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Use of thermal infrared imaging for monitoring renewed dome growth at Mount St. Helens, 2004

A helicopter-mounted thermal imaging radiometer documented the explosive vent-clearing and effusive phases of the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 2004. A gyrostabilized gimbal controlled by a crew member housed the radiometer and an optical video camera attached to the nose of the helicopter. Since October 1, 2004, the system has provided thermal and video observations of dome growth. Flights c
Authors
David J. Schneider, James W. Vallance, Rick L. Wessels, Matthew Logan, Michael S. Ramsey

Growth of the 2004-2006 lava-dome complex at Mount St. Helens, Washington

The eruption of Mount St. Helens from 2004 to 2006 has comprised extrusion of solid lava spines whose growth patterns were shaped by a large space south of the 1980-86 dome that was occupied by the unique combination of glacial ice, concealed subglacial slopes, the crater walls, and relics of previous spines. The eruption beginning September 2004 can be divided (as of April 2006) into five p
Authors
James W. Vallance, David J. Schneider, Steve P. Schilling

Magmatic conditions and processes in the storage zone of the 2004-2006 Mount St. Helens dacite

The 2004-6 eruption of Mount St. Helens produced dacite that contains 40-50 volume percent phenocrysts of plagioclase, amphibole, low-Ca pyroxene, magnetite, and ilmenite in a groundmass that is nearly totally crystallized. Phenocrysts of amphibole and pyroxene range from 3 to 5 mm long and are cyclically zoned, with one to three alternations of Fe- and Al-rich to Mg- and Si-rich layers showi
Authors
Malcom J. Rutherford, Joseph D. Devine

Use of digital aerophotogrammetry to determine rates of lava dome growth, Mount St. Helens, Washington, 2004-2005

Beginning in October 2004, a new lava dome grew on the glacier-covered crater floor of Mount St. Helens, Washington, immediately south of the 1980s lava dome. Seventeen digital elevation models (DEMs) constructed from vertical aerial photographs have provided quantitative estimates of extruded lava volumes and total volume change. To extract volumetric changes and calculate volumetric extrus
Authors
Steve P. Schilling, Ren A. Thompson, James A. Messerich, Eugene Y. Iwatsubo

Seismic-monitoring changes and the remote deployment of seismic stations (seismic spider) at Mount St. Helens, 2004-2005

The instruments in place at the start of volcanic unrest at Mount St. Helens in 2004 were inadequate to record the large earthquakes and monitor the explosions that occurred as the eruption developed. To remedy this, new instruments were deployed and the short-period seismic network was modified. A new method of establishing near-field seismic monitoring was developed, using remote deploymen
Authors
Patrick J. McChesney, Marvin R. Couchman, Seth C. Moran, Andrew B. Lockhart, Kelly J. Swinford, Richard G. LaHusen

Seismicity and infrasound associated with explosions at Mount St. Helens, 2004-2005

Six explosions occurred during 2004-5 in association with renewed eruptive activity at Mount St. Helens, Washington. Of four explosions in October 2004, none had precursory seismicity and two had explosion-related seismic tremor that marked the end of the explosion. However, seismicity levels dropped following each of the October explosions, providing the primary instrumental means for explos
Authors
Seth C. Moran, Patrick J. McChesney, Andrew B. Lockhart

Petrology of the 2004-2006 Mount St. Helens lava dome -- implications for magmatic plumbing and eruption triggering

Eighteen years after dome-forming eruptions ended in 1986, and with little warning, Mount St. Helens began to erupt again in October 2004. During the ensuing two years, the volcano extruded more than 80×106 m3 of gas-poor, crystal-rich dacite lava. The 2004-6 dacite is remarkably uniform in bulk-rock composition and, at 65 percent SiO2 , among the richest in silica and most depleted in inc
Authors
John S. Pallister, Carl R. Thornber, Katharine V. Cashman, Michael A. Clynne, Heather Lowers, Charlie Mandeville, Isabelle K. Brownfield, Gregory P. Meeker

Identification and evolution of the juvenile component in 2004-2005 Mount St. Helens ash

Petrologic studies of volcanic ash are commonly used to identify juvenile volcanic material and observe changes in the composition and style of volcanic eruptions. During the 2004-5 eruption of Mount St. Helens, recognition of the juvenile component in ash produced by early phreatic explosions was complicated by the presence of a substantial proportion of 1980-86 lava-dome fragments and glass
Authors
Michael C. Rowe, Carl R. Thornber, Adam J. R. Kent

Instrumentation in remote and dangerous settings; examples using data from GPS “spider” deployments during the 2004-2005 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington

Self-contained, single-frequency GPS instruments fitted on lightweight stations suitable for helicopter-sling payloads became a critical part of volcano monitoring during the September 2004 unrest and subsequent eruption of Mount St. Helens. Known as “spiders” because of their spindly frames, the stations were slung into the crater 29 times from September 2004 to December 2005 when conditions
Authors
Richard G. LaHusen, Kelly J. Swinford, Matthew Logan, Michael Lisowski

Analysis of GPS-measured deformation associated with the 2004-2006 dome-building eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington

Detecting far-field deformation at Mount St. Helens since the crater-forming landslide and blast in 1980 has been difficult despite frequent volcanic activity and improved monitoring techniques. Between 1982 and 1991, the systematic extension of line lengths in a regional GPS trilateration network is consistent with recharge of a deep magma chamber during that interval. The rate of extension,
Authors
Michael Lisowski, Daniel Dzurisin, Roger P. Denlinger, Eugene Y. Iwatsubo

The Pleistocene eruptive history of Mount St. Helens, Washington, from 300,000 to 12,800 years before present

We report the results of recent geologic mapping and radiometric dating that add considerable detail to our understanding of the eruptive history of Mount St. Helens before its latest, or Spirit Lake, stage. New data and reevaluation of earlier work indicate at least two eruptive periods during the earliest, or Ape Canyon, stage, possibly separated by a long hiatus: one about 300-250 ka and a seco
Authors
Michael A. Clynne, Andrew T. Calvert, Edward W. Wolfe, Russell C. Evarts, Robert J. Fleck, Marvin A. Lanphere

Book review of Avalanche Dynamics by Shiva P. Pudasaini and Kolumban Hutter. Springer: Berlin-Heidelberg, 2007. 602 pages, 225 figures, 15 tables

This highly specialized book is interesting not only because of its important subject matter but also because of its egocentric perspective. The majority of the book provides a nearly exhaustive retrospective of the authors’ many contributions to the shallow‐flow theory of granular avalanches, and it also critiques contributions by others. Indeed, some readers (including this reviewer) might be di
Authors
Richard M. Iverson