ABSTRACT

Brewton, Asani D., Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC, USA
Mitchell, Lloyd W. Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC, USA

This research project explores the relationship between debris flow activity and the potential for steam bursts, small to moderate ash eruptions, or cataclysmic eruptions of volcanoes. Research will be conducted using data from Mt. St. Helens in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State. Mt. Saint Helens gained notoriety in 1980 for its cataclysmic eruption on March 27 with the major collapse of the dome. Since the major eruption, the mountain had remained relatively quiet but there has in the last year been an increase in activity and dome building. Recent historical data gathered from Mt. Saint Helens on debris flows indicate that a relationship is possible. In 1994 the United States Geological Survey placed debris flow monitoring systems at several locations near the crater of Mt. St. Helens to further study the potential use of debris flow monitoring data as predictive tool. The data is then collected from these monitoring systems by the Cascades Volcanic Observatory utilizing electronic collection and storage units under the ASCI format. The project will analyze the collected data from 1994 through 2004 via standardized statistical methods. Results of the data analysis will indicate if there is/is not a correlation between debris flow and steam bursts, small to moderate ash eruptions, or cataclysmic volcanic eruptions.