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R. T. Holcomb

Publications and source records attributed to R. T. Holcomb.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2012

Prodigious submarine landslides on the Hawaiian Ridge

The extensive area covered by major submarine mass wasting deposits on or near the Hawaiian Ridge has been delimited by systematic mapping of the Hawaiian exclusive economic zone using the side‐looking sonar system GLORIA. These surveys show that slumps and debris avalanche deposits are exposed over about 100,000 km 2 of the ridge and adjacent seafloor from Kauai to Hawaii, covering an area more than 5 times the land area of the islands. Some of the individual debris avalanches are more than 200 km long and about 5000 km 3 in volume, ranking them among the largest on Earth. The slope failures that produce these deposits begin early in the history of individual volcanoes when they are small submarine seamounts, culminate near the end of subaerial shield building, and apparently continue long after dormancy. Consequently, landslide debris is an important element in the internal structure of the volcanoes. The dynamic behavior of the volcanoes can be modulated by slope failure, and the structural features of the landslides are related to elements of the volcanoes including rift zones and fault systems. The landslides are of two general types, slumps and debris avalanches. The slumps are slow moving, wide (up to 110 km), and thick (about 10 km) with transverse blocky ridges and steep toes. The debris avalanches are fast moving, long (up to 230 km) compared to width, and thinner (0.05–2 km); they commonly have a well‐defined amphitheater at their head and hummocky terrain in the lower part. Oceanic disturbance caused by rapid emplacement of debris avalanches may have produced high‐level wave deposits (such as the 365‐m elevation Hulopoe Gravel on Lanai) that are found on several islands. Most present‐day submarine canyons were originally carved subaerially in the upper parts of debris avalanches. Subaerial canyon cutting was apparently promoted by the recently steepened and stripped slopes of the landslide amphitheaters.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2000

10,000 Years of explosive eruptions of Merapi Volcano, Central Java: archaeological and modern implications

Stratigraphy and radiocarbon dating of pyroclastic deposits at Merapi Volcano, Central Java, reveals ~10,000 years of explosive eruptions. Highlights include: (1) Construction of an Old Merapi stratovolcano to the height of the present cone or slightly higher. Our oldest age for an explosive eruption is 9630±60 14 C y B.P.; construction of Old Merapi certainly began earlier. (2) Collapse(s) of Old Merapi that left a somma rim high on its eastern slope and sent one or more debris avalanche(s) down its southern and western flanks. Impoundment of Kali Progo to form an early Lake Borobudur at ~3400 14 C y B.P. hints at a possible early collapse of Merapi. The latest somma-forming collapse occurred ~1900 14 C y B.P. The current cone, New Merapi, began to grow soon thereafter. (3) Several large and many small Buddhist and Hindu temples were constructed in Central Java between 732 and ~900 A.D. (roughly, 1400-1000 14 C y B.P.). Explosive Merapi eruptions occurred before, during and after temple construction. Some temples were destroyed and (or) buried soon after their construction, and we suspect that this destruction contributed to an abrupt shift of power and organized society to East Java in 928 A.D. Other temples sites, though, were occupied by "caretakers" for several centuries longer. (4) A partial collapse of New Merapi occurred <1130±50 14 C y B.P. Eruptions ~700-800 14 C y B.P. (12-14th century A.D.) deposited ash on the floors of (still-occupied?) Candi Sambisari and Candi Kedulan. We speculate but cannot prove that these eruptions were triggered by (the same?) partial collapse of New Merapi, and that the eruptions, in turn, ended "caretaker" occupation at Candi Sambisari and Candi Kedulan. A new or raised Lake Borobudur also existed during part or all of the 12-14th centuries, probably impounded by deposits from Merapi. (5) Relatively benign lava-dome extrusion and dome-collapse pyroclastic flows have dominated activity of the 20th century, but explosive eruptions much larger than any of this century have occurred many times during Merapi's history, most recently during the 19th century. Are the relatively small eruptions of the 20th century a new style of open-vent, less hazardous activity that will persist for the foreseeable future? Or, alternatively, are they merely low-level "background" activity that could be interrupted upon relatively short notice by much larger explosive eruptions? The geologic record suggests the latter, which would place several hundred thousand people at risk. We know of no reliable method to forecast when an explosive eruption will interrupt the present interval of low-level activity. This conclusion has important implications for hazard evaluation.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1994

Development of lava tubes in the light of observations at Mauna Ulu, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

During the 1969-1974 Mauna Ulu eruption on Kilauea's upper east rift zone, lava tubes were observed to develop by four principal processes: (1) flat, rooted crusts grew across streams within confined channels; (2) overflows and spatter accreted to levees to build arched roofs across streams; (3) plates of solidified crust floating downstream coalesced to form a roof; and (4) pahoehoe lobes progressively extended, fed by networks of distributaries beneath a solidified crust. Still another tube-forming process operated when pahoehoe entered the ocean; large waves would abruptly chill a crust across the entire surface of a molten stream crossing through the surf zone. These littoral lava tubes formed abruptly, in contrast to subaerial tubes, which formed gradually. All tube-forming processes were favored by low to moderate volume-rates of flow for sustained periods of time. Tubes thereby became ubiquitous within the pahoehoe flows and distributed a very large proportionof the lava that was produced during this prolonged eruption. Tubes transport lava efficiently. Once formed, the roofs of tubes insulate the active streams within, allowing the lava to retain its fluidity for a longer time than if exposed directly to ambient air temperature. Thus the flows can travel greater distances and spread over wider areas. Even though supply rates during most of 1970-1974 were moderate, ranging from 1 to 5 m3/s, large tube systems conducted lava as far as the coast, 12-13 km distant, where they fed extensive pahoehoe fields on the coastal flats. Some flows entered the sea to build lava deltas and add new land to the island. The largest and most efficient tubes developed during periods of sustained extrusion, when new lava was being supplied at nearly constant rates. Tubes can play a major role in building volcanic edifices with gentle slopes because they can deliver a substantial fraction of lava erupted at low to moderate rates to sites far down the flank of a volcano. We conclude, therefore, that the tendency of active pahoehoe flows to form lava tubes is a significant factor in producing the common shield morphology of basaltic volcanoes.

