Specific conductance data for selected rivers and creeks in Yellowstone National Park, beginning in 2010 (version 2.0, May 2020)

Monitoring the chloride (Cl) flux in the major rivers draining Yellowstone National Park (YNP) provides a holistic view of the thermal output from the underlying magma reservoir, and abrupt fluctuations in the Cl flux may signify changes in hydrothermal activity. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Park Service (NPS) have collaborated on Cl flux monitoring of the major rivers since the 1970s. In the past, researchers collected water samples from the major rivers in YNP, but funding restrictions, winter conditions, and the great distances between sites limited the number of samples collected annually. Beginning in 2010, specific conductance, which is relatively easy to measure and can be automated, has been used as a proxy for Cl. The use of specific conductance probes at the various monitoring sites enables a more consistent estimation of Cl flux. Consistent monitoring is useful to identify changes in river chemistry due to geyser eruptions, rain events, or changes in thermal inputs caused by earthquakes or other natural events. The use of specific conductance as a proxy for Cl requires quantification of the relationship between specific conductance, Cl, and other geothermal solutes and the relationship needs to be periodically verified. This data release contains specific conductance measurements (every 15 minutes) and water chemistry data from monitoring sites along the Madison River, Firehole River, Gibbon River, Snake River, Gardner River, Fall River, Yellowstone River, and Tantalus Creek. For several sites, there are periods of time when specific conductance is not reported because the data was likely unreliable due to failure or fouling of the specific conductance probe. There are also specific conductance and discharge data available from the USGS National Water Information System (USGS NWIS, https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt). The following list details the sites included in this data release and the National Water Information System site identification numbers. Yellowstone River near Corwin Springs, 06191500; Gardner River near Mammoth, 06191000; Firehole River near West Yellowstone, 06036905; Firehole River at Old Faithful, 06036805; Fall River near Squirrel, Idaho, 13046995; Gibbon River at Madison Junction, 06037100; Madison River near West Yellowstone, 06040000; Snake River near Flagg Ranch WY, 13010065; and Tantalus Creek at Norris Junction, 06036940. First posted - January 28, 2019 (available from author) Revised - May 4, 2020 (version 2.0) NOTE: While previous versions are available from the author, all the records in previous versions can be found in version 2.0.

监测流经黄石国家公园（Yellowstone National Park, YNP）的主要河流中的氯化物（chloride, Cl）通量，可全面掌握其下方岩浆库的热输出情况，而氯化物通量的突变或可预示热液活动的变化。
自20世纪70年代起，美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey, USGS）与国家公园管理局（National Park Service, NPS）便合作开展主要河流的氯化物通量监测工作。过往研究人员曾从黄石国家公园的主要河流采集水样，但受经费限制、冬季恶劣环境以及站点间距离过远等因素制约，年度采集的样本数量始终有限。
2010年起，易于测量且可实现自动化的比电导（specific conductance）被用作氯化物的替代指标。在各监测站点部署比电导探头，能够更稳定地估算氯化物通量。持续监测有助于识别因间歇泉喷发、降雨事件，或是地震及其他自然事件引发的热输入变化所导致的河水化学特征改变。
将比电导作为氯化物的替代指标，需要量化比电导、氯化物与其他地热溶质之间的关联关系，且该关联需定期进行验证。本次数据发布包含麦迪逊河、火洞河、吉本河、蛇河、加德纳河、福尔河、黄石河以及坦塔勒斯溪沿线监测站点的比电导实测数据（每15分钟采集一次）与水化学数据。部分站点的部分时段未上报比电导数据，原因是比电导探头出现故障或被污垢覆盖，导致数据可靠性不足。
此外，美国地质调查局国家水信息系统（USGS National Water Information System, USGS NWIS, https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt）亦可获取相关比电导与流量数据。
以下清单详细列明了本次数据发布涵盖的监测站点及其对应的国家水信息系统站点编号：
科温斯普林附近黄石河：06191500；
猛犸热泉附近加德纳河：06191000；
西黄石附近火洞河：06036905；
老忠实泉区域火洞河：06036805；
爱达荷州斯奎里尔附近福尔河：13046995；
麦迪逊汇合处吉本河：06037100；
西黄石附近麦迪逊河：06040000；
怀俄明州弗拉格牧场附近蛇河：13010065；
诺里斯汇合处坦塔勒斯溪：06036940。
首次发布：2019年1月28日（可从作者处获取）
修订版：2020年5月4日（版本2.0）
注：尽管作者可提供过往版本，但所有过往版本的记录均可在版本2.0中找到。