Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-7drxs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-19T06:36:06.113Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mid-Holocene Glacier Peak and Mount St. Helens We Tephra Layers Detected in Lake Sediments from Southern British Columbia Using High-Resolution Techniques

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Douglas J. Hallett ,
Rolf W. Mathewes  and
Franklin F. Foit Jr.
Douglas J. Hallett
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences and the Institute for Quaternary Research, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada, E-mail: dhallett@sfu.ca
Rolf W. Mathewes
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences and the Institute for Quaternary Research, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
Franklin F. Foit Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, 99164
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A Glacier Peak tephra has been found in the mid-Holocene sediment records of two subalpine lakes, Frozen Lake in the southern Coast Mountains and Mount Barr Cirque Lake in the North Cascade Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. The age–depth relationship for each lake suggests an age of 5000–5080 14C yr B.P. (5500–5900 cal yr B.P.) for the eruption which closely approximates the estimated age (5100–5500 14C yr B.P.) of the Dusty Creek tephra assemblage found near Glacier Peak. The tephra layer, which has not been reported previously from distal sites and was not readily visible in the sediments, was located using contiguous sampling, magnetic susceptibility measurements, wet sieving, and light microscopy. The composition of the glass in pumice fragments was determined by electron microprobe analysis and used to confirm the probable source of this mid-Holocene tephra layer. Using the same methods, the A.D. 1481–1482 Mount St. Helens We tephra layer was identified in sediments from Dog Lake in southeastern British Columbia, suggesting the plume drifted further north than previously thought. This high-resolution method for identifying tephra layers in lake sediments, which has worldwide application in tephrachronologic/paleoenvironmental studies, has furthered our knowledge of the timing and airfall distribution of Holocene tephras from two important Cascade volcanoes.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , May 2001 , pp. 284 - 292
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bacon, C.R., (1983). Eruptive history of Mount Mazama and Crater Lake Caldera, Cascade Range, USA.. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 18, 57–115.Google Scholar
Beget, J.E., (1982). Recent volcanic activity at Glacier Peak.. Science, 215, 1389–1390.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beget, J.E., (1984). Tephrochronology of late Wisconsin deglaciation and Holocene glacier fluctuation near Glacier Peak, North Cascades Range, Washington.. Quaternary Research, 21, 304–316.Google Scholar
Beget, J.E., (1985). Tephrochronology of antislope scarps on an alpine ridge near Glacier Peak, Washington, U.S.A.. Arctic and Alpine Research, 17, 143–152.Google Scholar
Beget, J.E., Stihler, S.D., Stone, D.B., (1994). A 500-year-long record of tephra falls from Redoubt Volcano and other volcanoes in upper Cook Inlet, Alaska.. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 62, 55–67.Google Scholar
Borchardt, G.A., Aruscavage, P.J., Millard, H.T. Jr., (1972). Correlation of the Bishop ash, a Pleistocene marker bed, using instrumental neutron activation analysis.. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 42, 301–306.Google Scholar
Briffa, K.R., Jones, P.D., Schweingruber, F.H., Osborn, T.J., (1998). Influence of volcanic eruptions on Northern Hemisphere summer temperature over the past 600 years.. Nature, 393, 450–455.Google Scholar
Clague, J.J., Evans, S.G., Rampton, V.N., Woodsworth, G.J., (1995). Improved age estimates for the White River and Bridge River tephra, western Canada.. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 32, 1172–1179.Google Scholar
Crandell, D. R., (1987)., Deposits of pre-1980 Pyroclastic Flows and Lahars from Mt. St.. Helens Volcano, Washington. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1444.Google Scholar
Dugmore, A.J., Newton, A.J., Edwards, K.J., Larsen, G., Blackford, J.J., Cook, G.T., (1996). Long-distance marker horizons from small-scale eruptions: British tephra deposits from the AD 1510 eruption of Hekla, Iceland.. Journal of Quaternary Science, 11, 511–516.Google Scholar
