Yellowstone’s tiny quakes cause burst of life deep below the surface
“The processes observed in the Yellowstone borehole may not be unique. Many regions around the world experience regular seismic activity that could similarly reshape subsurface energy supplies."
Microbe communities living in rock and water systems beneath the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field were influenced by a series of small earthquakes in 2021. The shaking from the seismic events allowed more resources to become available to these communities, which helped new life flourish.
The findings appear in a new study published in the journal PNAS Nexus.
Shielded from light
The microbes in the study live far below the surface, where sunlight does not reach. They survive through chemical reactions that occur when water moves through rock features and reaches them, providing the microbes with energy.
Earthquakes can have a big impact on these tiny communities: Shaking can break apart rock surfaces, redirect water flows, and release new fluids that were previously blocked.
For their study, Eric Boyd and his team at Montana State University collected water samples on five separate occasions from a nearly 100-metre-deep borehole in the western portion of Yellowstone Lake throughout 2021.
“Analyses of these samples showed notable increases in hydrogen, sulfide, and dissolved organic carbon after the earthquakes,” reads a statement by the study’s authors.
“These compounds serve as important energy sources for many subsurface organisms. As the chemistry of the water shifted, the team also detected a rise in planktonic cells, suggesting that more microbes were present in the water column than before. This combination of chemical and biological changes indicates that the quake swarm temporarily boosted the resources available to deep microbial life.”
The team also documented a change in the types of microbes present, notable because these communities are usually relatively stable. The authors say the kinetic energy from the earthquakes influenced the chemistry and biological makeup of the communities, suggesting even small earthquakes can deeply influence life underground.
“The processes observed in the Yellowstone borehole may not be unique. Many regions around the world experience regular seismic activity that could similarly reshape subsurface energy supplies,” reads the author’s statement.
“...If earthquakes or similar geological motions can refresh chemical resources below the surface, this could expand the possible habitats for microbes on worlds such as Mars.”
The Grand Prismatic Spring
One of the most famous geothermal features of the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field is arguably the Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in the U.S., and the third-largest on the planet.
Its vibrant colours are created by the thermophilic microbes (in other words, heat-loving bacteria and archaea) that live in the spring.
The Grand Prismatic Spring (USGS).
Yellowstone and volcanic activity
The research team had good reason to pick Yellowstone as a test subject — In June 2025, researchers at the University of Western Ontario uncovered over 86,000 earthquakes moving in chaotic swarms through rough, young fault lines beneath Yellowstone.
Previously, researchers manually inspected earthquake data, a process that was both expensive and time-consuming. With the help of machine learning automation, the Western team uncovered many more earthquakes in the dataset, revealing ten times more seismic activity than previously known.
Header image: File photo via Canva Pro.