Perennial Snow and Ice Volumes on Iliamna Volcano, Alaska, Estimated with Ice Radar and Volume Modeling
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Perennial Snow and Ice Volumes on Iliamna Volcano, Alaska, Estimated With Ice Radar and Volume Modeling Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4176 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover: View of Iliamna Volcano from the Johnson River Valley. Perennial Snow and Ice Volumes on Iliamna Volcano, Alaska, Estimated with Ice Radar and Volume Modeling By Dennis C. Trabant U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4176 Anchorage, Alaska 1999 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Charles G. Groat, Director Use of trade names in this report is for identification purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. For additional information: Copies of this report may be purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Information Services 4230 University Drive, Suite 201 Box 25286 Anchorage, AK 99508-4664 Denver, CO 80225-0286 http://ak.water.usgs.gov CONTENTS Abstract .............................................................................. 1 Introduction.............................................................................. 1 Location and Description .............................................................. 1 Eruption History ..................................................................... 1 Purpose and Scope ................................................................... 2 Glacier-Volume Model..................................................................... 3 Field Observations, Data Analysis, and Measurement Errors ....................................... 7 Glacier Volumes on Iliamna Volcano.......................................................... 9 Glacio-Volcanic Hazards ................................................................... 9 Conclusions.............................................................................. 11 References Cited.......................................................................... 11 FIGURES 1. Map showing location of Iliamna Volcano and other volcanoes near Cook Inlet, Alaska.......... 2 2. Topographic map of Iliamna Volcano with the edges of Tuxedni, Lateral, Red, and Umbrella Glaciers emphasized ............................................................... 4 3. Map showing cross-section locations of the four largest glaciers on Iliamna Volcano ............ 5 4. Map showing Tuxedni, Lateral, Red, and Umbrella Glacier edges as shown on the 1985 revision of the 1957 U.S. Geological Survey map ........................................ 6 TABLES 1. Glacier thickness measurement locations, transmitter/receiver separations, reflected signal delay times, qualitative signal quality, and measured and simulated glacier thickness ............ 8 2. Glacier volumes and areas on Iliamna Volcano .......................................... 9 CONVERSION FACTORS AND VERTICAL DATUM ____________________Multiply_______by_________To obtain_________________ meter (m) 3.281 foot kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile square meter (m2) 10.76 square foot cubic kilometer (km3) 0.2399 cubic mile meter per microsecond (m/(is) 3.281 foot per microsecond Sea level: In this report, "sea level" refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 A geodetic datum derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level nets of the United States and Canada, formerly called Sea Level Datum of 1929. Perennial Snow and Ice Volumes on Iliamna Volcano, Alaska, Estimated With Ice Radar and Volume Modeling by Dennis C. Trabant ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION The volume of four of the largest glaciers Location and Description on Iliamna Volcano was estimated using the volume model developed for evaluating glacier Iliamna Volcano is near the northeastern volumes on Redoubt Volcano. The volume end of the Aleutian volcanic arc, on the west model is controlled by simulated valley cross side of Cook Inlet, about 225 km southwest of sections that are constructed by fitting third- order polynomials to the shape of the valley Anchorage, Alaska (fig. 1) in Lake Clark walls exposed above the glacier surface. Criti National Park. The volcano is a broad, roughly cal cross sections were field checked by sound cone-shaped composite stratovolcano with a ing with ice-penetrating radar during July summit altitude of 3,053 m. Most of the vol 1998. The estimated volumes of perennial cano is covered by perennial snow and glacier snow and glacier ice for Tuxedni, Lateral, Red, ice. The broad base, below about 1,000-m alti and Umbrella Glaciers are 8.6, 0.85, 4.7, and tude, is deeply dissected by glacier erosion, 0.60 cubic kilometers respectively. The esti which has produced steep, 600-m-high