Evan E. Thoms | USGS Science

USGS2014

1964 Great Alaska Earthquake: a photographic tour of Anchorage, Alaska

On March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m., a magnitude 9.2 earthquake, the largest recorded earthquake in U.S. history, struck southcentral Alaska (fig. 1). The Great Alaska Earthquake (also known as the Good Friday Earthquake) occurred at a pivotal time in the history of earth science, and helped lead to the acceptance of plate tectonic theory (Cox, 1973; Brocher and others, 2014). All large subduction zone earthquakes are understood through insights learned from the 1964 event, and observations and interpretations of the earthquake have influenced the design of infrastructure and seismic monitoring systems now in place. The earthquake caused extensive damage across the State, and triggered local tsunamis that devastated the Alaskan towns of Whittier, Valdez, and Seward. In Anchorage, the main cause of damage was ground shaking, which lasted approximately 4.5 minutes. Many buildings could not withstand this motion and were damaged or collapsed even though their foundations remained intact. More significantly, ground shaking triggered a number of landslides along coastal and drainage valley bluffs underlain by the Bootlegger Cove Formation, a composite of facies containing variably mixed gravel, sand, silt, and clay which were deposited over much of upper Cook Inlet during the Late Pleistocene (Ulery and others, 1983). Cyclic (or strain) softening of the more sensitive clay facies caused overlying blocks of soil to slide sideways along surfaces dipping by only a few degrees. This guide is the document version of an interactive web map that was created as part of the commemoration events for the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake. It is accessible at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Alaska Science Center website: http://alaska.usgs.gov/announcements/news/1964Earthquake/ . The website features a map display with suggested tour stops in Anchorage, historical photographs taken shortly after the earthquake, repeat photography of selected sites, scanned documents, and small-scale maps, as well as links to slideshows of additional photographs and Google Street View™ scenes. Buildings in Anchorage that were severely damaged, sites of major landslides, and locations of post-earthquake engineering responses are highlighted. The web map can be used online as a virtual tour or in a physical self-guided tour using a web-enabled Global Positioning System (GPS) device. This publication serves the purpose of committing most of the content of the web map to a single distributable document. As such, some of the content differs from the online version.

Alaska↗

USGS2010

Timing, distribution, and volume of proximal products of the 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano: Chapter 8 in The 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska

During and after the 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano, we compiled a geologic map and chronology of new lava and flowage deposits using observational flights, oblique and aerial photography, infrared imaging, satellite data, and field investigations. After approximately 6 months of precursory activity, the explosive phase of the eruption commenced with two explosions on January 11, 2006 (events 1 and 2) that produced snow-rich avalanches; little or no juvenile magma was erupted. Seismicity suggests that a small lava dome may have extruded on January 12, but, if so, it was subsequently destroyed. A series of six explosions on January 13–14 (events 3–8) produced widespread but thin (0–30 cm) pyroclastic-current deposits on the upper flanks above 300 m altitude and lobate, 0.5- to 2-m-thick pyroclastic flows that traveled down most flanks of the volcano. Between January 14 and 17, a smooth lava lobe formed in the east half of the roughly 400-m-wide summit crater and was only partially covered by later deposits. An explosion on January 17 (event 9) opened a crater in the new lava dome and produced a ballistic fall deposit and pyroclastic flow on the southwest flank. During the interval from January 17 to 27, a rubbly lava dome effused. On January 27, explosive event 10 generated a pyroclastic current that left a deposit, rich in dense clasts, on the north-northwest flank. Immediately following the pyroclastic current, a voluminous 4.7-km-long pyroclastic flow swept down the north flank. Three more explosive blasts on January 27 and 28 produced unknown but likely minor on-island deposits. The cumulative volume of erupted material from the explosive phase, including domes, flows, and fall deposits (Wallace and others, this volume), was 30×10 6 m 3 dense-rock equivalent (DRE). The continuous phase of the eruption (January 28 through February 10) began with a 4-day period of nearly continuous block-and-ash flows, which deposited small individual flow lobes that cumulatively formed fans to the north and northeast of the summit. A single larger pyroclastic flow on January 30 formed a braided deposit on the northwest flank. Roughly 9×10 6 m 3 (DRE) of magma erupted during this period. Around February 2, the magma flux rate waned and a northward lava flow effused and reached a length of approximately 900 m by February 10. Approximately 11×10 6 m 3 (DRE) of magma erupted during the second half of the continuous phase. After a 23-day hiatus, lava effusion recommenced in early March (the effusive phase) and was accompanied by frequent (but volumetrically minor) block-and-ash flows. From March 7 to 14, extrusion increased markedly; two blocky lava-flow lobes, each tens of meters thick, moved down the north and northeast flank of the volcano; and a new summit lava dome grew to be ~70 m taller than the pre-2006 summit. This phase produced 26×10 6 m 3 (DRE) of lava. Active effusion had ceased about March 16, but, in April and May, three gravitational collapses from the west margin of the north lava flow produced additional block-and-ash flows. The basic sequence of the 2006 eruption closely matches that of eruptions in 1976 and 1986.

Alaska↗