A story reporting abnormally strong earthquake activity in Yellowstone National Park has been circulating across the Internet over the last few days. In fact, earthquake activity in Yellowstone has been at normal levels for the past several months.
The story appears to be based on a misinterpretation of public "webicorders", which are graphics depicting seismic data, on the University of Utah Seismographic Station (UUSS) web site (UU operates the Yellowstone Seismic Network). A borehole seismometer called "B944", located near the West Thumb region of the Park, has been malfunctioning in recent weeks with strong bursts of electronic noise contaminating its data. These noise bursts appear as wild excursions on the B944 webicorders that can appear alarming to the inexperienced eye.
Along with providing regular monthly updates, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory also releases topical information statements whenever truly abnormal activity occurs.The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) provides long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake activity in the Yellowstone National Park region. Yellowstone is the site of the largest and most diverse collection of natural thermal features in the world and the first National Park. YVO is one of the five USGS Volcano Observatories that monitor volcanoes within the United States for science and public safety.
YVO Member agencies: USGS, Yellowstone National Park, University of Utah, University of Wyoming, UNAVCO, Inc., Wyoming State Geological Survey, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Idaho Geological Survey
The Moon is Waning Gibbous (99% of Full)
Yellowstone Information Statement issued Feb 5, 2014 10:26 MST Volcano Alert Level NORMAL - Aviation Color Code GREEN
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