Holocene debris flows and environmental history, Hazelton area, British Columbia

1991 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1583-1593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen S. Gottesfeld ◽  
Rolf W. Mathewes ◽  
Leslie M. Johnson Gottesfeld
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Oral History ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Sediment Layer ◽  
Catastrophic Event ◽  
Outlet Stream ◽  
History Of

Debris flow deposits of Chicago Creek and the sediment, pollen, and macrofossil records of Seeley Lake were studied to elucidate the Holocene history of the northwest flank of the Rocher Déboulé Range near Hazelton, British Columbia.The Chicago Creek drainage has experienced numerous rockfalls, debris slides, and debris flows. A large debris flow covering approximately 300 ha occurred about 3580 ± 150 BP. This flow was two to three orders of magnitude larger than historic debris flows in this drainage. It traveled about 3 km down Chicago Creek and dammed the outlet stream of Seeley Lake. A debris deposit along lower Chicago Creek is interpreted as the product of debris torrents that formed during or soon after the damming of Seeley Lake. Its surface exhibits soil development (rubification and profile development) comparable to that on the large debris flow, suggesting equivalent age.Pollen and plant macrofossils are described from a core taken in Seeley Lake. This core spans the period from ca. 9200 BP to the present. A disturbance event in 3380 ± 110 BP, correlative with the large Chicago Creek debris flow, is recorded by a clastic sediment layer and changes in the microfossil and macrofossil assemblages.The Chicago Creek debris flow and debris torrent ca. 3500 BP may be the catastrophic event recorded in the story of the Medeek, an oral history or "ada'ok" of the Gitksan people of Hazelton.

A debris flow triggered by the breaching of a moraine-dammed lake, Klattasine Creek, British Columbia

1985 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 1492-1502 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Clague ◽  
S. G. Evans ◽  
Iain G. Blown
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Southern Coast ◽  
Coast Mountains ◽  
Debris Avalanches ◽  
Unconsolidated Sediment ◽  
Sudden Release ◽  
Dammed Lake ◽  
Unusual Origin

A very large debris flow of unusual origin occurred in the basin of Klattasine Creek (southern Coast Mountains, British Columbia) between June 1971 and September 1973. The flow was triggered by the sudden release of up to 1.7 × 106 m3 of water from a moraine-dammed lake at the head of a tributary of Klattasine Creek. Water escaping from the lake mobilized large quantities of unconsolidated sediment in the valley below and thus produced a debris flow that travelled in one or, more likely, several surges 8 km downvalley on an average gradient of 10° to the mouth of the stream. Here, the flow deposited a sheet of coarse bouldery debris up to about 20 m thick, which temporarily blocked Homathko River. Slumps, slides, and debris avalanches occurred on the walls of the valley both during and in years following the debris flow. Several secondary debris flows of relatively small size have swept down Klattasine Creek in the 12–14 years since Klattasine Lake drained.

Evidence for catastrophic volcanic debris flows in Pemberton Valley, British Columbia

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 679-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
K A Simpson ◽  
M Stasiuk ◽  
K Shimamura ◽  
J J Clague ◽  
P Friele
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
Volcanic Complex ◽  
Large Magnitude ◽  
Volcanic Material ◽  
Inundation Maps ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Volcanic Debris

The Mount Meager volcanic complex in southern British Columbia is snow and ice covered and has steep glaciated and unstable slopes of hydrothermally altered volcanic deposits. Three large-volume (>108 m3) volcanic debris flow deposits derived from the Mount Meager volcanic complex have been identified. The volcanic debris flows travelled at least 30 km downstream from the volcanic complex and inundated now populated areas of Pemberton Valley. Clay content and mineralogy of the deposits indicate that the volcanic debris flows were clay-rich (5%–7% clay in the matrix) and derived from hydrothermally altered volcanic material. The youngest volcanic debris flow deposit is interpreted to be associated with the last known volcanic eruption, ~2360 calendar (cal) years BP. The other two debris flows may not have been directly associated with eruptions. Volcanic debris flow hazard inundation maps have been produced using the Geographic Information System (GIS)-based modelling program, LAHARZ. The maps provide estimates of the areas that would be inundated by future moderate to large-magnitude events. Given the available data, the probability of a volcanic debris flow reaching populated areas in Pemberton Valley is ~1 in 2400 years. Additional mapping in the source regions is necessary to determine if sufficient material remains on the volcanic edifice to generate future large-magnitude, clay-rich volcanic debris flows.

Landsliding caused by Pleistocene glacial lake ponding–an example from central British Columbia

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 656-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Eyles ◽  
John J. Clague
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Slope Failure ◽  
Glacial Lake ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Stability Of Slopes ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Glacier Advance

Sections cut through the Quaternary sediment fill of the Fraser River valley in central British Columbia provide evidence for large-scale landsliding during Pleistocene time. Especially notable are thick, laterally extensive diamict beds, consisting mainly of Tertiary rock debris, that occur near the base of glaciolacustrine sequences. These beds were deposited by subaqueous debris flows during one or more periods of lake ponding when advancing Pleistocene glaciers blocked the ancestral Fraser River. The association of diamict beds and glaciolacustrine sediments deposited during periods of glacier advance may indicate a genetic link between slope failure and lake filling. These observations (1) demonstrate the adverse effects of high pore pressures on the stability of slopes underlain by poorly indurated Tertiary rocks and (2) extend the known history of landslides involving these rocks back into the Pleistocene. Key words: landslides, debris flows, Pleistocene, glacial lake.

