Geology topics
Research about Mount St. Helens
Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Mount St. Helens.
Sediment yield following severe volcanic disturbance - A two-decade perspective from Mount St. Helens
Explosive volcanic eruptions perturb water and sediment fluxes in watersheds; consequently, posteruption sediment yields can exceed pre-eruption yields by several orders of magnitude. Annual suspended-sediment yields following the catastrophic 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption were as much as 500 times greater than typical background level, and they generally declined nonlinearly for more than a decade. Although sediment yields responded primarily to type and degree of disturbance, streamflow fluctuations significantly affected sediment-yield trends. Consecutive years (1995–1999) of above-average discharge reversed the nonlinear decline and rejuvenated yields to average values measured within a few years of the eruption. After 20 yr, the average annual suspended-sediment yield from the 1980 debris-avalanche deposit remains 100 times (10 4 Mg [megagrams]/km 2 ) above typical background level (∼10 2 Mg/km 2 ). Within five years of the eruption, annual yields from valleys coated by lahar deposits roughly plateaued, and average yields remain about 10 times (10 3 Mg/km 2 ) above background level. Yield from a basin devastated solely by a blast pyroclastic current diminished to background level within five years. These data demonstrate long-term instability of eruption-generated detritus, and show that effective mitigation measures must remain functional for decades.
Mount St. Helens - From the 1980 eruption to 2000
Mount St. Helens, Washington, is the most active volcano in the Cascade Range. Its most recent series of eruptions began in 1980 when a large landslide and powerful explosive eruption created a large crater, and ended 6 years later after more than a dozen extrusions of lava built a dome in the crater. Larger, longer lasting eruptions have occurred in the volcano's past and are likely to occur in the future. Although the volcano seems to have returned to a period of quiet, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and University of Washington Geophysics Program continue to closely monitor Mount St. Helens for signs of renewed activity.
Geologic map of the Sasquatch Steps area, north flank of Mount St. Helens, Washington
The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens resulted in both new volcanic deposits and deeply incised exposures into pre-1980 deposits. These exposures were produced by excavation of the crater by the 1980 landslides and lateral explosion as well as the subsequent erosion of Step and Loowit creeks by northerly stream flow out of the horseshoe-shaped crater. The map covers the area known as the Sasquatch Steps (commonly called the Steps), which lies between the Pumice Plain on the north and the lowermost portion of the crater on the south. Rapid alluvial aggradation at the base of the Steps is presently burying some of the lowest exposures, and erosion is stripping many of the upland deposits. The stratigraphic sequence exposed in the map area includes deposits from the eruptive periods listed in table 1 (Crandell, 1987). Assignment of deposits to the various eruptive periods is based on lithology and ferromagnesian-mineral suites typical for each of the eruptive periods (Mullineaux and Crandell, 1981; Mullineaux, 1986), as well as three 14 C dates from wood found in the deposits. Faults displayed on the map are largely confined to the older part of the stratigraphic section. These older units are highly shattered, with an extremely complicated fracture pattern, and it is only possible to show the largest and most distinctive of these structures at the map scale. Interpretation of the stratigraphy and structure of this area is given in Hausback and Swanson (1990).
Rockslide-debris avalanche of May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens Volcano, Washington
This report provides a detailed picture of the rockslide-debris avalanche of the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens volcano. It provides a characterization of the deposit, a reinterpretation of the details of the first minutes of the eruption of May 18, and insight into the transport mechanism of the mass movement. Details of the rockslide event, as revealed by eyewitness photographs, are correlated with features of the deposit. The photographs show three slide blocks in the rockslide movement. Slide block I was triggered by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake at 8:32 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (P.D.T.). An exploding cryptodome burst through slide block II to produce the 'blast surge.' Slide block III consisted of many discrete failures that were carried out in continuing pyroclastic currents generated from the exploding cryptodome. The cryptodome continued to depressurize after slide block III, producing a blast deposit that rests on top of the debris-avalanche deposit. The hummocky 2.5 cubic kilometer debris-avalanche deposit consists of block facies (pieces of the pre-eruption Mount St. Helens transported relatively intact) and matrix facies (a mixture of rocks from the old mountain and cryptodome dacite). Block facies is divided into five lithologic units. Matrix facies was derived from the explosively generated current of slide block III as well as from disaggregation and mixing of debris-avalanche blocks. The mean density of the old cone was measured to be abut 20 percent greater than the mean density of the avalanche deposit. Density in the deposit does not decrease with distance which suggests that debris-avalanche blocks were dilated at the mountain, rather than during transport. Various grain-size parameters that show that clast size converges about a mean with distance suggest mixing during transport. The debris-avalanche flow can be considered a grain flow, where particles -- either debris-avalanche blocks or the clasts within the blocks -- collided and created dispersive stress normal to the movement of material. The dispersive stress preserved the dilation of the material and allowed it to flow.
