Bison Jam

In our second season of Bison Jam, we are focusing on the “hot side” of Yellowstone. In this episode, we are visiting with Dr. Bill Inskeep, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences here at Montana State University. Thermophiles are the tiny microorganisms that are often responsible for the beautiful colors around many of Yellowstone's thermal features, and Bill has been researching them in Yellowstone for 30 years! He shares all about the diversity of thermophiles found in the park. Why do certain species grow in certain places and how do these tiny microorganisms create all the fantastic colors visitors enjoy in the park? Bill has the answers for us! We hope you enjoy the podcast and we thank you for listening!

In our second season of Bison Jam, we are focusing on the “hot side” of Yellowstone. In this episode, we are again talking with Dr. Michael Poland, the scientist-in-charge, of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO). Dr. Poland shares the story of the July 23rd, 2024 hydrothermal explosion at Biscuit Basin. He explains why hydrothermal explosions can be a risk to park visitors, and what YVO is doing to learn about them and hopefully reduce future risks from these geologic hazards!

*EDITOR'S NOTE – At 42:44, Dr. Poland discusses the temporary deployment of seismometers and acoustic sensors at Black Diamond Pool. This summer YVO was successful in permanently installing a camera and a seismic/acoustic station in the area.

If you are interested in learning more about YVO and Yellowstone's volcano and geology, you can check our Caldera Chronicles here:

https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/caldera-chronicles

We hope you enjoy the podcast and we thank you for listening!

In our second season of Bison Jam, we are focusing on the “hot side” of Yellowstone. In this episode, we are talking with Dr. Michael Poland, the scientist-in-charge, of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO). Dr. Poland shares all about YVO and their role in monitoring the Yellowstone volcano and keeping the public informed about its activity. Dr. Poland is also pretty confident that the Yellowstone volcano won't erupt any time soon, and he shares why!

If you are interested in learning more about YVO and Yellowstone's volcano and geology, you can check our Caldera Chronicles here:

https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/caldera-chronicles

We hope you enjoy the podcast and we thank you for listening!

In our second season of Bison Jam, we are focusing on the “hot side” of Yellowstone. In this episode, we are again visiting with Mara Reed, a graduate student in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Mara shares her in-depth knowledge of Yellowstone's tallest geyser, Steamboat Geyser. Steamboat is perhaps Yellowstone's most sought after geyser for geyser gazers, erupting over 400 feet in the air. It's a fickle geyser though, often erupting months or even years apart. Mara highlights her research on why Steamboat might be so erratic and how research about Steamboat might inform other research about volcanoes. We hope you enjoy the podcast and we thank you for listening!

In our second season of Bison Jam, we are focusing on the “hot side” of Yellowstone. In this episode, we are joined by Mara Reed, a graduate student in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Geysers are Mara's passion, and she shares what makes geysers different from other thermal features in the park and how they work. We also talk about Mara's work with GeyserTimes, where geyser gazers collect and share data about all of Yellowstone's geysers! You can visit GeyserTimes here:

https://geysertimes.org/

We hope you enjoy the podcast and we thank you for listening!

In our second season of Bison Jam, we are focusing on the “hot side” of Yellowstone. In this episode, we are again visiting with Dr. Madison Myers, a volcanologist, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University. Dr. Myers talks more about the Yellowstone hotspot's recent history and her research team's work on previous eruptions. We explore the three major eruptions in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and her work mapping them. She even shares that there may have been smaller eruptions we are just learning about! We hope you enjoy the podcast and we thank you for listening!

In our second season of Bison Jam, we are focusing on the “hot side” of Yellowstone. For the first episode of season two, we are visiting with Dr. Madison Myers, a volcanologist, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University. Dr. Myers shares what the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem looked like before the supervolcano arrived in the area. Did you know that the Yellowstone area had volcanic activity well before the supervolcano or that the area was once an inland sea? Dr. Meyers takes us through the fascinating geologic history of Yellowstone. We hope you enjoy the podcast and we thank you for listening!

Welcome to the second season of Bison Jam, a podcast that focuses on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. This podcast shares stories of the people, wildlife, and places in this vast and wild ecosystem.

In our second season, we are excited to focus on the “hot side” of Yellowstone. We will explore the geologic history of Yellowstone, thinking about what the park looked like before its famous volcano even arrived in the area. We’ll talk about what makes geysers, geysers, and learn more about Steamboat geyser, the tallest active geyser in the world. We also visit with the scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, Michael Poland to learn how the observatory is monitoring Yellowstone’s supervolcano and how scientists know the next supereruption probably isn’t any time soon. 

Finally, we will talk with Dr. Dana Skorupa and Dr. Bill Inskeep about thermophiles, the microorganisms that produce many of the amazing colors around Yellowstone’s thermal features. They will even share how Yellowstone’s thermophiles might provide new technologies for human society. I hope you enjoy this second season of Bison Jam and follow along as we explore all the hot things in Yellowstone! 

In this first season of Bison Jam, we are sharing stories from the June 2022 flood that affected Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding gateway communities. For our final episode of season 1, we are visiting Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana, two of the more remote gateway communities. These towns, only a few miles apart, are almost entirely reliant on Yellowstone tourism . We will hear stories of the flood from Chris Warren, manager of The Royal Wuff Tavern in Silver Gate, and Chris Conway, manager of Silver Gate Lodging. They both share how the flood profoundly affected them and how they are doing two years afterwards. We hope you enjoy the podcast and we thank you for listening!

Ahead of next weeks episode with Chris Conway and Chris Warren from Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana, we wanted to share a quick update! Cooke City and Silver Gate are hosting the Forget Me Me Knot Fest this weekend on August 16th and 17th. If you're visiting the park this weekend or live in the region, this could be a great way to continue to support the communities affected by the 2022 Yellowstone floods. Learn more about the festival at: https://forgetmeknotfest.org/