CHAMPAIGN, Ill., July 5 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have successfully modeled the spectacular landscapes seen at geothermal hot springs.
University of Illinois-Champaign Physics Professor Nigel Goldenfeld and graduate students Pak Yuen Chan and John Veysey, developed a theoretical model describing how hot spring water flows over the landscape, depositing calcium-carbonate minerals in the form of travertine. Those deposits then dam and divert the water.
"The non-linear feedback between these two effects inexorably leads to the visually striking landscapes seen throughout the world's hot spring formations," Goldenfeld said. "Remarkably, the resulting geological structures don't depend on the rock structure or the mineral content; the statistical properties of the landscapes can be computed precisely."
Composed of a nested series of ponds and terraces, hot spring landscapes are not sculpted by the forces of erosion. Instead, the rocks actually grow at a rate of about 1 millimeter per day.
"Now that we understand the physical processes involved in how these rocks grow, we can address the way in which heat-loving microbes populate and influence the hot springs," Veysey said.
The study appeared in the June 27 issue of Physical Review Letters.
