Geysers are hot springs that erupt periodically, ejecting a
column of hot water and steams into the air.
1. Crater and
plumbing system
2. Creation of Geyser
Plumbing System
3. "superheated" water in the ground
4. The Geyser Eruption
5. Geysers at Iceland
1. Geyser
crater and plumbing system
A geyser is like a volcano, having a cone (a small crater),
a plumbing system refilled
with water, and warmed up to 140C
(280F) by a magma chamber.
2. Creation of Geyser
Plumbing System
Water from rain and snow
works its way underground through fractures in the rock.
As the water reaches hot
rock it begins to rise back to the surface, passing through rhyolite, which is
former volcanic ash or lava rich in silica.
The hot water dissolves the
silica and carries it upward to line rock crevices. This forms a constriction
that holds in the mounting pressure, creating a geyser's plumbing system. The
solid deposits forming the cone is called geyserites.
3 "superheated" water in the ground
Cool ground water near the surface percolates down into the
earth.
As it approaches the magma chamber it is
heated towards its boiling point.
Normally, water turns into vapors at such temperature, but
the high pressure maintains it liquid. This condition is known as
"superheated" - the water is hot enough to become steam but it's
unable to expand because of the high confining pressure.
4. The Geyser Eruption
At some point the deep water becomes hot enough, or the
confining pressure is reduced, and the superheated water explodes into steam in
an enormous expansion of volume as a geyser. The waters is running back into the plumbing
systems, get heated and a new eruption will occur after 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Geysers at Iceland
Iceland has more than 200
geysers whose waters reach temperatures over 90 C. The name "geyser"
comes from the Icelandic region called Geyser and in Old Icelandic language it
means "to spring".
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