Dugmore, A.J., Newton, A.J., Sugden, D.E., (1992). Geochemical stability of fine-grained silicic Holocene tephra in Iceland and Scotland.. Journal of Quaternary Science, 7, 173–183.Google Scholar
Eiriksson, J., Knudsen, K.L., Haflidason, H., Heinemeier, J., (2000). Chronology of late Holocene climatic events in the northern North Atlantic based on AMS 14C dates and tephra markers from the volcano of Hekla, Iceland.. Journal of Quaternary Science, 15, 573–580.Google Scholar
Fiacco, R.J. Jr., Palais, J.M., Germani, M.S., Zielinski, G.A., Mayewski, P.A., (1993). Characteristics and possible source of a 1479 A.D. volcanic ash layer in a Greenland ice core.. Quaternary Research, 39, 267–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foit, F.F. Jr., Mehringer, P.J. Jr., Sheppard, J.C., (1993). Age, distribution and stratigraphy of Glacier Peak tephra in eastern Washington and western Montana, United States.. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 30, 535–2552.Google Scholar
Glew, J.R., (1988). A portable extruding device for close interval sectioning of unconsolidated core samples.. Journal of Paleolimnology, 1, 235–239.Google Scholar
Haflidason, H., Eiriksson, J., Van Kreveld, S., (2000). The tephrachronology of Iceland and the North Atlantic region during the middle and late Quaternary: A review.. Journal of Quaternary Science, 15, 3–22.Google Scholar
Hallett, D. J., Hills, L. V., and Clague, J. J., (1997). . New accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon ages for the Mazama tephra layer from Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, Canada.. CanadianJournal of Earth Science, 34, , 1202–1209.Google Scholar
Hallett, D.J., Walker, R.C., (2000). Paleoecology and its application to fire and vegetation management in Kootenay National Park, British Columbia.. Journal of Paleolimnology, 24, 401–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyde, J. H, and Crandell, D. R., (1978)., Postglacial Volcanic Deposits at Mount Baker, Washington and Potential Hazards of Future Eruptions.. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1022, -C, 17, pp.Google Scholar
Leonard, E.M., (1996). A varve based-calibration of the Bridge River tephra fall.. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 32, 2098–2102.Google Scholar
Long, C.J., Whitlock, C., Bartlein, P.J., Millspaugh, S.H., (1998). A 9000-year fire history from the Oregon Coast Range, based on a high-resolution charcoal study.. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 28, 774–787.Google Scholar
Mathewes, R.W., Westgate, J.A., (1980). Bridge River tephra: Revised distribution and significance for detecting old carbon errors in radiocarbon dates of limnic sediments in southern British Columbia.. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 17, 1454–1461.Google Scholar
Mayewski, P.A., Lyons, W.B., Spencer, M.J., Twickler, M.S., Dansgaard, W., Koci, B., Davidson, C.I., Honrath, R.E., (1986). Sulfate and nitrate concentrations from a south Greenland ice core.. Science, 232, 975–977.Google Scholar
Mehringer, P.J. Jr., Blinman, E., Peterson, K.L., (1977). Pollen influx and volcanic ash: The pollen content of Mazama and Glacier Peak ashes reveals details of their depositional chronologies.. Science, 198, 257–261.Google Scholar
Mehringer, P.J. Jr., Sheppard, J.C., Foit, F.F. Jr., (1984). The age of the Glacier Peak tephra in west-central Montana.. Quaternary Research, 21, 36–41.Google Scholar
Meidinger, D., Pojar, J., (1991). Ecosystems of British Columbia.. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Victoria.Google Scholar
Millspaugh, S.H., Whitlock, C., (1995). A 750-year fire history on lake sediment records in central Yellowstone National Park, USA.. The Holocene, 5, 283–292.Google Scholar
Millspaugh, S.H., Whitlock, C., Bartlein, P.J., (2000). Variations in fire frequency and climate over the past 17,000 yr in central Yellowstone National Park.. Geology, 28, 211–214.Google Scholar
Mohr, J.A., Whitlock, C., Skinner, C.N., (2000). Postglacial vegetation and fire history, eastern Klamath mountains, California, USA.. The Holocene, 10, 587–601.Google Scholar
Mullineaux, D.R., (1986). Summary of pre-1980 tephra-fall deposits erupted from Mount St. Helens, Washington State, USA.. Bulletin of Volcanology, 48, 17–26.Google Scholar
