Hot spring

A hot spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater that rises from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth. While some of these springs contain water that is a safe temperature for bathing, others are so hot that immersion can result in injury or death.

Definitions

"Blood Pond" hot spring in Beppu, Japan

There is no universally accepted definition of a hot spring. For example, one can find the phrase hot spring defined as any geothermal spring[1]

The related term "warm spring" is defined as a spring with water temperature less than a hot spring by many sources, although Pentecost et al. (2003) suggest that the phrase "warm spring" is not useful and should be avoided.[14] The US NOAA Geophysical Data Center defines a "warm spring" as a spring with water between 20 and 50 °C (68 and 122 °F)

Sources of heat

Water issuing from a hot spring is heated geothermally, that is, with heat produced from the Earth's mantle. In general, the temperature of rocks within the earth increases with depth. The rate of temperature increase with depth is known as the geothermal gradient. If water percolates deeply enough into the crust, it will be heated as it comes into contact with hot rocks. The water from hot springs in non-volcanic areas is heated in this manner.

In active volcanic zones such as Yellowstone National Park, water may be heated by coming into contact with magma (molten rock). The high temperature gradient near magma may cause water to be heated enough that it boils or becomes superheated. If the water becomes so hot that it builds steam pressure and erupts in a jet above the surface of the Earth, it is called a geyser. If the water only reaches the surface in the form of steam, it is called a fumarole. If the water is mixed with mud and clay, it is called a mud pot.

Note that hot springs in volcanic areas are often at or near the boiling point. People have been seriously scalded and even killed by accidentally or intentionally entering these springs.

Warm springs are sometimes the result of hot and cold springs mixing. They may occur within a volcanic area or outside of one. One example of a non-volcanic warm spring is Warm Springs, Georgia (frequented for its therapeutic effects by paraplegic U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who built the Little White House there).

Flow rates

Deildartunguhver, Iceland: the highest flow hot spring in Europe

Hot springs range in flow rate from the tiniest "seeps" to veritable rivers of hot water. Sometimes there is enough pressure that the water shoots upward in a geyser, or fountain.

High flow hot springs

There are many claims in the literature about the flow rates of hot springs. It should be noted that there are many more high flow non-thermal springs than geothermal springs. For example, there are 33 recognized "magnitude one springs" (having a flow in excess of 2,800 L/s (99 cu ft/s) in Florida alone. Silver Springs, Florida has a flow of more than 21,000 L/s (740 cu ft/s). Springs with high flow rates include:

Therapeutic uses

Japanese open air hot spring in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Hammam Essalihine, Roman hot spring in Algeria

Because heated water can hold more dissolved solids than cold water, warm and especially hot springs often have very high mineral content, containing everything from simple calcium to lithium, and even radium. Because of both the folklore and the claimed medical value some of these springs have, they are often popular tourist destinations, and locations for rehabilitation clinics for those with disabilities.[21][22][23]

Biota in hot springs

A thermophile is an organism — a type of extremophile — that thrives at high temperatures, between 45 and 80 °C (113 and 176 °F).[24] Thermophiles are found in hot springs, as well as deep sea hydrothermal vents and decaying plant matter such as peat bogs and compost.

Algal mats growing in the Map of Africa hot pool, Orakei Korako, New Zealand

Some hot springs biota are infectious to humans. For example:

Notable hot springs

Distribution of geothermal springs in the US
Macaques enjoying an open air hot spring or "onsen" in Nagano

There are hot springs in many countries and on all continents of the world. Countries that are renowned for their hot springs include China, Costa Rica, Iceland, Iran, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Taiwan, Turkey, and United States, but there are hot springs in many other places as well:

Chaudes-Aigues-Lavoir

Etiquette

The customs and practices observed differ depending on the hot spring. It is common practice that bathers should wash before entering the water so as not to contaminate the water (with/without soap).[36] In many countries, like Japan, it is required to enter the hot spring with no clothes on, including swimwear. Typically in these circumstances, there are different facilities or times for men and women. In some countries, if it is a public hot spring, swimwear is required.