Remedial measures for debris flows at the Agassiz Mountain Institution, British Columbia

1984 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. Martin ◽  
D. R. Piteau ◽  
R. A. Pearce ◽  
P. M. Hawley
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Site Investigation ◽  
Remedial Measures ◽  
Stream Channel ◽  
Correctional Services ◽  
South Slope ◽  
Rock Anchors

On the evening of January 23, 1982 a debris flow having an estimated volume of 11 000 m3 occurred in a stream channel on the south slope of Mount Agassiz adjacent to the Mountain Institution of the Correctional Services of Canada. The debris flow was one of many that have contributed to the formation of a large debris fan at the base of the mountain. Debris flows, large rockfalls, and other events can be expected to occur intermittently as part of the ongoing natural erosional processes in steep mountainous terrain.The paper describes the site investigation and analyses carried out and the design and construction of remedial measures to control future debris flows and rockfalls. Remedial measures consisted of improvement of stability of two large rockfall blocks in the debris flow channel using grouted dowels. In addition, two berms and a containment basin were constructed on the debris fan to control future debris flows and rockfalls. Key words: debris flows, debris fan, rockfalls, rock anchors, dowels, containment basin, deflection berm.

scholarly journals Triggering conditions and depositional characteristics of a disastrous debris flow event in Zhouqu city, Gansu Province, northwestern China

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2903-2912 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Tang ◽  
N. Rengers ◽  
Th. W. J. van Asch ◽  
Y. H. Yang ◽  
G. F. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Debris Flow ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Gansu Province ◽  
Northwestern China ◽  
Catastrophic Event ◽  
Catchment Areas ◽  
Triggering Conditions ◽  
Geomorphological Features ◽  
Triggering Rainfall

Abstract. On 7 August 2010, catastrophic debris flows were triggered by a rainstorm in the catchments of the Sanyanyu and Luojiayu torrents, Zhouqu County, Gansu Province northwestern China. These two debris flows originated shortly after a rainstorm with an intensity of 77.3 mm h−1 and transported a total volume of about 2.2 million m3, which was deposited on an existing debris fan and into a river. This catastrophic event killed 1765 people living on this densely urbanised fan. The poorly sorted sediment contains boulders up to 3–4 m in diameter. In this study, the geomorphological features of both debris flow catchment areas are analyzed based on the interpretation of high-resolution remote sensing imagery combined with field investigation. The characteristics of the triggering rainfall and the initiation of the debris flow occurrence are discussed. Using empirical equations, the peak velocities and discharges of the debris flows were estimated to be around 9.7 m s−1 and 1358 m3 s−1 for the Sanyanyu torrent and 11 m s−1 and 572 m3 s−1 for the Luojiayu torrent. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the conditions leading to catastrophic debris flow events.

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Oral History Project: A Preliminary Report

2000 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya Levin ◽  
Ronald Doel
Keyword(s):  
Earth Sciences ◽  
Technological Change ◽  
Oral History ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Preliminary Report ◽  
Earth Science ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Institutional History ◽  
The Earth ◽  
History Of

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 1999. As part of" the effort to preserve the history of this important earth science research institute, senior Lamont administrators conceived an ambitious oral history project. Now complete, these oral histories present a useful resource for those studying the history of the earth sciences, environmental history, social and institutional history, disciplinary development, technological change, internationalism in the sciences, and patronage. This article summarizes certain preliminary conclusions reached during the course of this project.

A catastrophic glacial outburst flood (jökulhlaup) mechanism for debris flow generation at the Spiral Tunnels, Kicking Horse River basin, British Columbia

1979 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 806-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lionel E. Jackson Jr.
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Outburst Flood ◽  
Flow Generation

Debris flows have blocked rail and highway routes in the upper Kicking Horse River valley, British Columbia, a number of times during this century. The origins of debris flows from the most troublesome tributary basin were investigated following the debris flows and floods of September 6, 1978. A jökulhlaup (catastrophic glacial outburst flood) origin was determined for the debris flows and flood of this event. An investigation of weather records prior to debris flows of 1962, 1946, and 1925 indicates a similar origin for the 1946 and 1925 events.

Holocene environmental history of a peatland in the Lena River valley, Siberia

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 637-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
JPP Jasinski ◽  
B G Warner ◽  
A A Andreev ◽  
R Aravena ◽  
S E Gilbert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Lena River ◽  
Postfire Regeneration ◽  
Poor Fen ◽  
History Of ◽  
Direct Input

A 3.86 m core of peat and organic lake mud from a polygonal peatland in the Lena River valley of Siberia was radiocarbon dated and analyzed for pollen, plant macrofossils, chrysophyte stomatocysts, stable isotopes, and charcoal. At around 7200 BP, a shallow lake or open-water wetland supported diverse aquatic macrophytes. The site had transformed initially into a richer fen with Carex, Comarum palustris, and Drepanocladus and later a poorer fen with Sphagnum which persisted until around 3000 BP. Fire may have been responsible for silt being blown onto the peatland, which changed the hydrological and geochemical conditions for development of the poor fen. Ice accretion led to an increase in the height of the centre of the polygon and expansion of Sphagnum peatland . 18O values become progressively more enriched, which reflects more direct input of summer precipitation waters and less groundwater during this period. Finally, the peatland surface was elevated sufficiently to limit water and nutrient supply, thereby allowing Ericaceae and Betula to grow at the coring site. Fire burned the peatland surface and may have exaggerated the extremely slow rate of peat accumulation. Fire may also be a factor in maintaining the open Larix dahurica forest in the region today, while climate may be contributing to reducing postfire regeneration. Fire and climate together may be controlling the character and composition of forests near tree line in the Lena River valley of this part of Siberia.

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