Bulletin of Volcanology↗
USGS1991

Large landslides from oceanic volcanoes

Large landslides are ubiquitous around the submarine flanks of Hawaiian volcanoes, and GLORIA has also revealed large landslides offshore from Tristan da Cunha and El Hierro. On both of the latter islands, steep flanks formerly attributed to tilting or marine erosion have been reinterpreted as landslide headwalls mantled by younger lava flows. These landslides occur in a wide range of settings and probably represent only a small sample from a large population. They may explain the large volumes of archipelagic aprons and the stellate shapes of many oceanic volcanoes. Large landslides and associated tsunamis pose hazards to many islands. -from Authors

Marine Geotechnology↗
USGS1990

Pliocene and Pleistocene alkalic flood basalts on the seafloor north of the Hawaiian islands

The North Arch volcanic field is located north of Oahu on the Hawaiian Arch, a 200-m high flexural arch formed by loading of the Hawaiian Islands. These flood basalt flows cover an area of about 25, 000 km 2 ; the nearly flat-lying sheet-like flows extend about 100 km both north and south from the axis of the flexural arch. Samples from 26 locations in the volcanic field range in composition from nephelinite to alkalic basalt. Ages estimated from stratigraphy, thickness of sediment on top of the flows, and thickness of palagonite alteration rinds on the recovered lavas, range from about 0.75–0.9 Ma for the youngest lavas to somewhat older than 2.7 Ma for the oldest lavas. Most of the flow field consists of extensive sheetflows of dense basanite and alkalic basalt. Small hills consisting of pillow basalt and hyaloclastite of mainly nephelinite and alkalic basalt occur within the flow field but were not the source vents for the extensive flows. Many of the vent lavas are highly vesicular, apparently because of degassing of CO 2 . The lavas are geochemically similar to the rejuvenated-stage lavas of the Koloa and Honolulu Volcanics and were generated by partial melting of sources similar to those of the Koloa Volcanics. Prior to eruption, these magmas may have accumulated at or near the base of the lithosphere in a structural trap created by upbowing of the lithosphere.

Hawaii↗
USGS1987

Dive report: Alvin dive #1461; September 28, 1984 (JD 272); Plume site, southern Juan de Fuca Rift

Dive 1461 was the seventh of nine dives during a sea-going field program to investigate hydrothermal activity along the crest of the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge. During this dive on the Plume site, ALVIN crossed the western floor of the axial valley and traversed about 300 ra of the rim and floor of the narrow inner cleft. Hydrotherraal vents were observed only along the east wall of the inner cleft, and venting was concentrated in a single area less than 50 ra long near the base of that wall. The principal vents extended up the wall from the floor of the cleft to a height of about 10 m. Deposits of hydrothermal minerals occur as incrustations and chimneys on the floor and wall of the cleft. Associated with the hydrothermal vents is a community of vent organisms dominated by vestimentiferan worms and fluffy materials of uncertain nature. The inner cleft at the Plume Site is about 60 ra wide and 15-30 m deep. It has a simple U-shaped profile north of the active vent area, but to the south it contains at least one high, narrow ridge which converges with the east wall of the cleft at the site of hydrothermal venting. This area was also the site of a volcanic eruption, which occurred sometime earlier. Like many similar but subaerial examples, this eruption was episodic, but the cause of its interruptions is not yet known. The present hydrotherraal activity appears to be a residual effect of that last eruption, and the rate of hydrothermal deposition will probably decline in this area until another eruption occurs.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1985

Forecasts and predictions of eruptive activity at Mount St. Helens, USA: 1975-1984

Public statements about volcanic activity at Mount St. Helens include factual statements, forecasts, and predictions. A factual statement describes current conditions but does not anticipate future events. A forecast is a comparatively imprecise statement of the time, place, and nature of expected activity. A prediction is a comparatively precise statement of the time, place, and ideally, the nature and size of impending activity. A prediction usually covers a shorter time period than a forecast and is generally based dominantly on interpretations and measurements of ongoing processes and secondarily on a projection of past history. The three types of statements grade from one to another, and distinctions are sometimes arbitrary. Forecasts and predictions at Mount St. Helens became increasingly precise from 1975 to 1982. Stratigraphic studies led to a long-range forecast in 1975 of renewed eruptive activity at Mount St. Helens, possibly before the end of the century. On the basis of seismic, geodetic and geologic data, general forecasts for a landslide and eruption were issued in April 1980, before the catastrophic blast and landslide on 18 May 1980. All extrusions except two from June 1980 to the end of 1984 were predicted on the basis of integrated geophysical, geochemical, and geologic monitoring. The two extrusions that were not predicted were preceded by explosions that removed a substantial part of the dome, reducing confining pressure and essentially short-circuiting the normal precursors.

Journal of Geodynamics↗
USGS1983

Eruption-triggered avalanche, flood, and lahar at Mount St. Helens - Effects of winter snowpack

An explosive eruption of Mount St. Helens on 19 March 1982 had substantial impact beyond the vent because hot eruption products interacted with a thick snowpack. A blast of hot pumice, dome rocks, and gas dislodged crater-wall snow that avalanched through the crater and down the north flank. Snow in the crater swiftly melted to form a transient lake, from which a destructive flood and lahar swept down the north flank and the North Fork Toutle River.

Washington↗