Would the subsurface event leading to tree death at West Tern Lake in Yellowstone be visible in thermal imaging?
If it’s hot enough to alter the groundwater chemistry that is killing the trees, then you would see it in satellite thermal imaging. Remember, tree roots only go down about 20 to 30 feet at the most, so this is all pretty shallow stuff. This is actually quite a strong thermal anomaly. Like you said, the heat alone may have killed the tree/tree roots.the white areas of the photos are likely salt deposits from the thermal water left behind after evaporation. So again, the thermal water is shallow, indeed, it’s right at the surface. Pretty cool.