2026年3月3日 / 美国东部时间上午10:27 / CBS新闻
美国国家公园管理局周一表示，世界最大的酸性间歇泉在沉睡五年多后，已在黄石公园再次喷发。
位于黄石公园诺里斯间歇泉盆地后盆地的海胆间歇泉宽约66英尺，周围环绕着形似海胆的岩石。黄石公园称，1878年矿物学家阿尔伯特·查尔斯·皮尔（Albert Charles Peale）在参观该地点时注意到这种相似性，因此该间歇泉以此命名。
黄石公园表示，海胆间歇泉因酸性气体与中性水混合而呈酸性。许多酸性间歇泉会侵蚀形成间歇泉的岩石，但海胆间歇泉的酸性不足以侵蚀周围的石头。据公园称，这种酸浓度不高，更像是”橙汁或醋”。
相反，”这种独特的水化学特性造就了有趣的地貌和构造”，包括间歇泉池周围的红色区域和带刺岩石。
黄石国家公园的海胆间歇泉。黄石国家公园
根据黄石公园的数据，海胆间歇泉在20世纪后半叶频繁喷发，观景平台和长椅让游客能比园内其他任何间歇泉更近距离观赏。上世纪70年代，该间歇泉每40至80分钟喷发一次；80年代和90年代，喷发时长可达90分钟，高度达75英尺。有时喷发甚至呈水平方向，将游客浇得满身热水。
21世纪初，该间歇泉的活动开始减弱。2010年，黄石公园在间歇泉流出通道安装了温度监测系统，记录显示2010年10月至2011年1月间有15次零星喷发，此后直至2017年10月喷发仍寥寥无几。有几周喷发较为规律，但随后”突然停止”。此后几年虽有几次喷发，但该间歇泉基本处于休眠状态。
2026年2月，该间歇泉开始出现活动迹象。2月7日首次喷发，随后一周内多次喷发。2月16日起，每几小时发生一次20-30英尺高的规律性喷发。
根据温度图表显示，近日该间歇泉活动有所增强，这些活动往往是喷发的前兆，但尚未发生实际喷发。
公园表示，该间歇泉在夏季继续喷发的可能性不大，但无法预测实际情况。
World’s largest acidic geyser erupts again in Yellowstone after years of silence
March 3, 2026 / 10:27 AM EST / CBS News
The world’s largest acidic geyser has begun erupting again in Yellowstone after slumbering for over five years, the national park said Monday.
Echinus Geyser, located in the back basin of the Norris Geyser Basin at Yellowstone, is about 66 feet wide and is surrounded by rocks that resemble sea urchins. The geyser was named for those rocks, Yellowstone said, after mineralogist Albert Charles Peale noted the resemblance during a visit to the site in 1878.
Echinus is made acidic because of a mix of acidic gases and neutral waters, Yellowstone said. Many acidic geysers break down the rock that forms a geyser, but the acidity at Echinus is not strong enough to eat away at the surrounding stone. The acid is not concentrated, making it more like “orange juice or vinegar,” according to the park.
Instead, “that somewhat unique water chemistry results in interesting formations and compositions,” Yellowstone said, including the red color around the geyser pool and the spiny rocks.
The Echinus Geyser at Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone National Park
Echinus erupted often in the late half of the 20th century, and viewing platforms and benches allowed visitors to get closer to the site than any other geyser in the park, according to Yellowstone. In the 1970s, the geyser erupted every 40 to 80 minutes, and in the 1980s and 1990s, the eruptions could last as long as 90 minutes and reach as high as 75 feet. Sometimes the eruptions were even horizontal, soaking visitors with warm water.
The geyser’s activity started to wane in the early 2000s. In 2010, a temperature monitoring system installed in the geyser’s outflow channel allowed Yellowstone to monitor changes. The system recorded 15 sporadic eruptions between October 2010 and January 2011, and eruptions remained few and far between until October 2017. The eruptions were consistent for several weeks, but then “suddenly stopped,” Yellowstone said. There were a few eruptions over the following years, but the geyser was largely inactive.
In February 2026, the geyser started showing signs of activity. It erupted on Feb. 7, then again throughout the next week. There were regular 20-30 foot eruptions every few hours beginning on February 16.
In recent days, the geyser has had spikes of activity that tend to precede eruptions, but no actual eruptions, according to a temperature graph.
The park said it is unlikely the geyser will continue erupting into the summer, but there is no way to predict what may actually occur.
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