Publications
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Avian mortality associated with a volcanic gas seep at Kiska Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
We identified natural pits associated with avian mortality at the base of Kiska Volcano in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska in 2007. Living, moribund, and dead birds were regularly found at low spots in a canyon between two lava flows during 2001–2006, but the phenomenon was attributed to natural trapping and starvation of fledgling seabirds (mostly Least Auklets, Aethia pusilla) at a colony s
Authors
Alexander L. Bond, William C. Evans, Ian L. Jones
Sulfur dioxide emission rates from Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, 2007-2010
Kīlauea Volcano has one of the longest running volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rate databases on record. Sulfur dioxide emission rates from Kīlauea Volcano were first measured by Stoiber and Malone (1975) and have been measured on a regular basis since 1979 (Elias and Sutton, 2007, and references within). Compilations of SO2 emission-rate and wind-vector data from 1979 through 2006 are avai
Authors
T. Elias, A. J. Sutton
Monitoring glacier surface seismicity in time and space using Rayleigh waves
Sliding glaciers and brittle ice failure generate seismic body and surface wave energy characteristic to the source mechanism. Here we analyze continuous seismic recordings from an array of nine short-period passive seismometers located on Bench Glacier, Alaska (USA) (61.033°N, 145.687°W). We focus on the arrival-time and amplitude information of the dominant Rayleigh wave phase. Over a 46-hour pe
Authors
T. D. Mikesell, K. Van Wijk, Matthew M. Haney, J.H. Bradford, Hans P. Marshall, J. T. Harper
Trace-element analyses of core samples from the 1967-1988 drillings of Kilauea Iki lava lake, Hawaii
This report presents previously unpublished analyses of trace elements in drill core samples from Kilauea Iki lava lake and from the 1959 eruption that fed the lava lake. The two types of data presented were obtained by instrumental neutron-activation analysis (INAA) and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis (EDXRF). The analyses were performed in U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) laboratories
Authors
Rosalind Tuthill Helz
History of surface displacements at the Yellowstone Caldera, Wyoming, from leveling surveys and InSAR observations, 1923-2008
Modern geodetic studies of the Yellowstone caldera, Wyoming, and its extraordinary tectonic, magmatic, and hydrothermal systems date from an initial leveling survey done throughout Yellowstone National Park in 1923 by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. A repeat park-wide survey by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the University of Utah during 1975-77 revealed that the central part of the cal
Authors
Daniel Dzurisin, Charles W. Wicks, Michael P. Poland
Tidal triggering of low frequency earthquakes near Parkfield, California: Implications for fault mechanics within the brittle-ductile transition
Studies of nonvolcanic tremor (NVT) have established the significant impact of small stress perturbations on NVT generation. Here we analyze the influence of the solid earth and ocean tides on a catalog of ∼550,000 low frequency earthquakes (LFEs) distributed along a 150 km section of the San Andreas Fault centered at Parkfield. LFE families are identified in the NVT data on the basis of waveform
Authors
A.M. Thomas, R. Burgmann, David R. Shelly, Nicholas M. Beeler, M.L. Rudolph
Preliminary observations of voluminous ice-rich and water-rich lahars generated during the 2009 eruption of Redoubt, Alaska
Redoubt Volcano in south-central Alaska began erupting on March 15, 2009, and by April 4, 2009, had produced at least 20 explosive events that generated plumes of ash and lahars. The 3,108-m high, snow- and -ice-clad stratovolcano has an ice-filled summit crater that is breached to the north. The volcano supports about 4 km3 of ice and snow and about 1 km3 of this makes up the Drift glacier on the
Authors
Christopher F. Waythomas, Thomas C. Pierson, Jon J. Major, William E. Scott
Preliminary assessment of channel stability and bed-material transport in the Coquille River basin, southwestern Oregon
This report summarizes a preliminary study of bed-material transport, vertical and lateral channel changes, and existing datasets for the Coquille River basin, which encompasses 2,745 km2 (square kilometers) of the southwestern Oregon coast. This study, conducted to inform permitting decisions regarding instream gravel mining, revealed that:The 115.4-km-long study area on the South Fork and mainst
Authors
Krista L. Jones, Jim E. O'Connor, Mackenzie K. Keith, Joseph F. Mangano, J. Rose Wallick
Database for volcanic processes and geology of Augustine Volcano, Alaska
Augustine Island (volcano) in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska, has erupted repeatedly in late-Holocene and historical times. Eruptions typically beget high-energy volcanic processes. Most notable are bouldery debris avalanches containing immense angular clasts shed from summit domes. Coarse deposits of these avalanches form much of Augustine's lower flanks. This geologic map at 1:25,000 scale depicts the
Authors
Jacqueline McIntire, David W. Ramsey, Evan Thoms, Richard B. Waitt, James E. Beget
Deep magmatic degassing versus scrubbing: Elevated CO2 emissions and C/S in the lead-up to the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska
We report CO2, SO2, and H2S emission rates and C/S ratios during the five months leading up to the 2009 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska. CO2emission rates up to 9018 t/d and C/S ratios ≥30 measured in the months prior to the eruption were critical for fully informed forecasting efforts. Observations of ice-melt rates, meltwater discharge, and water chemistry suggest that surface waters represe
Authors
Cynthia A. Werner, William C. Evans, Peter J. Kelly, Robert G. McGimsey, Melissa Pfeffer, Michael P. Doukas, Christina A. Neal
Grain-size segregation and levee formation in geophysical mass flows
Data from large-scale debris-flow experiments are combined with modeling of particle-size segregation to explain the formation of lateral levees enriched in coarse grains. The experimental flows consisted of 10 m3 of water-saturated sand and gravel, which traveled ∼80 m down a steeply inclined flume before forming an elongated leveed deposit 10 m long on a nearly horizontal runout surface. We meas
Authors
C.G. Johnson, B. P. Kokelaar, Richard M. Iverson, M. Logan, R.G. LaHusen, J.M.N.T. Gray
Real-time monitoring of landslides
Landslides cause fatalities and property damage throughout the Nation. To reduce the impact from hazardous landslides, the U.S. Geological Survey develops and uses real-time and near-real-time landslide monitoring systems. Monitoring can detect when hillslopes are primed for sliding and can provide early indications of rapid, catastrophic movement. Continuous information from up-to-the-minute or r
Authors
Mark E. Reid, Richard G. LaHusen, Rex L. Baum, Jason W. Kean, William H. Schulz, Lynn M. Highland