41 MARCH 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® www.starironworks.com 257 Caroline Street Punxsutawney, PA 15767 800-927-0560 • 814-427-2555 Fax: 814-427-5164 SERVING THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Serving the Drilling Industry The Thrills and Chills of Yellowstone Adapted from Information by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) In 1960, USGS scientists wanted to find out what was going on beneath the ground surface in the hydrothermal system at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. This is a story about the drilling of 13 research cores in Yellowstone during 19671968. From geysering boreholes, to discoveries, and the unpredictable subsurface environment, this story is sure to excite you. The scientific knowledge and drilling in one of the world’s largest hydrothermal systems made this a unique operation. The goals of drilling the hydrothermal system, were to get a better understanding on the shallow portions, subsurface geology, and collecting thermal samples uncontaminated by the drilling mud. With the drillholes characterized by high wellhead water pressures, these pioneers couldn’t anticipate the challenging and dangerous drilling they would face while in Yellowstone. The first well to be drilled was the Y-1 (Upper Geyser Basin) in 1967. As cool water gushed from the drill rods, eruption tendencies of Y-1 became evident, and within a few seconds, the cool water was followed by a mixture of boiling water and steam. The scientists and drill operators went on to drill 12 more holes, which helped them develop strategies for safely working with this dynamic environment. They were also able to record the depth temperature and gradients of increasing pressure as they drilled these wells. While drilling Y-5 (Rabbit Creek) and Y-9 (Norris Geyser Basin), the drill operators had an explosive eruption of a water-steam mixture. This taught us about the “bursting” effect, flashing of superheated water erupting to atmospheric pressure at, and just above, the top of the drill pipe. The Yellowstone subsurface was drilled about 6800 feet across those 13 location sites. Scientists now have fundamental knowledge regarding active hydrothermal systems, and shallow hydrothermal alteration. Although the information gathered from drilling those wells back in 1960 are still paying dividends today, major drilling projects are unlikely to be permitted in the future at Yellowstone. The 1960 cores are still being stored at the USGS Core Research Center, where scientists continue to examine them today looking for what other secrets these samples have in store. Y-5 and Y-9 eruption drill holes. ENV
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