Sinking of Volcanic Ash in Uncompacted Sediment in Williams Lake, Washington

Authors

• Roger Y. Anderson, University of New MexicoFollow
• Edward Nuhfer, University of Wisconsin - Platteville
• Walter E. Dean, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, COFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

8-3-1984

Comments

Published in Science, New Series, Vol. 225, No. 4661 (Aug. 3, 1984), pp. 505-508.

Abstract

Volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount St. Helens on 18 May 1980 fell into Williams Lake in eastern Washington and was temporarily suspended at the sediment-water interface. After several months of compaction, the ash layer broke up and sank into lower density uncompacted lake sediment. Stratigraphic time displacements of several hundred years and a failure to recognize discontinuous ash layers in sediment cores are possible consequences of this process.