Glyn Williams-Jones – “Mt. Meager Volcano”
by Tom Koleszar, 13 Feb 2020.
Glyn is the Chair of the SFU Department of Earth Sciences & Co-Director of the Centre for Natural Hazards Research. His talk was all about the Mt. Meager volcano which lies near the upper Pemberton Valley, only 115 km NE of Powell River. During his visit to Powell River, Glyn also spoke to the emergency planning committee of the Qathet Regional District.
Glyn gave us an overview of the Mt. Meager complex and its most recent eruption 2360 years ago, which was comparable in size and style to the Mt. St. Helens 1980 eruption. He then covered the recent (2010) landslide and the potential for much bigger future slides in the Mt. Meager area. These are very significant natural hazards!
The volcano is currently degassing, with three new fumaroles having recently opened through the ice cover.
Given its relative proximity to populated areas, Mt Meager is the focus of much current research, including ice mapping, numerical modelling, subsurface imaging, and activity monitoring. And it may even become a NASA test site, testing equipment for missions to icy outer solar system moons!
