Large rock growth at geothermal hot springs

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Scientists studied the growth of rock features at Angel Terrace Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. At left is a pond of 1 m in diameter and at right is a travertine dome of 50 cm in diameter. The rock structures can be explained using ...
Scientists studied the growth of rock features at Angel Terrace, Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. At left is a pond of 1 m in diameter, and at right is a travertine dome of 50 cm in diameter. The rock structures can be explained using a generic model based on broad physical principles. Photo credit: APS.
Although nature’s landscape is constantly changing, scientists have discovered that it does so in a predictable way. During the formation of ponds, terraces and rock domes at geothermal hot springs, the fluids and chemicals that form these structures act in such a regular way that scientists have developed a simple, generic model to explain the growth of structures near hot springs.


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