts lower in the core, but is
coarser and contains large (up to 0.3 mm) hex-
agonal pyrrhotite crystals (Fig. DR2). The 4–5
cm sediment cap may be material exhaled from
deeper (centimeters to meters) within the sedi-
ments during a disturbance to the steam zone.
The occurrence of a sublacustrine steam zone
warrants investigation into potential hydrother-
mal explosion mechanisms. In a liquid-domi-
nated system at the boiling point, a pressure drop
triggers the downward propagation of a steam-
liquid interface that will manifest as a hydro-
thermal explosion if mechanical energy from
the volume change overcomes rock strength
(Browne and Lawless, 2001; Montanaro et al.,
2016; Morgan et al., 2009; Mufer et al., 1971;
Smith and McKibben, 2000). The hydrothermal
explosion potential is exacerbated by the addi-
tion of dissolved gases that lower the liquid sta-
bility limit (Hurwitz et al., 2016).
Studies of hydrothermal explosion depos-
its at Waiotapu, New Zealand, suggest that the
existence of a steam zone perched beneath a
low-permeability cap provides a locus for the
accumulation of non-condensable and com-
pressible gases such as CO2 (Hedenquist and
Henley, 1985), which may enhance the vulner-
ability of such systems to hydrothermal explo-
sions. In addition to water-level changes modi-
fying the pressure regime, seismic events might
affect cap-rock permeability or provoke rapid
depressurization, releasing non-condensable
gases with sufcient force to cause rock frag-
mentation and debris ejection (Hedenquist and
Henley, 1985). Although differences exist in
hydrothermal explosion mechanisms for subla-
custrine hot-water and vapor zones, each is still
poorly understood in Yellowstone and similar
active hydrothermal terrains.
CONCLUSIONS
The identification of a vapor-rich zone
beneath the Deep Hole east of Stevenson Island
in Yellowstone National Park presents a previ-
ously unappreciated phenomenon associated
with sublacustrine hydrothermal activity. Vent-
uid chemistry, stable-isotope, and enthalpy
constraints are consistent with sublacustrine
steam mixing with lake water prior to vent-
ing. Vent sediments are dominated by kaolinite,
boehmite, and pyrite, and are compatible with
a CO2-saturated, H2S-bearing, and mildly acidic
steam condensate–lake water mixture. A steam
zone with accumulated gases may respond to
lake-level changes or seismic activity, perhaps
with localized hydrothermal explosions, or other
changes to hydrothermal dynamics of sublacus-
trine hydrothermal processes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was funded by U.S. National Science Foun-
dation (NSF) grants EAR-1515377 and OCE-1434798.
The authors thank Dave Lovalvo, the skilled engineers
onboard R/V Annie, and the Global Foundation for
Ocean Exploration for their efforts that contributed
to the successful outcome of the project. We also
thank Dr. Shijun Wu (Zhejiang University) for the
high-pressure gas-tight sampling system, and Dr. Rob
Sohn and members of the HD-YLAKE research team
for constructive advice. Part of this work was per-
formed at the Institute for Rock Magnetism (IRM)
at the University of Minnesota. The IRM is a U.S.
National Multi-user Facility supported through the
Instrumentation and Facilities program of the NSF,
Earth Sciences Division, and by funding from the
University of Minnesota. We thank Dr. Christopher
Mills, U.S. Geological Survey (Denver, Colorado,
USA), for analyzing water samples for hydrogen
and oxygen isotopes and optimizing precision and
accuracy of these results. We thank Stuart Simmons,
Cornel deRonde, and an anonymous reviewer for their
helpful comments.
fδD (‰ VSMOW)
Sublacustrine
steam source
(assuming YL17F01
= 17% steam)
-180
-170
-160
-150
-140
-130
-120
-22-20 -18-16 -14
δ
18
O (‰ VSMOW)
Y. Lake
YL16F12
YL17F01
Subaerial fumaroles
Subaerial hot springs
Local meteoric water
Rock
reaction
Figure 3. Oxygen and hydrogen isotope rela-
tionships for sublacustrine vent fluids from the
Deep Hole east of Stevenson Island, Yellow-
stone Lake, Wyoming, USA (yellow symbols)
and subaerial thermal waters and fumaroles
from throughout Yellowstone National Park
(black symbols). Yellowstone meteoric water
line is from Kharaka et al. (2002); subaerial
fumaroles and thermal waters are from Berg-
feld et al. (2014). The Y. Lake sample represents
a bottom-water sample collected near the Ste-
venson Island deep hydrothermal vents and
analyzed in this study (blue circle). The theo-
retical oxygen and hydrogen isotope values
for steam that contributes to sublacustrine
vents is calculated assuming sample YL17F01
is a mixture between bottom lake water and
17% steam (red symbol). VSMOW—Vienna
standard mean ocean water.
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