Mullineaux, D. R., (1996)., Pre-1980 Tephra-Fall Deposits Erupted from Mount St. Helens, Washington.. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 1563.Google Scholar
Oldfield, F., Appleby, P.G., Thompson, R., (1980). Paleoecological studies of three lakes in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. 1. The chronology of sedimentation.. Journal of Ecology, 68, 457–477.Google Scholar
Pilcher, J.R., Hall, V.A., McCorrmac, F.G., (1996). An outline of tephrachronology for the Holocene of the north of Ireland.. Journal of Quaternary Science, 11, 485–494.Google Scholar
Porter, S.C., (1978). Glacier Peak tephra in the North Cascade Range, Washington: Stratigraphy, distribution, and relationship to late-glacial events.. Quaternary Research, 10, 30–41.Google Scholar
Ram, M., Gayley, R.I., (1991). Long-range transport of volcanic ash to the Greenland ice sheet.. Nature, 349, 401–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reasoner, M.A., (1993). Equipment and procedure improvements for a lightweight, inexpensive, percussion core sampling system.. Journal of Paleolimnology, 8, 273–281.Google Scholar
Reasoner, M.A., Healy, R.E., (1986). Identification and significance of tephras encountered in a core from Mary Lake, Yoho National Park, British Columbia.. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 23, 1991–1999.Google Scholar
Sarna-Wojcicki, A.M., Champion, D.E., Davis, J.O., (1983). Holocene volcanism in the conterminous United States and the role of silicic volcanic ash layers in correlation of latest-Pleistocene and Holocene deposits, in late-Quaternary environments of the United States.. Wright, H.E., The Holocene, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.277.Google Scholar
Sarna-Wojcicki, A. M., Lajoie, K. R., Meyer, C. E., Adam, D. P., and Rieck, H. J., (1991). . Tephrochronologic correlation of upper Neogene sediments along the Pacific margin, conterminous United States.. In Quaternary Nonglacial Geology of the Conterminous United States, Morrison, R. B., Ed., pp. 117–140. Geological Society of America, The Geology of North America Series, Boulder, Co.Google Scholar
Smith, H.W., Okazaki, R., Knowles, C.R., (1977). Electron microprobe analysis of glass shards from tephra assigned to set W, Mount St. Helens, Washington.. Quaternary Research, 7, 207–217.Google Scholar
Stihler, S.D., Stone, D.B., Beget, J.E., (1992). “Varve” counting vs. tephrochronology and 137Cs and 210Pb dating: A comparative test at Skilak Lake, Alaska.. Geology, 20, 1019–1022.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., Reimer, P.J., Bard, E., Beck, J.W., Burr, G.S., Hughen, K.A., Kromer, B., McCormac, G., Van Der Plicht, J., Spurk, M., (1998). INTCAL98 radiocarbon age calibration, 24,000-0 cal BP.. Radiocarbon, 40, 1041–1083.Google Scholar
Thompson, R.S., Oldfield, F., (1986). Environmental Magnetism.. Allen and Unwin, London.Google Scholar
Turney, C.S.M., Harkness, D.D., Lowe, J.J., (1997). The use of microtephra horizons to correlate late-glacial lake sediment successions in Scotland.. Journal of Quaternary Science, 12, 525–531.Google Scholar
Westgate, J.A., Evans, M.E., (1978). Compositional variability of Glacier Peak tephra and its stratigraphic significance.. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 15, 1554–1567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitlock, C., Sarna-Wojcicki, A.M., Bartlein, P.J., Nickmann, R.J., (2000). Environmental history and tephrastratigraphy at Carp Lake, southwestern Columbia Basin, Washington, USA.. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 155, 7–29.Google Scholar
Yamaguchi, D.K., (1983). New tree ring dates for recent eruptions of Mt. St. Helens, Washington.. Quaternary Research, 10, 246–250.Google Scholar
Yamaguchi, D.K., (1985). Tree-ring evidence for a two-year interval between recent prehistoric explosive eruptions of Mt. St. Helens.. Geology, 13, 554–557.Google Scholar
Zdanowicz, C.M., Zielinski, G.A., Germani, M.S., (1999). Mount Mazama eruption: Calendrical age verified and atmospheric impact assessed.. Geology, 27, 621–624.Google Scholar
Zielinski, G.A., Mayewski, P.A., Meeker, L.D., Whitlow, S., Twickler, M.S., Morrison, M., Meese, D.A., Gow, A.J., Alley, R.B., (1994). Record of volcanism since 7000 B.C. from the GISP2 Greenland ice core and implications for the volcano-climate system.. Science, 264, 948–952.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed