SCIENCE  HIGHLIGHTS  -  SEPT / OCT  2004

Harding and USGS Colleagues Involved in Mount St. Helens Re-Mapping
New Activity Spurs Lidar Mapping to Detect Changes Since 2003

Dave Harding and colleagues from the USGS and Terrapoint USA, Inc. produced a quick turnaround remapping of the Mount St. Helens crater after the volcano showed renewed activity.  A USGS-NASA press release described the results.

For the last 5 years Dave Harding has been part of a consortium studying the seismic and volcanic hazards of the Puget Sound and Cascades regions of the NW United States. He has been responsible for developing requirements for detailed elevation mapping using airborne lidar, performed by Terrapoint USA, Inc., for validation of the data, and with his USGS colleagues for the analysis and interpretation of the topographic data in terms of neotectonic hazards. When Mount St. Helens began to show renewed signs of activity in mid-September, Harding and colleagues arranged for rapid remapping of the mountain and have produced a comparison with similar mapping done in 2003. Their data and results, reported in a joint USGS-NASA press release (see  http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/mshelenslidar.html) show the growth of a new dome of some 5 million cubic meters in volume between the onset of activity in September and October 4. Also shown is elevation change of glaciers that formed in the crater created by the 1980 eruption of St. Helens.
In addition to the airborne mapping, ICESat is acquiring elevation profiles targeted on St. Helens  in October and November. These include repeated ascending and descending passes, and should provide information on cloud and aerosol height distribution as well as surface elevation information.


Glacier and volcanic elevation change (Sept  2003 – Oct 4, 2004). New dome  growth (red) exceeds 110 m. Glacier elevation  changes are indicated in green (increase) and blue (decrease).

Contact:  Dave Harding, GSFC, Code 921, David.J.Harding@nasa.gov