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Fragile spectacles

Last summer my family and I took a vacation that included a visit to Yellowstone National Park, famous for its wildlife and extensive hydrothermal features. We ogled the stunningly beautiful Grand Prismatic Spring, walked past smelly mud pots, and delighted in the gorgeous formations of the Mammoth Hot Springs. But the highlight of the visit was the chance to get close to some of the incredible geysers that Yellowstone is known for, including Steamboat Geyser (the world’s tallest active geyser) and the relatively punctual Old Faithful.

Plumbing the Depths

Geysers are quite unique among geological formations, the product of extremely rare circumstances. For a geyser to become active and stable, four conditions must be met. The first thing required is a geothermal heat source, most often provided by underground volcanic activity. Second, there must be a reservoir of water available. Third, a geyser requires a certain kind of rock, most often silica-rich rocks such as rhyolite or ignimbrite. This type of rock, when exposed to water, can develop the pressure- and water-tight seal that is necessary for the proper functioning of a geyser. The fourth requirement is a constriction in the geyser formation near the surface, which allows pressure to build up below it until the geyser erupts.

When only some of these conditions are met, other phenomena occur, such as hot springs (heat, water, and rock, but no constriction), fumaroles (steam vents that do not have enough water to erupt), and mud pots (fumaroles that emerge into a wet environment, creating mud at the surface). However, if all the necessary conditions occur simultaneously, a geyser may form and remain active over long periods of time.

The life cycle of a geyser begins when water seeps into the ground from the surface (because of rain) or from underground reservoirs, eventually sinking deep enough to reach a layer of hot rock. This water is slowly heated and gathers at the bottom of the geyser channel, while colder water enters the channel from above, and sits on top of the warmer water. The pressure of the cold water prevents the warm water from boiling, although it continues to become super-heated. When the pressure becomes too great, the hot water turns to steam and pushes the colder water out of the channel. This reduces the pressure further, producing even more steam. This whole cycle can take 500 years, which means the water rushing from a geyser today may have fallen as rain during the 16th century.

Geyser Downfalls

Old Faithful is one of the most famous geysers in the world, getting its name from its consistent schedule; it erupts on average every 91 minutes. Every geyser has its own schedule, based on its unique conditions, but this schedule is not set in stone (as it were) because geysers, including Old Faithful, are vulnerable to changes in the environment that may affect their activity. Even slight changes to the water supply or the rock formation can adversely affect the fragile balance of a geyser. Some are caused by natural processes, such as volcanic activity, but increasingly, geysers are threatened by human interference.

It is estimated that there are only 1,000 geysers in the world, half of which exist in the geyser-perfect environment of Yellowstone. Other countries with large numbers of geysers concentrated in a single area are Iceland, Russia, Chile, and New Zealand, and individual geysers exist in Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, Dominica, the Azores, Kenya, and Japan. One of the greatest threats to geysers is the diversion of their underground water sources, most often in connection with the creation of geothermal power plants. Such is the case in New Zealand, where the Wairakei geyser field on its North Island was devastated by the creation of a nearby power plant in 1958.

Of course, geysers can become dormant for many reasons, and their fragility is part of their rarity; it takes a lot to create a geyser, and just as much to keep it going. They are truly scientific marvels, and worthy of being protected as much as possible, not only for their entertainment value, but for what they tell us about long-term geological processes. Although it’s thrilling to stand next to Old Faithful while it erupts, it’s even more thrilling to imagine that this spectacle has been 500 years in the making.

Note: This is an updated version of an article that originally appeared on Interesting Thing of the Day on November 29, 2006.

It’s 2019, and almost a quarter of the human beings on Earth do not have safe, clean drinking water. It’s true in much of Africa and Asia, and it’s also true in Flint, Michigan. You know, solar power and Wi-Fi and educational opportunities and a thousand other things are super important too, but they all pale in comparison to the basic human need for water. And so the United Nations has declared March 22 World Water Day, a day to learn about the deficiencies in the worldwide water supply and what actions we can take to help address them.

Image credit: Public domain, via Pixnio

Canine company by the hour

On my last trip to Costa Rica, I was walking along the beach in a small town on the Atlantic coast that’s best known as a hot spot for surfing. There were a number of dogs playing on the beach—catching sticks and Frisbees, sniffing the tourists, and generally having a good time. The dogs may have been strays, or they may have belonged to local residents—the people playing with them did not appear to be their owners. But in any case, the dogs were apparently healthy, friendly, and well cared-for. I’ve always liked dogs, though for a variety of reasons I can’t see myself owning one. Still, that afternoon on the beach, I was thinking that it would be great to have a dog to play with for just a few hours, and that some enterprising person ought to set up a little dog-rental business there to cater to people such as myself who could not bring their own dogs to this remote location.

