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Summary Subduction zones don't carry passports, and the Cascade Volcanic Arc doesn't stop at the U.S.-Canada border. In this episode, Dr. Jeffrey Zurek (P.Geo) welcomes his mentor Dr. Glyn Williams-Jones (Simon Fraser University) to discuss Canada’s most dangerous volcano: Mount Meager.

We dig into the "detective story" of Meager’s last explosive eruption 2,400 years ago—an event that sent ash to Calgary and created a 110-meter-high volcanic dam. We explore the physics of block and ash flows, the "unzipping" of prehistoric dams leading to Jökulhlaups (outburst floods), and the current monitoring gaps on this restless massif. From InSAR satellite radar to the risk of "pulling the cork" on a magma chamber via massive landslides, this conversation illuminates the high-stakes world of Canadian volcanology.

Topics Covered

• The 2,400 BP Eruption: Reconstructing the 20km ash column and Keyhole Falls.
• Columnar Jointing: Why "columns never lie" about the direction of volcanic cooling.
• Hydrothermal Alteration: How acidic fluids turn strong rock into unstable "garden clay."
• Mass Wasting: Analyzing the 2010 Capricorn Creek slide (53 million m³).
• Monitoring: The shift from tectonic monitoring to specialized volcano seismology.

Chapters

(00:00) Mentorship & Pedigrees

(01:51) Backpacking vs. Geophysics

(04:04) Dr. Glyn Williams-Jones

(06:40) Why Meager is Dangerous

(09:33) Explosion to Effusion

(12:00) Volcanic Dams & Jökulhlaups

(16:00) Physics of Cooling Joints

(18:30) Future Hazard Forecasts

(21:50) InSAR vs. Seismometers

(25:50) The 2010 Slide

(28:45) Turning Mountains to Clay

(32:15) Can Landslides Trigger Eruptions?

(34:50) Public Perception

(41:40) Scientific Patience

(45:40) Science Joke

Links

Besure to check out the center for natural hazards at SFU

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Whimsical Wavelengths: Deep-dive conversations where a working scientist unpacks how we know what we know, one paper, one idea, or whimsical detour at a time. Hosted by Dr. Jeffrey Zurek (P.Geo).