Volcanology of the 2350 B.P. Eruption of Mount Meager Volcanic Complex, British Columbia, Canada: implications for Hazards from Eruptions in Topographically Complex Terrain

1999 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 489-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Hickson ◽  
J. K. Russell ◽  
M. V. Stasiuk
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Complex Terrain ◽  
Volcanic Complex

Combining Distributed Acoustic Sensing and Beamforming in a Volcanic Environment on Mount Meager, British Columbia.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Klaasen ◽  
Patrick Paitz ◽  
Jan Dettmer ◽  
Andreas Fichtner
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Power Distribution ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Volcanic Tremor ◽  
Extreme Environment ◽  
Volcanic Complex ◽  
Acoustic Sensing ◽  
Distributed Acoustic Sensing ◽  
Volcanic Environment

<p>We present one of the first applications of Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) in a volcanic environment. The goals are twofold: First, we want to examine the feasibility of DAS in such a remote and extreme environment, and second, we search for active volcanic signals of Mount Meager in British Columbia (Canada). </p><p>The Mount Meager massif is an active volcanic complex that is estimated to have the largest geothermal potential in Canada and caused its largest recorded landslide in 2010. We installed a 3-km long fibre-optic cable at 2000 m elevation that crosses the ridge of Mount Meager and traverses the uppermost part of a glacier, yielding continuous measurements from 19 September to 17 October 2019.</p><p>We identify ~30 low-frequency (0.01-1 Hz) and 3000 high-frequency (5-45 Hz) events. The low-frequency events are not correlated with microseismic ocean or atmospheric noise sources and volcanic tremor remains a plausible origin. The frequency-power distribution of the high-frequency events indicates a natural origin, and beamforming on these events reveals distinct event clusters, predominantly in the direction of the main peaks of the volcanic complex. Numerical examples show that we can apply conventional beamforming to the data, and that the results are improved by taking the signal-to-noise ratio of individual channels into account.</p><p>The increased data quantity of DAS can outweigh the limitations due to the lower quality of individual channels in these hazardous and remote environments. We conclude that DAS is a promising tool in this setting that warrants further development.</p>

Evidence for catastrophic volcanic debris flows in Pemberton Valley, British Columbia

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 679-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
K A Simpson ◽  
M Stasiuk ◽  
K Shimamura ◽  
J J Clague ◽  
P Friele
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
Volcanic Complex ◽  
Large Magnitude ◽  
Volcanic Material ◽  
Inundation Maps ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Volcanic Debris

The Mount Meager volcanic complex in southern British Columbia is snow and ice covered and has steep glaciated and unstable slopes of hydrothermally altered volcanic deposits. Three large-volume (>108 m3) volcanic debris flow deposits derived from the Mount Meager volcanic complex have been identified. The volcanic debris flows travelled at least 30 km downstream from the volcanic complex and inundated now populated areas of Pemberton Valley. Clay content and mineralogy of the deposits indicate that the volcanic debris flows were clay-rich (5%–7% clay in the matrix) and derived from hydrothermally altered volcanic material. The youngest volcanic debris flow deposit is interpreted to be associated with the last known volcanic eruption, ~2360 calendar (cal) years BP. The other two debris flows may not have been directly associated with eruptions. Volcanic debris flow hazard inundation maps have been produced using the Geographic Information System (GIS)-based modelling program, LAHARZ. The maps provide estimates of the areas that would be inundated by future moderate to large-magnitude events. Given the available data, the probability of a volcanic debris flow reaching populated areas in Pemberton Valley is ~1 in 2400 years. Additional mapping in the source regions is necessary to determine if sufficient material remains on the volcanic edifice to generate future large-magnitude, clay-rich volcanic debris flows.

scholarly journals Geology of the Monmouth Creek volcanic complex, Garibaldi volcanic belt, British Columbia

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
A M Wilson ◽  
J K Russell ◽  
M C Kelman ◽  
C J Hickson
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Volcanic Belt ◽  
Volcanic Complex

scholarly journals The 6 August 2010 Mount Meager rock slide-debris flow, Coast Mountains, British Columbia: characteristics, dynamics, and implications for hazard and risk assessment

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1277-1294 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Guthrie ◽  
P. Friele ◽  
K. Allstadt ◽  
N. Roberts ◽  
S. G. Evans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Rock Avalanche ◽  
Volcanic Complex ◽  
Rock Slide ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Coast Mountains ◽  
Creek Watershed ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. A large rock avalanche occurred at 03:27:30 PDT, 6 August 2010, in the Mount Meager Volcanic Complex southwest British Columbia. The landslide initiated as a rock slide in Pleistocene rhyodacitic volcanic rock with the collapse of the secondary peak of Mount Meager. The detached rock mass impacted the volcano's weathered and saturated flanks, creating a visible seismic signature on nearby seismographs. Undrained loading of the sloping flank caused the immediate and extremely rapid evacuation of the entire flank with a strong horizontal force, as the rock slide transformed into a debris flow. The disintegrating mass travelled down Capricorn Creek at an average velocity of 64 m s−1, exhibiting dramatic super-elevation in bends to the intersection of Meager Creek, 7.8 km from the source. At Meager Creek the debris impacted the south side of Meager valley, causing a runup of 270 m above the valley floor and the deflection of the landslide debris both upstream (for 3.7 km) and downstream into the Lillooet River valley (for 4.9 km), where it blocked the Lillooet River river for a couple of hours, approximately 10 km from the landslide source. Deposition at the Capricorn–Meager confluence also dammed Meager Creek for about 19 h creating a lake 1.5 km long. The overtopping of the dam and the predicted outburst flood was the basis for a night time evacuation of 1500 residents in the town of Pemberton, 65 km downstream. High-resolution GeoEye satellite imagery obtained on 16 October 2010 was used to create a post-event digital elevation model. Comparing pre- and post-event topography we estimate the volume of the initial displaced mass from the flank of Mount Meager to be 48.5 × 106 m3, the height of the path (H) to be 2183 m and the total length of the path (L) to be 12.7 km. This yields H/L = 0.172 and a fahrböschung (travel angle) of 9.75°. The movement was recorded on seismographs in British Columbia and Washington State with the initial impact, the debris flow travelling through bends in Capricorn Creek, and the impact with Meager Creek are all evident on a number of seismograms. The landslide had a seismic trace equivalent to a M = 2.6 earthquake. Velocities and dynamics of the movement were simulated using DAN-W. The 2010 event is the third major landslide in the Capricorn Creek watershed since 1998 and the fifth large-scale mass flow in the Meager Creek watershed since 1930. No lives were lost in the event, but despite its relatively remote location direct costs of the 2010 landslide are estimated to be in the order of $10 M CAD.

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