Diving in Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

[AquaticAfro]

Ok call me insane but I had this thought the other day and I can’t stop thinking about it. I also didn’t know where to post my insane theory crafting so let me know if there’s another forum that would be better suited for my ramblings.

Let me preface this by saying that I am aware of the insane legal restrictions that would be faced by doing this and I’m purely talking about from a hypothetical diving perspective of how it could be done.

I’ve done some basic research on the spring and I visited it once before as a kid but recently I’ve gotten into diving the Florida springs and had the thought about diving the grand prismatic spring and how cool it would be to do. From my research I found that the (I’m assuming surface) temps are abt 194 degrees Fahrenheit or 90 degrees Celsius and I’m assuming it heats up as you descend. The spring itself is approximately 160 ft deep but I couldn’t find any info on what the inside of the spring looks like or anything other than basic tourist information which is part of why I’m so curious.

The temps are enough to be fatal if you fall in without protection so the hardest part would be finding a way to beat the heat. I tried researching this as well but again came up empty handed on exposure gear for diving in hot water. My immediate thought on the best way to stay cool is to take a commercial diving hot water suit and instead run cold water through the tubing but I don’t know how effective that would be given the near boiling temps. I know that astronauts have special cooling suits on space walks because there’s no where for their body heat to dissipate to so maybe something like that could work but given that it’s abt 100 F hotter than body temps I don’t know how well that would hold up. A standard regulator configuration wouldn’t work either and you would need to be completely isolated and cooled maybe in a Kirby Morgan style diving helmet.

This is all me theory crafting and I really want more ideas because I think it would be super cool to actually get to dive there. I’m a geophysics major so I love thinking about the cool geologic formations that could be down there. Maybe some day I’ll come up with a reason to do it and I could convince the government to let me try for science. I’ll bet it’s nothing like anywhere else on earth. Especially with those beautiful colors that are made by the bacteria. If anyone knows any more about the topic or has any ideas please let me know because this is super exciting and I could rant about it for hours.

 

[Cthippo]

I have seen that they make special garments fpr working in hot water for (I think) industrial applications...

That said, sounds like an ROV job

 

[AquaticAfro]

Agreed that I can’t think of any reason why a diver would be preferred to the ROV method (although for both the heat would still be a challenge to overcome).

I was just thinking about how it could be done. All of my google searches have only led me to the heated water suits that commercial divers use for cold water diving as well as some insulating suits that are designed for working in high heat on land.

I still think that nasa’s liquid cooling ventilation garment is the closest thing I can find for that intended purpose but if you’ve got any other sources I’d be curious to read up on it.

 

[MikeHoncho]

You'll have to deal with the high PH also

 

[AquaticAfro]

You'll have to deal with the high PH also

It’s an interesting idea that I hadn’t thought about before. Thankfully on the national parks website it says that “Grand Prismatic Spring happens to be a fairly neutral hot spring.” so I don’t think that’s something I’ll have to take a lot into consideration. I’ve you’ve got a source that says otherwise though I’d be interested to hear about it.

I know there are a lot of features in the park that are extremely acidic or basic but I don’t believe the grand prismatic spring is one of them.

 

[ofg-1]

First, you need to implant these into your buttocks just to make sure you are done.

 

[MikeHoncho]

It’s an interesting idea that I hadn’t thought about before. Thankfully on the national parks website it says that “Grand Prismatic Spring happens to be a fairly neutral hot spring.” so I don’t think that’s something I’ll have to take a lot into consideration. I’ve you’ve got a source that says otherwise though I’d be interested to hear about it.

I know there are a lot of features in the park that are extremely acidic or basic but I don’t believe the grand prismatic spring is one of them.

The articles I read say its around 9 so 100 times basic than neutral and 10 times more basic than ocean water. Not terribly basic but I wouldn't want to be in it depending on equipment that is also exposed to it....even though the heat would do you in way before the ph would

 

[AquaticAfro]

The articles I read say its around 9 so 100 times basic than neutral and 10 times more basic than ocean water. Not terribly basic but I wouldn't want to be in it depending on equipment that is also exposed to it....even though the heat would do you in way before the ph would

True. I’m assuming that the gear that would be needed to beat the heat would be durable enough to remain operational in water with a ph of abt 9 long enough to complete the dive. I’m sure eventually it would wreak havoc on the gear but given that the gear is inspected and everything ahead of time I think it would suffice. Since the heat would already require complete isolation from the surrounding water I’m not worried abt the affects on the body unless something malfunctions. Besides apparently a ph of 9 is abt as much as soap so that’s not the worst thing even tho I’m sure it isn’t good for you long term.