Fountain Paint Pot

Fountain Paint Pot. . , Making Mud, This vat of bubbling mud contains the perfect mix of ingredients to create mudpots: heat, gases, rock, minerals, acid, and even living microorganisms!, Heat-loving “thermophiles” consume some of the gases and help convert them into sulfuric acid. The acid breaks down rock to form clay, clay that mixes with water in mudpots., Understanding the Extremes, Earth’s extreme habitats are studied by scientists who seek to understand life’s ultimate limits. Knowledge gained from Earth-bound studies aids scientists who search for life (and evidence of its past existence) in the extreme environments found elsewhere in our solar system., Year after year, this huge mudpot, called “Mammoth Paint Pots” until 1927, has changed with the seasons. Fountain Paint Pot spits thin, sloppy mud in spring. In drier conditions, thick bubbles of mud and gas ooze through cracks, then burst and collapse, forming cone-shaped mounds., (sidebar) , Recipe for Mudpot , Fountain Paint Pot, Heat (derived from Yellowstone’s volcano) , Hydrogen sulfide gas , Water , Thick layer of rhyolite (volcanic rock) , Thermophiles (heat-loving microorganisms) , Pinch of minerals, Let volcanic heat and gases rise through Earth’s crust. Boil water deep underground, and add to gases. Process mixture by forcing upward through cracks in the rhyolite. Simmer in a large cooking pot, adding water from rain and snow to make muddy consistency. Add thermophiles, simmering while they consume gases and help turn mixture into an acidic marinade. Cook until rhyolite turns into clay. Garnish with minerals, allowing bubbling action to create swirls of color., This exhibit made possible by a generous grant to the Yellowstone Park Foundation from the NASA Astrobiology Institute and Lockheed Martin Space Operations