See also

References

  1. "MSN Encarta definition of hot spring". Archived from the original on 2009-11-01.
  2. Miriam-Webster Online dictionary definition of hot spring
  3. Wordsmyth definition of hot spring
  4. American Heritage dictionary, fourth edition (2000) definition of hot spring
  5. Infoplease definition of hot spring
  6. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. definition of hot spring
  7. Wordnet 2.0 definition of hot spring
  8. Ultralingua Online Dictionary definition of hot spring
  9. Rhymezone definition of hot spring
  10. Lookwayup definition of hot spring
  11. Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition, article on hot spring
  12. Don L. Leet (1982). Physical Geology (6th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-669706-2. A thermal spring is defined as a spring that brings warm or hot water to the surface. Leet states that there are two types of thermal springs; hot springs and warm springs.
  13. "Water Words Glossary - Hot Spring". NALMS. 2007. Archived from the original on January 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  14. 1 2 Allan Pentecost; B. Jones; R.W. Renaut (2003). "What is a hot spring?". Can. J. Earth Sci. 40 (11): 1443–6. Bibcode:2003CaJES..40.1443P. doi:10.1139/e03-083. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. provides a critical discussion of the definition of a hot spring.
  15. For example, ambient ground temperature is usually around 55–57 °F (13–14 °C) in the eastern United States
  16. US NOAA Geophysical Data Center definition
  17. Terme di Saturnia, website
  18. John W. Lund; James C. Witcher (December 2002). "Truth or Consequences, New Mexico- A Spa City" (PDF). GHC Bulletin. 23 (4).
  19. W. F. Ponder (2002). "Desert Springs of Great Australian Arterial Basin". Conference Proceedings. Spring-fed Wetlands: Important Scientific and Cultural Resources of the Intermountain Region. Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  20. http://takhinihotsprings.com/water.html
  21. The web site of the Roosevelt rehabilitation clinic in Warm Springs, Georgia
  22. Web site of rehabilitation clinics in Central Texas created because of a geothermal spring
  23. http://takhinihotsprings.com/water.html Analytical results for Takhini Hot Springs geothermal water:
  24. Madigan MT, Martino JM (2006). Brock Biology of Microorganisms (11th ed.). Pearson. p. 136. ISBN 0-13-196893-9.
  25. Naegleria at eMedicine
  26. Shinji Izumiyama; Kenji Yagita; Reiko Furushima-Shimogawara; Tokiko Asakura; Tatsuya Karasudani; Takuro Endo (July 2003). "Occurrence and Distribution of Naegleria Species in Thermal Waters in Japan". J Eukaryot Microbiol. 50: 514–5. PMID 14736147. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2003.tb00614.x.
  27. Yasuo Sugita; Teruhiko Fujii; Itsurou Hayashi; Takachika Aoki; Toshirou Yokoyama; Minoru Morimatsu; Toshihide Fukuma; Yoshiaki Takamiya (May 1999). "Primary amebic meningoencephalitis due to Naegleria fowleri: An autopsy case in Japan". Pathology International. 49 (5): 468–70. PMID 10417693. doi:10.1046/j.1440-1827.1999.00893.x.
  28. Southern New Mexico web site article about some local hot springs, including a warning about Naegleria fowler Archived 2006-11-15 at the Wayback Machine.
  29. CDC description of acanthamoeba
  30. Miyamoto H, Jitsurong S, Shiota R, Maruta K, Yoshida S, Yabuuchi E (1997). "Molecular determination of infection source of a sporadic Legionella pneumonia case associated with a hot spring bath". Microbiol. Immunol. 41 (3): 197–202. PMID 9130230. doi:10.1111/j.1348-0421.1997.tb01190.x.
  31. Eiko Yabauuchi; Kunio Agata (2004). "An outbreak of legionellosis in a new facility of hot spring Bath in Hiuga City". Kansenshogaku Zasshi. 78 (2): 90–8. ISSN 0387-5911. PMID 15103899.
  32. Häring M, Rachel R, Peng X, Garrett RA, Prangishvili D (August 2005). "Viral diversity in hot springs of Pozzuoli, Italy, and characterization of a unique archaeal virus, Acidianus bottle-shaped virus, from a new family, the Ampullaviridae". J. Virol. 79 (15): 9904–11. PMC 1181580Freely accessible. PMID 16014951. doi:10.1128/JVI.79.15.9904-9911.2005.
  33. Welcome Argentina: Turismo en Argentina 2009
  34. Ravi Shanker; J.L. Thussu; J.M. Prasad (1987). "Geothermal studies at Tattapani hot spring area, Sarguja district, central India". Geothermics. 16 (1): 61–76. doi:10.1016/0375-6505(87)90079-4.
  35. D. Chandrasekharam; M.C. Antu (August 1995). "Geochemistry of Tattapani thermal springs, madhya Pradesh, India—field and experimental investigations". Geothermics. 24 (4): 553–9. doi:10.1016/0375-6505(95)00005-B.
  36. Fahr-Becker, Gabriele (2001). Ryokan. p. 24. ISBN 3-8290-4829-7.

Further reading

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