Inclusions in Mount St. Helens dacite erupted from 1980 through 1983
Inclusions of plutonic, metavolcanic and volcanic rocks are abundant in dacite pumice and lava from the 1980–1986 eruption sequence at Mount St. Helens. Point counts of inclusions exposed in talus blocks from the dome from 1980 through 1983 show that inclusions form approximately 3.5 vol% of the lava. Eighty-five percent of the inclusions are medium-grained gabbros with an average diameter of 6 cm. Additional rock types include quartz diorite, hornfelsic basalt, dacite, andesite and vein quartz. Disaggregated inclusions are common and define shear planes within the dome. These fragmented inclusions may significantly contaminate analyses of the dacite. The gabbroic inclusions are of four distinct types, all with mineral assemblages consistent with crystallization pressures of less than 9 kb. Textures and major-element compositions indicate that most of the gabbroic inclusions are cumulates. The most abundant inclusion type is laminated gabbronorite, which contains up to 9% interstitial glass, derived from partial melting. The presence of quartz veins and hornblende-bearing veins within sheared zones in the laminated gabbronorite indicates that the source of these inclusions was holocrystalline rock that had been penetrated by water-rich fluids. The gabbronorite contained sufficient water to be susceptible to partial melting when the magma that fed the 1980–1986 eruption sequence was emplaced nearby. Various types of gabbroic inclusions, including the laminated gabbronorite, are common in Mount St. Helens lavas of approximately the last 3000 years. This coincides with the interval in which Mount St. Helens first erupted basalt and basaltic andesite lavas. These observations, together with the fact that the gabbroic inclusions are compositionally unlike any of the Tertiary intrusive rocks in the Mount St. Helens area, strongly suggest that the inclusions are related to the introduction of basalt to the Mount St. Helens magmatic system. The source of the gabbros could be a layered mafic pluton formed through crystal accumulation from multiple batches of basaltic magma emplaced at mid-to upper-crustal depths beneath the volcano. The prevalence of explosive eruptions at Mount St. Helens may play a part in bringing the inclusions to the surface. The eruptive products of the cataclysmic eruption of May 18,1980 contain notably fewer inclusions than the pyroclastic flows and dome lavas erupted subsequently. This suggests that the May 18 eruption shattered conduit wall rock that was subsequently stoped into the magma and carried to the surface later in the eruption series.
Water fact sheet; evolution of sediment yield from Mount St. Helens, Washington, 1980-1993
The most enduring geological consequence of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, on May 18, 1980, and the most costly single element in the recovery effort, has been the persistent downstream sedimentation caused by erosion of the approximately 3 cubic kilometers (km 3 ) of sediment deposited on the landscape surrounding the volcano. Most of the sediment was associated with the emplacement of a 2.8 km 3 debris avalanche in the upper part of the watershed of the North Fork Toutle River, and debris flows in the channels of the South Fork Toutle River, Pine Creek, Swift Creek, and Muddy River. An additional 0.2-0.3 km 3 of volcanic material was emplaced by pyroclastic flows, blasts, and ash fall. Part of this vast quantity of volcaniclastic sediment has been subsequently eroded by runoff and streamflow. This brief report summarizes the changes in sediment yield at five locations around Mount St. Helens in the first 13 years following the May 18, 1980 eruption.
Prospects for eruption prediction in near real-time
The 'materials science' method for eruption prediction 1–3 arises from the application of a general law governing the failure of materials: Ω ⊙ −α Ω¨ − A = 0, where A and α are empirical constants, and Ω is an observable quantity such as ground deformation, seismicity or gas emission. This law leads to the idea of the 'inverse-rate' plot, in which the time of failure can be estimated by extrapolation of the curve of Ω −1 versus time to a pre-deter-mined intercept. Here we suggest that this method can be combined with real-time seismic amplitude monitoring to provide a tool for near-real-time eruption prediction, and we demonstrate how it might have been used to predict two dome-growth episodes at Mount St Helens volcano in 1985 and 1986, and two explosive eruptions at Redoubt volcano in 1989–90.
Eruptions of Mount St. Helens : Past, present, and future
Mount St. Helens, located in southwestern Washington about 50 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon, is one of several lofty volcanic peaks that dominate the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest; the range extends from Mount Garibaldi in British Columbia, Canada, to Lassen Peak in northern California. Geologists call Mount St. Helens a composite volcano (or stratovolcano), a term for steepsided, often symmetrical cones constructed of alternating layers of lava flows, ash, and other volcanic debris. Composite volcanoes tend to erupt explosively and pose considerable danger to nearby life and property. In contrast, the gently sloping shield volcanoes, such as those in Hawaii, typically erupt nonexplosively, producing fluid lavas that can flow great distances from the active vents. Although Hawaiian-type eruptions may destroy property, they rarely cause death or injury. Before 1980, snow-capped, gracefully symmetrical Mount St. Helens was known as the "Fujiyama of America." Mount St. Helens, other active Cascade volcanoes, and those of Alaska form the North American segment of the circum-Pacific "Ring of Fire," a notorious zone that produces frequent, often destructive, earthquake and volcanic activity.
