Geophysicist to Discuss Lahar Monitoring on Mount Rainier This Friday at Centralia College

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Andy Lockhart has dedicated his career to studying the destructive mudflows triggered by active volcanoes. This Friday, he’s coming to Centralia College to discuss his work.

The seminar, “Monitoring Lahars on Mt. Rainier and Around the World,” is part of the Rising Tide Science Seminar Series, which brings professional scientists and engineers to Centralia College.

“The idea is to bring STEM professionals on campus to talk about what their research has been,” said Steve Norton, who is the director of the STEM Scholars Program.

As part of the series, Norton brings in speakers who he believes are role models for the students and can offer some insight into opportunities for careers in the sciences. Past speakers have included Joel Baker, the Port of Tacoma chair in environmental science, who discussed using chemistry to explore environmental problems in the Puget Sound, a park ranger from Mount St. Helens and a biological anthropologist/archaeologist.

Norton believes Andy Lockhart’s seminar is particularly timely, due to the recent destruction from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcanic eruption.

“Every day I drive in and I see this big, quiet, placid looking mountain on the horizon, but it hasn’t always been quiet,” Norton said of Mount Rainier.

Norton noted that two of the most dangerous volcanoes in the United States are in this region — Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens.

“Lahars are one of the major threats in our area and I expect Andy will give us some insight into what they are and what those threats are,” Norton said.

Lahars are destructive mudflows that move on the side of a volcano. They move rapidly down valleys and can occur with or without a volcanic eruption. According to the United States Geological Survey’s website, there are tens of thousands of people near the Carbon and Puyallup River valleys who would have between 40 minutes and three hours to move to safety.



Lockhart focuses on lahar monitoring at Mount Rainier  and is currently working with a USGS team to upgrade lahar monitoring on Mount Rainier. He and Tom Murray, center director of the Volcano Science Center in Anchorage, designed and installed the automated lahar detection system on the Puyallup and Carbon River valleys.

“He has a tremendous amount of experience working on the Cascade volcanoes,” said Norton, who noted Lockhart will not only talk about the process of installing these updated systems, but what USGS does. He also said that audience members do not need a geology background to appreciate the seminar.

“The seminars are pitched at the level an educated individual can understand,” Norton said. 

Students in Norton’s class write down one thing they learned from the seminar, but he said some students bring him pages of notes.

“We do it specifically to help educate our students, but we are delighted when the community attends as well,” Norton said.

Lockhart has worked as a geophysicist with the USGS for the past 30 years researching lahars and destructive mudflows triggered by active volcanoes. He is a member of the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program and has researched volcanoes in roughly a dozen countries. 

Lockhart earned his bachelor’s degree in earth science from Montana State University and his master’s degree in geology/geophysics from University of Alaska.

The seminar takes place on Friday at 12 p.m. in WSC 121 at Centralia College. A reception will follow the seminar at 1 p.m. in WSC 309, where people can talk with Lockhart. Both are free and open to the public.