SGER: Heat Flux at Mount Wrangell Following the November 3, 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake

University Of Alaska Fairbanks Campus, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

EAR-0326083 McNutt This research will investigate the connection between large earthquakes and volcanic heat flux on Mt. Wrangell Volcano, Alaska. Changes in heat flux have previously been observed at Mt. Wrangell following large earthquakes in 1964 and 1979. The earthquake of 3 November 2002 on the Denali Fault, Mw = 7.9, may have had a similar or stronger effect on heat flux because the shaking was more intense. The hypothesis to be tested is that seismic shaking opens convective channels beneath the ice-filled North Crater. This in turn allows glacier melt water to circulate more efficiently, and deeply enough to increase heat flux to the base of the glacier ice. This shows up as a change in the ice volume, which will be measured by photogrammetry in summer 2003. Seismic behavior will also be monitored with stations on the volcano's summit and flanks. In terms of broader impacts, this proposal crosses three disciplines--volcanology, glaciology and seismology-and seeks to establish a physical basis for interactions among these generally separate lines of inquiry. Two UAF graduate students will be involved in the data and interpretations, and public lectures will be given in the Glenallen and Copper Center communities, as well as at the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park visitor center.