Geothermal, or hot springs, are heated underground waters that have come to the surface. This concept unites sources that are completely different in composition and temperature. In some of them, the temperature is slightly higher than the average annual temperature in a given area, while others fully justify their name. As a rule, geothermal springs are found in areas of active volcanism, but not only. Sometimes they can be found in areas where there is no volcanic activity. But how dangerous are they in general, and can a person be boiled alive if they fall into such a source?
How hot springs are formed
In most cases, hot springs are heated by actual magmatic intrusions in areas of active volcanism. Simply put, the hot magma of volcanoes heats groundwater, which subsequently comes to the surface.
Sometimes the reason for heating the water is convective circulation – groundwater seeps down to a depth of more than a kilometer, where the rocks are hot. After heating, the warm water rises to the surface.
It should be noted that springs differ not only in the heating method, but also in their type. For example, in areas of active volcanism, they most often represent geysers and steam jets. Hot waters burst to the surface from the depths, where they are heated to a temperature of +150-200 degrees. Similar springs are found in Kamchatka, the USA (Big Geysers), New Zealand, Italy, Iceland and many other parts of the world.
Hot springs can also have the form of traditional streams and ponds with warm or hot water. For example, they are in different regions of Russia – in the Stavropol Territory, in Buryatia, in Kamchatka, etc. Yellowstone Park in the USA is also famous for such springs.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, hot springs are found in mountainous areas. The presence of such springs in flat areas is considered a phenomenon. An example is the hot springs in Western Siberia, in the western part of the Tyumen region.
What is the composition of the water in hot springs
The composition of water in hot springs also varies greatly. They can be fresh and brackish, calcium, sodium, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen-methane, methane, etc. For example, on the Kuril Islands, groundwater mixes with gases and takes on the character of acids that dissolve various rocks. This acidic mixture is carried out to the sea.
There are many geothermal waters rich in minerals in Russia. For example, the springs in the Caucasian Mineral Waters contain carbonic waters. The Kuldur springs are rich in silicic acid. Such springs have been used by people for treatment since ancient times. There is even a branch of medicine called balneology, based on therapy with mineral waters from hot springs.
Can a person be boiled alive in a hot spring?
As mentioned above, the temperature in hot springs can also vary. Conventionally, they are divided into three types: warm with a temperature from +20 to +37 degrees, hot with a temperature of up to +50 degrees and very hot, in which the temperature reaches 100 degrees. In the latter, any person or other living creature that gets into them can die.
Some very hot springs are dangerous not only because of the high temperature, but also because of the composition of the water. An example is the springs in Yellowstone Park, which have repeatedly caused deaths. It is because of this that some areas of the national park are closed to visitors, that is, so that people do not accidentally end up in such a “vat” of boiling acid.
However, from time to time, the press reports on accidents. For example, a telling case occurred in 2016, when a 23-year-old guy died in one of these springs. He and his sister went off the main embankment near the Pork Chop geyser in search of a place to swim. The spring they found was clearly not the best solution for water procedures. The guy leaned over to check the water and accidentally fell into it.
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The man died immediately, as the water temperature in the spring was 92 degrees Celsius. For various reasons, rescuers were unable to get his body out of the spring, and just a day later it simply dissolved in acid. Therefore, hot springs can be both beneficial for health, like resorts in the Caucasus, and deadly, in which a person can die almost instantly. Finally, we note that hot springs seem to exist not only on Earth, but also on the planet Saturn, which we talked about not long ago.