I filed this idea away in the back of my head along with all the other goofy and implausible notions I’ve come up with over the years. And then one day, I read an article in a local newspaper about a growing trend at luxury hotels and resorts around the world: free (or inexpensive) loaner dogs for the guests. Maybe my idea wasn’t so goofy after all. A few web searches turned up a number of businesses that loan or rent dogs for short periods of time—often, though not always, as a way for tourists to have canine companionship away from home. This idea seemed to have legs, so I thought it merited a bit more research.

BYOD

Although it seems a bit crude to compare rental dogs with rental cars, the concepts are similar at least in the sense that someone else is responsible for major care and maintenance. I’d never expect to rent a car for a weekend and then be asked to take it in for an oil change or a tune-up; and when borrowing or renting a dog, you don’t worry about grooming, bathing, or veterinary care. But these factors are rarely the major attraction to potential renters. Some people like having a dog with them as a way of breaking the ice when meeting other humans (a role dogs perform nearly as well as babies). In other cases, it’s simply a matter of wanting company, a hiking companion, or a playmate. Either way, the availability of loaner dogs is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage for hotels in areas where guests like to spend a lot of time outdoors.

Dog lovers on vacation may be the most visible niche market for rent-a-dog services, but there are numerous other examples. Specially trained guard dogs and hunting dogs are available in some areas for people who are unable to care for such animals year-round but need their special services on occasion. And in some Asian cities, such as Tokyo and Hong Kong, where it’s extremely difficult to find dog-friendly housing, rental services enable people to spend quality time with dogs.

Increasingly, animal shelters and pet stores are using dog rental (or loans) as a way of encouraging adoptions: people borrow pets for a few days, become attached to them, and decide to keep them. Conversely, many people who rent dogs do so in order to make sure the animals will fit into their households and lifestyles before making a permanent commitment. If you’ve lived with a dog for a week and find that it doesn’t get along with your other pets, bothers the neighbors with its barking, or causes a severe allergic reaction, it’s nice to know that you can return the dog with no leash attached, so to speak.

Barking Mad

Many people, not surprisingly, think rent-a-dog programs are an atrociously bad idea. I’ve frequently read complaints to the effect that a dog is a living being, not an inanimate object like a car or a library book that can be passed from owner to owner without any ethical difficulty. Critics of dog-rental services worry that renters may not be trustworthy, that being handled by many different people can create stress and confusion for the dogs, and that dogs who are frequently rented out may have difficulty bonding with their owners. Some people go so far as to say that if you’re not willing to undertake the responsibility of full-time dog ownership, you have no business becoming a short-term steward either.

I certainly agree that dogs should not be loaned or rented out haphazardly; owners have an obligation to ensure that potential borrowers or renters can safely and responsibly care for the dog. But many owners hire dog walkers or dog sitters, or place their dogs in kennels when they’re out of town, so I think there’s a reasonable precedent for giving someone else temporary care of a dog—though, of course, some dogs are more amenable to this sort of lifestyle than others. Arguably, dogs may benefit from increased exercise and socialization with humans, as long as the rental periods are not too long or too frequent.

I have not yet found any programs that rent pets other than dogs. As a cat owner, I think cats would tend to be temperamentally ill-suited to such drastic changes. On the other hand, I certainly enjoy visiting bookstores where cats are available to sit on the laps of browsers. So here’s my idea: an internet café where you can rent a computer with a mouse for $10 an hour, or a computer with a cat for $15. Bring your own lap.

Note: This is an updated version of an article that originally appeared on Interesting Thing of the Day on November 23, 2004.

Image credit: Bruce Emmerling [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

UNESCO declared March 21 to be World Poetry Day back in 1999, and who am I to argue with the United Nations? It’s a day meant to promote the writing, reading, reciting, teaching, and preservation of poetry, so go generate or consume some lovely words today. I’m one of those uncouth souls who think poetry ought to actually rhyme, or at least have some meaningful rhythm. (I know, so gauche, right?) That prejudice aside, here’s a pro tip: taking an ordinary prose sentence and adding arbitrary line breaks and indentation doesn’t make it poetry, even though a lot of what’s sold as poetry is precisely that. You have to put some work into those words, people. At least give it a solid effort today.

Image credit: Florence Earle Coates [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons