Cold-water geysers are geysers that have eruptions whose water spurts are propelled by bubbles, instead of the hot steam which drives the more familiar hot-water

geyser A geyser (, ) is a spring with an intermittent water discharge ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. The formation of geysers is fairly rare and is caused by particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in a few places on Ea ...

s: The gush of a cold-water geyser is identical to the spurt from a freshly-opened bottle of

soda pop A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) carbonated, and typically including added sweetener. Flavors used to be natural, but now can also be artificial. The sweet ...

. Cold-water geysers look quite similar to their steam-driven counterparts; however, their -laden water often appears whiter and more frothy.

Mechanism

In ''cold-water geysers'', the supply of -laden water lies confined in an

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

, in which water and are trapped by less permeable overlying strata. The more familiar hot-water

geysers A geyser (, ) is a spring with an intermittent water discharge ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. The formation of geysers is fairly rare and is caused by particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in a few places on Ea ...

derive the energy for their eruptions from the proximity to (relatively) near-surface

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

. In contrast, whereas cold water geysers might also derive their supply of from magmatic sources, by definition of "cold-water", they do not also obtain sufficient heat to provide steam pressure, and their eruptions are propelled only by the pressure of dissolved . The magnitude and frequency of such eruptions depend on various factors such as plumbing depth, concentrations and refresh rate, aquifer water yield, etc. The water and its load of powering a cold-water geyser can escape the rock strata overlying its aquifer only through weak segments of rock, like faults, joints, or drilled wells. A borehole drilled for a well, for example, can unexpectedly provide an escape route for the pressurized water and to reach the surface. The column of water rising through the rock exerts enough pressure on the gaseous so that it remains in the water as dissolved gas or small bubbles. When the pressure decreases due to the widening of a fissure, the bubbles expand, and that expansion displaces the water above and causes the eruption.

Examples

Herľany Herľany (; ) is a village and municipality in Košice-okolie District in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia. Sights The village is known for the only full-scale geyser in Slovakia, one of the few cold water geysers in the world. It erupts pe ...

, Slovakia * Andernach Geyser (a.k.a. ''Namedyer Sprudel''), Germany * Wallender Born (a.k.a. ''Brubbel''), Germany * Crystal Geyser, near

Green River, Utah Green River is a city in Emery County, Utah, United States. The population was 847 at the 2020 census. History The city of Green River is located on ancestral Ute lands, in the home locale of the Seuvarits/Sheberetch band of Ute people. The ...

Caxambu Caxambu is a Brazilian municipality in Minas Gerais. Its population in 2021 was estimated at 21,566. Caxambu is renowned for its spa which has twelve sources of mineral sparkling water flowing 24 hours a day and a cold-water geyser. Image:Cax ...

, Brazil * Sivá Brada, Slovakia * Wehr Geyser Germany

References

{{reflist, 25em, refs= {{cite journal , last=Bonotto , first=Daniel Marcos , year=2016 , title=Hydrogeochemical study of spas groundwaters from southeast Brazil , journal= Journal of Geochemical Exploration , volume=169 , pages=60–72 , doi=10.1016/j.gexplo.2016.07.016 , hdl=11449/173240 , hdl-access=free {{cite web , author=Glennon, J.A. , author-link=John Alan Glennon , orig-date=12 February 2004 , date=6 May 2005 , title=Carbon dioxide-driven, cold water geysers , publisher=

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

, type=academic site , url=http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~glennon/crystalgeyser/index.htm , url-status=dead , access-date=8 June 2007 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070902032512/http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~glennon/crystalgeyser/index.htm , archive-date=2007-09-02 {{cite journal , author1=Glennon, J.A. , author1-link=John Alan Glennon , author2=Pfaff, R.M. , year=2005 , title=The operation and geography of carbon-dioxide-driven, cold-water geysers , journal= GOSA Transactions , volume=9 , pages=184–192 Springs (hydrology) Bodies of water