Dear friends,
Many of you will know that for years I have been among a group of geologists putting together a USGS report on the volcanic history of Mount Baker since the end of the last glacial maximum {that’s geologese for ‘Ice Age’). That paper has just gone up on line and you can read it here: https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1865
The authors are Kevin Scott (USGS, retired); myself; Jon Reidel (North Cascades National Park); Cynthia Gardner (Cascades Volcano Observatory, USGS); and Jack McGeehin (USGS, who did the C14 analyses)
The brief citation reads:
Latest Pleistocene to Present Geology of Mount Baker Volcano, Northern Cascade Range, Washington: This report summarizes the multifaceted and complex surficial geologic history of Mount Baker just before, during, and after withdrawal of the latest Pleistocene Cordilleran ice sheet from the Mount Baker area. Nearly 80 new radiocarbon ages are reported that constrain the timing of glacial and volcanic events and help define four post-glacial eruptive periods: Carmelo Crater (ca. 14–11.6 ka), Shriebers Meadow (ca. 9.8–9.1 ka), Mazama Park (ca. 6.7 ka), and Sherman Crater (1842–1880 C.E.). The end of the Carmelo Crater eruptive period marks the end of Mount Baker edifice construction and the beginning of mainly destructional processes (flank failures and resultant lahars) during the Holocene. It also marks a shift of vent location from the summit to off-summit locations. Findings from this paper dovetail with the bedrock history of Hildreth and others (2003) to give a comprehensive view of the United States’ most northern Cascade volcano.
Scott, K.M., Tucker, D.S., Riedel, J.L., Gardner, C.A., and McGeehin, J.P., 2020, Latest Pleistocene to present geology of Mount Baker Volcano, northern Cascade Range, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1865, 170 p. https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1865
Filed under: News and notes | 7 Comments »