head- mated volume of snow and ice on the upper walls along the southern and eastern flanks 1,000 meters of the volcano is about 1 cubic extending nearly to the summit. Since the last kilometer. The volume estimates are thought to eruption, large debris avalanches have begun as have errors of no more than ±25 percent. The mass failures of the highly altered rock on the volumes estimated for the four largest glaciers steep upper 2,000 m of the massif. A snow, ice, are more than three times the total volume of and rock avalanche in 1994 was recorded on snow and ice on Mount Rainier and about 82 regional seismometers as far away as 150 km. times the total volume of snow and ice that was Runout deposits extended to 10 km and were on Mount St. Helens before its May 18, 1980 primarily snow and ice with minor amounts of eruption. Volcanoes mantled by substantial rock. snow and ice covers have produced the largest and most catastrophic lahars and floods. There fore, it is prudent to expect that, during an erup Eruption History tive episode, flooding and lahars threaten all of the drainages heading on Iliamna Volcano. On Iliamna Volcano has had no well-docu the other hand, debris avalanches can happen mented eruptions during the last 200 years. any time. Fortunately, their influence is gener However, active fumaroles near the summit ally limited to the area within a few kilometers inspire a continuing series of eruption reports of the summit. dating back to 1867 (Coats, 1950; Miller and Introduction 152* 150° Talkeetna -62° Palmer L. Lake Clark r | National Park ~~1 Redoubt Volcano ^ ' Iliamna 60 ( Volcan J N -s^ Mount Douglas Fourpeaked Mountain Figure 1. Location of Iliamna Volcano and other volcanoes near Cook Inlet, Alaska. others, 1998). The most recent eruption has Purpose and Scope been dated at about 300 years BP (Beget, 1996). However, two strong seismic swarms The purpose of this study was to evaluate recorded beneath the volcano during 1996 the volume of the major glaciers on Iliamna (Neal and McGimsey, 1997) indicate that Volcano for use in assessments of the hazards Iliamna Volcano is dormant, not extinct. associated with pyroclastic eruptions. The four largest glaciers on Iliamna were chosen for 2 Perennial Snow and Ice Volumes on Iliamna Volcano, Alaska, Estimated With Ice Radar and Volume Modeling analysis. They are Tuxedni, Lateral, Red, and created by U.S. Geological Survey, EROS Data Umbrella Glaciers (fig. 2). These glaciers are Center, Anchorage from 1:250,000 scale maps the sources of the largest drainages on the based on aerial photography spanning from north, east, and southwest sides of the volcano. 1950 to 1966. Glacier termini on these maps The volume and area of each glacier were sub were updated from 1977 and 1980 aerial pho divided at about the 1,000-m surface altitude tography. contour (fig. 2) because the snow and ice above and below about 1,000-m altitude constitute The beds of the glaciers were simulated different hazards. The snow and ice on the steep by fitting third-order polynomial curves to the upper cone of Iliamna Volcano above 1,000 m parts of the valley walls that are exposed above may be completely removed by even a rela the glaciers (fig. 3). Cross sections were located tively small eruption. Below 1,000-m altitude, where the greatest quantity of ice was expected the glaciers will probably lose little mass dur and where the slopes of the valley walls were ing an eruption similar to the glaciers that were continuous and paired across the glacier, thus measured during the 1989-90 eruptions of producing well-controlled simulations. The Redoubt Volcano (Trabant, 1997; Trabant and density of cross sections was guided by the others, 1994). Only a plinian eruption is likely experience gained during the analysis of the ice to disrupt all of the glacier ice on Iliamna Vol volumes on Redoubt Volcano (Trabant, 1997). cano. No previous evaluation has been made of The glacier thicknesses that were predicted by the surface area or volume distribution of the simulated cross sections were checked in perennial snow and glacier ice on Iliamna Vol the field before the ice-volume modeling phase cano. of the analysis. The bottom surfaces of the glaciers were GLACIER-VOLUME MODEL modeled by incorporating the measured glacier thicknesses (fig. 4) in the cross-section simula Glacier volumes were determined by vol tions and re-fitting the third-degree polynomial ume modeling and were field checked by gla curves. The sub-glacial parts of the new cross cier-thickness measurements at 11 locations. sections were plotted in a three-dimensional The volume-modeling scheme was developed volume model and linear interpolations were for an assessment of the ice volume on Redoubt made between the cross-section nodes (fig. 3). Volcano (fig. 1) (Trabant, 1997). The model Non-linear