GEOL 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Subduction, Lahar, Return Period

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering
• Course: GEOL 106
• Professor: John Hanes

Document Summary

Composition of the rock: is it mafic or felsic: study history of volcanoes in the area. Determine recurrence intervals: use carbon-14 dating on trapped wood, use potassium-argon (k-ar) dating on mineral crystals in the volcanic rock, determine geologic/geographic factors in the area (in particular, the geographic factors) Where are the valleys and river channels? (i. e. routes for pyroclastic flows and lahars) What are the prevailing wind directions: most likely way air-fall tephras will go. What are the risks of a tsunami: volcanoes in island arcs. Produce hazard maps and probability maps: determine potential human interactions with the volcanoes in the area. What is the nature of human infrastructure? (e. g. what is the ability of roofs to withstand heavy loads of ash?) Volcanic risk management: determine ways to reduce ph and/or sh. With volcanoes, we really have no control over this.