Descr: The NPS has asked if we could respond to this unusual thermal activity. There is growing concern that this thermal event has expanded across a substantial part of this geyser system and Henry Heasler, the new park geologist, is concerned that we have to be able to capture any seismic or deformation signal that may precede a hydrothermal event, should one occur. Henry is very interested if we might be able to do a tomographic image of the shallow system, but I told him that takes a lot of earthquakes (and Norris is now and has been deadly quiet) and to capture ground motion variations accompanying the deformation. I can tell you all the details by phone as there several lines of evidence for a developing thermal sequence. We have talked the situation over and the NPS would like us to install up to 6 portable or realtime telemetered seismographs with broadband seismometers and conduct campaign GPS surveys or install some permanent GPS receivers, 3 or 4, in the Norris Geyser Basin area. There is a Qwest telephone drop in the area that could provide a terminal for an internet connection. Of course we can not install L1 GPS without a dual frequency GPS running at Norris, a request pending NPS approval. This will also be the site of a new telemetered RefTek with a CMT 40 broadband. This action may accelerate the approval process.