Geologic maps of pyroclastic-flow and related deposits of the 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens, Washington
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Overview of the effects and influence of the activity of Mount St. Helens in the 1980s
The cataclysmic eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, made an enormous impact on the science of volcanology. The eruption was in daylight in clear weather, which provided an unprecedented opportunity to investigate relations among observations, products, and effects of a large explosive eruption. The May 18 events and subsequent activity stimulated perhaps the most intensive studies ever made at an active composite volcano, leading to greatly enhanced insights into both geologic and hydrologic processes operative in explosive volcanism. The eruption also disrupted much of the social and economic fabric of the Pacific Northwest. Volcanologists were called upon to explain the activity, in layman's terms, to government and corporate officials, the news media, schools, and the public at large. People eventually learned to live with the volcano and its uncertainties, and volcanologists better learned their role in helping society deal with a major natural disaster. Difficulties encountered at volcanic crises elsewhere in the world in the 1980s demonstrate that these are hard lessons. In future years, a paramount challenge for scientists will be to help society apply what has been learned at Mount St. Helens to crises both nearby and far away.
Summer production of coho salmon stocked in Mount St. Helens streams 3-6 years after the 1980 eruption
We monitored habitat use and summer production of stocked underyearling coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch from 1983 to 1986 in three streams affected by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington. Two streams were in the blast area and one was on a volcanic mudflow terrace, Midsummer water temperatures frequently exceeded presumed stressful thresholds and occasionally surpassed the incipient lethal limit. Temperatures at the study sites (up to 29.5°C) may have been the highest ever recorded in small streams in western Washington. In addition, there was relatively little submerged cover and limited pool habitat. Despite the severe conditions created by the eruption, production rates of stocked coho salmon at all sites ranged from 15.1 to 143.8 mg/m 2 ·d (2.3–21.6 g/m 2 over an average 150‐d summer period) and were equal to or greater than those measured in other streams of comparable size in the region. Coho salmon production in the streams was more strongly influenced by population biomass and density than by average individual growth rate. Production was also influenced by timing and average weight at stocking; larger fish stocked later in the summer had higher survival than smaller fish stocked earlier. Apparent summer mortality (true mortality plus emigration) may have been influenced by the presence of other salmonids. Coho salmon density at the end of summer was consistently lowest in the mudflow stream, the only site to have a large population of steelhead (anadromous rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss , formerly Salmo gairdneri ). We suspected that an abundance of both terrestrial and aquatic food was partly responsible for the high summer production of stocked coho salmon in what was an otherwise hostile environment.
Post-eruption changes in channel geometry of streams in the Toutle River drainage basin, 1983-85, Mount St. Helens, Washington
The May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens generated a debris avalanche, lateral blast, lahars and tephra deposits that altered mainstream and tributary channels within the Toutle River drainage basin. Channel cross sections were monumented and surveyed on the North Fork Toutle River and its tributaries, South Fork Toutle River, Green River, and Toutle River in 1980 and 1981. These streams drain the north and west flanks of the volcano. The network of channel cross sections has been resurveyed annually. Selected cross sections were surveyed more frequently following periods of higher flow. The repetitive cross-section surveys provide measurements of hank erosion or accretion and of channel erosion or aggradation. These data can be used to determine erosion rates, and to identify sources and storage sites of sediment in sediment budget computations. This report presents channel cross-section profiles constructed from the survey data collected during water years 1983-85.
Effects of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens on the limnological characteristics of selected lakes in western Washington
The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens provided the opportunity to study its effect on the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of lakes near the volcano, and to describe two newly created lakes. Concentrations of dissolved solids and organic carbon, measured in June 1980, had increased from 2 to 30 times those observed in the 1970 's in Spirit, St. Helens, and Venus Lakes. Water in the lakes was altered from preeruption calcium-bicarbonate types to calcium-sulfate, calcium sulfate-chloride, or lake surface, as in St. Helens Lake; transparency in Venus Lake had improved to a depth of 24 ft by 1982. Spirit Lake was anoxic into fall 1980, but had reaerated to 5.2 mg/L of dissolved oxygen by May 1981. Phytoplankton communities in existing lakes in the blast zone in 1980 were primarily green and bluegreen algae; diatoms were sparse until summer 1982. Small numbers of zooplankton in Spirit, St. Helens, and Venus Lakes, compared to numbers in Walupt and Fawn Lakes, may indicate some post-eruption mortality. Rotifers were absent from lakes in the blast zone, but by 1981 were observed in all the lakes. The recovery of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the lakes will depend on stabilization of the surrounding environment and biological processes within each lake. Excluding Spirit Lake, it is estimated that St. Helens Lake would be the slowest to recover and Venus Lake the fastest.
Chemistry of ash and leachates from the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington
No abstract available.