The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) is a

volcano observatory A volcano observatory is an institution that conducts research and monitoring of a volcano. Each observatory provides continuous and periodic monitoring of the seismicity, other geophysical changes, ground movements, volcanic gas chemistry, and hyd ...

that primarily monitors the

Yellowstone Caldera The Yellowstone Caldera, sometimes referred to as the Yellowstone Supervolcano, is a volcanic caldera and supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the Western United States. The caldera and most of the park are located in the northwest corn ...

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The observatory's jurisdiction also includes volcanic centers in the states of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. As with other U.S. volcano observatories, it is funded through the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

br>Volcano Hazards Program
The observatory consists of 9 member agencies: Th
USGS
th
University of Utah
th
University of Wyoming
th
Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology
th
Wyoming State Geological Survey
th
Idaho Geological SurveyMontana State University
an
UNAVCO, Inc
YVO was founded in 2001, originally as a three-way partnership with the USGS, the University of Utah and Yellowstone National Park. It was expanded in 2013 to include all eight current organizations According to the YVO website, the purpose of the observatory is: to monitor the volcanic system, to increase our scientific understanding of the Yellowstone volcanic and hydrothermal system, and to disseminate data, interpretations and accumulated knowledge to the public. The observatory undertook a monitoring plan in 2006 that served as the basis for upgrades undertaken by th
Plate Boundary Observatory
and by the USGS under the auspices of the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...

. In 2008, it published its initial response plan that sets up a series of internal protocols for data gathering and deliberation during geological events at Yellowstone. Staff from the various observatory partner agencies form several monitoring and information teams that assess geological and geophysical data. The document also outlines how the observatory would interact with the

incident command system The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response providing a common hierarchy within which responders from multiple agencies can be effective. ICS was initially develo ...

. YVO provides a monthly update through its website as well as information statements for events that fall in between their normal updates. All updates are listed on th
VHP Alert Page
Individuals can receive automated updates through th
Volcano Notification Service
In 2005, a BBC/Discovery docudrama entitled Supervolcano was released on cable television. The drama imagines the reaction of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory to a super eruption at the

. Producer Ailsa Orr credits YVO scientists as inspiration for the film's three primary characters. The YVO Scientist-in-Charge reflected on the hype associated with volcanism at Yellowstone in a 2005 magazine article.

References

{{Coord, 44.43025, -110.671908, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-WY, display=title 2001 establishments in Wyoming Earth sciences Government agencies established in 2001 United States Geological Survey Volcano observatories Volcanoes of the United States