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Publications

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Discriminating assimilants and decoupling deep- vs. shallow-level crystal records at Mount Adams using 238U-230Th disequilibria and Os isotopes Discriminating assimilants and decoupling deep- vs. shallow-level crystal records at Mount Adams using 238U-230Th disequilibria and Os isotopes

A suite of 23 basaltic to dacitic lavas erupted over the last 350 kyr from the Mount Adams volcanic field has been analyzed for U–Th isotope compositions to evaluate the roles of mantle versus crustal components during magma genesis. All of the lavas have (230Th/238U) > 1 and span a large range in (230Th/232Th) ratios, and most basalts have higher (230Th/232Th) ratios than andesites and...
Authors
Brian R. Jicha, Clark M. Johnson, Wes Hildreth, Brian L. Beard, Garret L. Hart, Steven B. Shirey, Brad S. Singer

Eruption-related lahars and sedimentation response downstream of Mount Hood: Field guide to volcaniclastic deposits along the Sandy River, Oregon Eruption-related lahars and sedimentation response downstream of Mount Hood: Field guide to volcaniclastic deposits along the Sandy River, Oregon

Late Holocene dome-building eruptions at Mount Hood during the Timberline and Old Maid eruptive periods resulted in numerous dome-collapse pyroclastic flows and lahars that moved large volumes of volcaniclastic sediment into temporary storage in headwater canyons of the Sandy River. During each eruptive period, accelerated sediment loading to the river through erosion and remobilization...
Authors
Thomas C. Pierson, Scott W. Akins, James W. Vallance, Patrick T. Pringle

Eruption of Alaska volcano breaks historic pattern Eruption of Alaska volcano breaks historic pattern

In the late morning of 12 July 2008, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) received an unexpected call from the U.S. Coast Guard, reporting an explosive volcanic eruption in the central Aleutians in the vicinity of Okmok volcano, a relatively young (~2000-year-old) caldera. The Coast Guard had received an emergency call requesting assistance from a family living at a cattle ranch on the...
Authors
Jessica Larsen, Christina A. Neal, Peter Webley, Jeff Freymueller, Matthew Haney, Stephen McNutt, David Schneider, Stephanie Prejean, Janet Schaefer, Rick L. Wessels

Quaternary science reviews Pacific Basin tsunami hazards associated with mass flows in the Aleutian arc of Alaska Quaternary science reviews Pacific Basin tsunami hazards associated with mass flows in the Aleutian arc of Alaska

We analyze mass-flow tsunami generation for selected areas within the Aleutian arc of Alaska using results from numerical simulation of hypothetical but plausible mass-flow sources such as submarine landslides and volcanic debris avalanches. The Aleutian arc consists of a chain of volcanic mountains, volcanic islands, and submarine canyons, surrounded by a low-relief continental shelf...
Authors
Christopher F. Waythomas, Philip Watts, Fengyan Shi, James T. Kirby

A field guide to Newberry Volcano, Oregon A field guide to Newberry Volcano, Oregon

Newberry Volcano is located in central Oregon at the intersection of the Cascade Range and the High Lava Plains. Its lavas range in age from ca. 0.5 Ma to late Holocene. Erupted products range in composition from basalt through rhyolite and cover ~3000 km2. The most recent caldera-forming eruption occurred ~80,000 years ago. This trip will highlight a revised understanding of the volcano...
Authors
Robert A. Jenson, Julie M. Donnelly-Nolan, Daniele McKay

Improved constraints on the estimated size and volatile content of the Mount St. Helens magma system from the 2004–2008 history of dome growth and deformation Improved constraints on the estimated size and volatile content of the Mount St. Helens magma system from the 2004–2008 history of dome growth and deformation

The history of dome growth and geodetic deflation during the 2004–2008 Mount St. Helens eruption can be fit to theoretical curves with parameters such as reservoir volume, bubble content, initial overpressure, and magma rheology, here assumed to be Newtonian viscous, with or without a solid plug in the conduit center. Data from 2004–2008 are consistent with eruption from a 10–25 km3...
Authors
Larry G. Mastin, Mike Lisowski, Evelyn Roeloffs, Nick Beeler

Three short videos by the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Three short videos by the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory

This is a collection of videos of unscripted interviews with Jake Lowenstern, who is the Scientist in Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO). YVO was created as a partnership among the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Yellowstone National Park, and University of Utah to strengthen the long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake unrest in the Yellowstone National Park...
Authors
Stephen Wessells, Jake Lowenstern, Dina Venezky

Precision leveling and geodetic GPS observations performed on Surtsey between 1967 and 2002 Precision leveling and geodetic GPS observations performed on Surtsey between 1967 and 2002

The load on the crust from the ~ 0.8 km3 of eruptive products of the Surtsey eruption is expected to lead to subsidence of the Surtsey island by sagging of the lithosphere, compaction of material, and slumping of the volcanic edifice. Immediately after the eruption ended in the summer of 1967 a levelling line was established across the island to monitor this expected subsidence. The line
Authors
Erik Sturkell, P. Einarsson, Halldor Geirsson, E. Tryggvason, James G. Moore, Rosa Olafsdottir

Many monstrous Missoula floods down channeled scabland and Columbia Valley, Washington Many monstrous Missoula floods down channeled scabland and Columbia Valley, Washington

The late Wisconsin Missoula floods are Earth's largest known discharges of fresh water. They carved Washington's Channeled Scabland--made famous by J H. Bretz's writings in the 1920s to 1950s--and deposited sporadic huge gravel bars in the Scab-lands and Columbia valley. Since the late 1970s the great floods have been shown to number several score and to have been released as gigantic...
Authors
Richard B. Waitt, Roger P. Denlinger, Jim O’Connor

Ice and water on Newberry Volcano, central Oregon Ice and water on Newberry Volcano, central Oregon

Newberry Volcano in central Oregon is dry over much of its vast area, except for the lakes in the caldera and the single creek that drains them. Despite the lack of obvious glacial striations and well-formed glacial moraines, evidence indicates that Newberry was glaciated. Meter-sized foreign blocks, commonly with smoothed shapes, are found on cinder cones as far as 7 km from the caldera...
Authors
Julie M. Donnelly-Nolan, Robert A. Jensen
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