xi, 114 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Different models have been proposed for the "drumbeat" earthquakes that accompanied recent eruptive behavior at Mount St. Helens. Debate continues as to whether seismicity is related to brittle failure during the extrusion of solid dacite spines or is the result of hydrothermal fluids interacting with a crack buried in the volcanic edifice. My model predictions of steady-state conduit flow confirm the strong control that degassing exerts on eruptive behavior. I discuss the necessary role of degassing for extruded material to attain the high density (low vesicularity) of the observed spine material and discuss the implications for generating seismicity. A brittle-failure source of seismicity requires that the gouge elastic properties accommodate some strain, since the magma compressibility in the upper conduit is too low to do so on its own. I also report on a novel method for generating high-resolution digital elevation models of fault surface textures. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Alan Rempel, Chair; Dr. Katharine Cashman; Dr. David Schmidt

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1994. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-119). Also available online.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / Title from PDF file main screen (viewed on Oct. 16, 2009). "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Ecology, Biological Sciences, University of Alberta." Includes bibliographical references.

Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-114). Also available online in Scholars' Bank; and in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1987. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 27-29). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Several lakes located in the blast zone of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens were studied to determine if the plankton in the lakes were limited in their growth by nitrogen or phosphorus availability. Long term nutrient enrichment experiments were performed on lake water from five lakes and measures of chlorophyll-a, carbon fixation, and nutrient uptake were used to evaluate the extent of limitation. Nutrient concentrations, ratios, and uptake from 14 lakes provided additional evidence for limitation by nitrogen and/or phosphorus. The physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the lakes were also examined to monitor the return of these lakes to pre-eruption conditions. Lakes heavily impacted by the 1980 eruption (Ryan, Fawn, and Hanaford Lakes) and newly formed Castle Lake produced positive responses to nitrogen additions, reflecting the continuing importance of nitrogen in these lakes. Evidence for colimitation by phosphorous was apparent in some of the lakes. Venus Lake, located near the fringe of the blast zone received less organic debris and responded only with phosphorus additions. Evaluations of nutrient depletion from the photic zones of these lakes during the growing season supported the results from the bioassays. Two measures of growth (chlorophyll-a and carbon fixation) often responded differently to enrichment, suggesting active algal and bacterial communities in some of the lakes. Qualitative measures of alkaline phosphatase activity normalized to chlorophyll-a indicated that those lakes which contained the highest dissolved organic carbon and bacterial counts following the eruption had higher alkaline phosphatase activities than less impacted lakes, suggesting bacterial enzyme production. Alkaline phosphatase activity confirmed that phosphorus limitation was more severe in lakes having less soluble reactive phosphorus. Most of the lakes appear to be similar to other Cascade Mountain lakes, although many have reduced dissolved oxygen concentrations in the bottom waters during stratification. Incomplete mixing of these lakes during periods of circulation may regulate the decomposition of the organic material and hence, full recovery of these lakes.

Dilution and ash weathering are the most important processes controlling the ion chemistry of lakes in the Mount St. Helens blast zone. Gibbs' models indicated total dissolved solids were decreasing as a result of dilution from high precipitation and runoff and the lakes plot in the rock weathering dominated region. Plots of theoretical dilution curves indicated a decline in ion concentrations as a result of dilution. Ion concentrations followed the exponential decline predicted by the dilution curve, although concentrations were higher than predicted by the curve. Increased concentrations were a result of the rapid weathering of ash in basins and on lake bottoms. Rapid weathering of ash in lake watersheds and on lake bottoms continues to influence the ionic concentrations of the lakes. In general, sodium and potassium have declined at a much faster rate than calcium or magnesium. Slower relative declines in concentrations of calcium and magnesium were a result of more rapid rate of leaching of calcium and magnesium from the ash. Ash in the watersheds will continue to be a major contributor to the overall ion chemistry of the lakes until such time as the watersheds are stabilized by vegetation and a permanent soil layer. Ash on lake bottoms will be unavailable as sources of ionic constituents when it becomes buried within deep sediment layers. Ion concentrations observed in study lakes affected by the eruption were similar to those observed in control lakes with few exceptions. Although ion concentrations in affected lakes have declined to values observed in control lakes, most were at higher concentrations than the regional means. Several functions of the ion chemistry were used to correlate planktonic community structure to lake ion chemistry. The data suggested ion chemistry was not influencing biological community structures as no patterns emerged. Analysis of diatom populations with respect to monovalent:divalent cation ratios showed no correlation.

The heavy precipitation event of November 3-8, 2006 dropped over 60 cm of rain onto the bare southern slopes of Mount St. Helens and generated debris flows in eight of the sixteen drainages outside the 1980 debris avalanche zone. Debris flows occurred on the upper catchments of the Muddy River, Shoestring Glacier, Pine Creek, June Lake, Butte Camp Dome, Blue Lake, Sheep Creek, and South Fork Toutle River. Debris flows were clustered on the west and south-east sides of the mountain. Of the eight debris flows, three were initiated by landslides, while five were initiated by headward or channel erosion. Six debris flows were initiated in deposits mapped as Holocene volcaniclastic deposits, while two were in 1980 pyroclastics on andesite flows. The largest (~975,000 m2) and longest (~8,900 m) debris flow was initiated by landslides in the upper South Fork Toutle River Drainage. The average debris flow initiation zone elevation was 1,750 m, with clusters around 1,700 m and 2,000 m elevation. The lower cluster is associated with basins that host modern or historic glaciers, while the upper is possibly associated with recent pyroclastic deposits. Upper drainages with debris flows averaged 41% slopes steeper than 33 degrees, while those without debris flows averaged 34%. The upper basins with debris flows averaged 6% snow and ice cover, 21% consolidated bedrock, and 74% unconsolidated deposits. Basins without debris flows averaged 3% snow and ice cover, 27% bedrock, and 67% unconsolidated deposits. Drainages with debris flows averaged an 89% loss of glacier area between 1998 and 2009, while those without debris flows lost 68%. Further comparing glacier coverage during that period found that only five of ten glaciers still existed in 2009. On average, the glaciers had reduced in area by 67%, decreased in length by 36%, and retreated by an average of 471 m during that period. Basin attributes were measured or calculated in order to construct a predictive debris flow model based on that of Pirot (2010) using multiple logistic regression. The most significant factors were the percentage of slopes steeper than 33 degrees, unconsolidated deposits in the upper basin, and average annual rainfall. These factors predicted the 2006 debris flows with an accuracy of 94% in a debris flow susceptibility map for Mount St. Helens.

