MEXICO: Yellowstone National Park is famous for its beauty, and its unusual hydrothermal activity. The geysers like Old Faithful have made it famous for generations, and its thermal pools have captivated tourists with their beauty. Scientists have begun to determine that these famous thermal pools are changing their colors over time, and the catalyst is pollution from the tourists coming to visit them. Scientists from Montana State University, as well as a group of researchers from Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany created and published a model that explains the colors observers see within the thermal pools.
Scientists say the ultimate cause of the florescent colors that observers see in the pools is related to pollution by humans. As it turns out, the study finds that the thermal pools were not the color they are today, many years ago. In fact, the researchers found that many of the colors onlookers see today is a direct result of pollution, like coins being thrown in for “good luck,” and that at one time – the waters in the pools were likely a dark blue.
Now, scientists haven’t been baffled by the colors – as in confused about how it happened per se. However, scientists have wondered about the extent of the process that took place. A professor at Montana State University pointed out that “What we were able to show is that you really don’t have to get terribly complex – you can explain some very beautiful things with relatively simple models.”
The team of researchers used a one-dimensional model for light propagation, and after that was able to reproduce exactly what was seen in those thermal pools that people travel from all around the world to see. One of the co-authors of the paper pointed out that “When we started the study, it was clear we were just doing it for fun,” but as the study progressed, it was clear in very short order that what the scientists were doing was going to be incredibly powerful information in the science world.
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