Eighteen lakes around Mt. St. Helens (MSH) were sampled for zooplankton from September '92 until September '94. Samples were enumerated and identified to the species level in most cases. Standard deviation and t-tests were performed to determine the precision of enumeration methods and replication of duplicate tows. Palatability indexes based upon predator preferences were developed and coupled with length-frequency analyses as indicators of predation pressure. The weighted means of the summer samples were then subjected to cluster analysis in an attempt to categorize lakes with respect to zooplankton community structure. Lastly, the community compositions and abundances of MSH lakes were compared to those in lakes on Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood in an attempt to assess recovery of MSH lakes from the 1980 eruption. Results of analyses indicate the presence of three distinct groups of lakes: 1) A group of lakes with heavy predation resulting in simplified zooplankton communities dominated by Keratella, Ke/licottia, and sometimes cyclopoid species. Predation in these instances can be attributed to extremely high fish or Chaoborus abundance. 2) A second group of lakes characterized by great depth, high transparency, significant abundances of Diaptomus kenai, and moderate to light fish predation. These lakes support balanced zooplankton communities with substantial proportions of Daphnid and calanoid specimens attaining large size. Significant indications of size-specific niche differentiation among the cladocerans are notably absent from these first two groups. 3) A third group consists of lakes which appear to be more productive than the other two groups. This group has higher biovolumes of zooplankton in general, coexistence of several different sized cladoceran species, the highest diversity indices of all the lakes sampled, and moderate predation as indicated by length-frequency analysis. Two conclusions are drawn from the data. First, it appears that predation and primary productivity are both significant factors affecting the abundance and composition of MSH zooplankton communities. Additionally, these data document a significant overlap in zooplankton species in lakes near Mt. Rainier and Mt. Hood, suggesting that the zooplankton communities in lakes around MSH have recovered from the effects of the 1980 eruption.

Comprehension of eruptive histories is critical in understanding the evolution of magmatic systems at arc volcanoes and may supply evidence to the petrogenesis of intermediate and evolved magmas. Within the 300 ka eruptive history of Mount St. Helens, Washington, the Kalama Eruptive Period, 1479- ~1750 CE was bracketed by interludes of quiescence (Hoblitt et al., 1980) and thus likely represents an entire eruptive cycle within a span of 300 years. Study of the magmatic evolution during this short time period provides key information regarding inputs and the plumbing system of Mount St. Helens. This research aims to enhance comprehension of processes leading to the petrogenesis of intermediate magmas by providing whole rock and phase geochemical data of an eruptive cycle, thereby providing constraints on the magmatic evolution of the Kalama Eruptive Period. The eruptive sequence is divided into early, middle and late subperiods. The early Kalama began with two dacitic plinian eruptions and continued with smaller eruptions of dacite domes (64.4-66.5 wt% SiO₂) that included quenched mafic inclusions (53.7-57.7 wt% SiO₂). The middle Kalama signified the onset of basaltic andesite and andesite eruptions ranging between 55.5-58.5 wt % SiO₂. Subsequently, summit domes that began as felsic andesite (61-62.5 wt% SiO₂) and transitioned to dacite (62.5-64.6 wt% SiO₂) dominated the late Kalama. Previous work on Kalama-aged rocks suggests magma mixing is an integral process in their production. Compositions and textures of crystal phases, in addition to the presence of xenocrysts in middle and late Kalama rocks, confirm mechanical mixing of magmas likely produced many of the sampled compositions. New petrographic observations were integrated with new whole rock and phase EMP and LA-ICP-MS data and the known stratigraphy in order to constrain the magmatic and crustal components active during the Kalama Eruptive Period. New findings include: 1. Two populations of quenched mafic inclusions, one olivine-rich and one olivine-poor, are identified from the early Kalama based on mineralogy, textures, and major and trace element chemistry. Major element modeling shows crustal anatexis of plutonic inclusions found in early Kalama dacites could produce the felsic magma source of the olivine-poor population. The olivine-rich population incorporated cumulate material. 2. Four distinct lava populations erupted during the early part of the middle Kalama (X lavas), including two found exclusively in lahar deposits: M-type lahars are the most mafic, B-type lahars are more mixed, the Two Finger Flow was previously grouped with other middle Kalama-age lavas, and the X lava (in situ) has unique geochemical and textural character. X tephras likely correlate with the lavas. 3. There were at least three mafic source contributions at Mount St. Helens during the eruptive period: the parent to the X deposits, the cumulate material in the olivine-rich QMIs, and the calc-alkaline parent to the MKLV and SDO. The magma reservoir at Mount St. Helens has been modeled as a single, elongate chamber (Pallister et al., 1992). Multiple coeval basaltic or basaltic andesite parents fluxing into the magmatic system beneath the volcano could indicate a more complex magma chamber structure. / Graduation date: 2011