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David A. Johnston

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David A. Johnston
Man sitting on a folding chair next to a vehicle and trailer, writing in a notebook and smiling as he looks towards the camera
David A. Johnston, 13 hours before his death at the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
Born
David Alexander Johnston

December 18, 1949
Oak Lawn, Illinois
DiedMay 18, 1980 (aged 30)
Skamania County, Washington
Cause of deathKilled by the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens
NationalityAmerican

David Alexander Johnston (December 18, 1949 – May 18, 1980) was a volcanologist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) who was killed by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington. One of the principal scientists on the monitoring team, Johnston died while manning an observation post about 6 miles (10 km) from the volcano on the morning of May 18, 1980. He was the first to report the eruption, transmitting the famous message "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!" before being swept away by the lateral blast created by the collapse of the mountain's north flank. Ham radio operator Jerry Martin observed the lateral blast overtaking Johnston's camp. Though Johnston's remains have never been found, remnants of his USGS trailer were found by state highway workers in 1993.

Johnston's comprehensive, albeit shortened career took him across the United States, where he studied Augustine Volcano in Alaska, the San Juan volcanic field in Colorado, and long-extinct volcanoes in Michigan. Johnston was a meticulous and talented scientist who was known for his analyses of volcanic gases and their relationship to eruptions. This, along with his enthusiasm and positive attitude, made him liked and respected by many of his co-workers. After his death, other scientists lauded his character both verbally and in dedications and letters. Johnston felt that scientists must do what is necessary, including taking risks, to help protect the public from natural disasters. His work and that of his fellow USGS scientists convinced the authorities to close Mount St. Helens to the general public and to maintain the closure in spite of heavy pressure to re-open the area; their work saved thousands of lives. His story has become part of the popular image of volcanic eruptions and their threat to society, and also part of the history of volcanology. To date, Johnston is one of just two American volcanologists to have been killed in volcanic eruptions.

Life and career

Black and white photograph; a man squints into the telescopic eyepiece of a large mechanical device.
Johnston using a correlation spectrometer, which measures ultraviolet radiation as an indicator of the sulfur dioxide content of gases ejected from Mount St. Helens. Photographed on 4 April 1980.

Johnston was born at the University of Chicago Hospital on December 18, 1949,[1] to Thomas and Alice Johnston.[2] They originally lived in Hometown, Illinois, then moved to Oak Lawn shortly after Johnston's birth.[1] Johnston grew up with one sister. He never married. His parents both worked, his father as an engineer at a local company and his mother as a newspaper editor. Johnston often took photographs for his mother's newspaper and contributed articles to his school's newspaper.[3]

After graduating from high school, Johnston attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He planned to study journalism, but became discouraged after a poor grade in a large lecture class. He was intrigued by an introductory geology class, and changed his major.[3] His first geologic project was the study of the Precambrian rock that forms Michigan's Upper Peninsula. There he investigated the remains of an ancient volcano: a suite of metamorphosed basalts, a gabbroic sill, and volcanic roots in the form of a dioritic and gabbroic intrusion. The experience planted the seed of Johnston's passion for volcanoes. After working hard to learn the subject,[4] he graduated with "Highest Honors and Distinction" in 1971.[5][6]

Johnston spent the summer after college in the San Juan volcanic field of Colorado to assist volcanologist Pete Lipman[3] in his study of two extinct calderas.[5] This work became the inspiration for the first phase of his graduate work at the University of Washington in Seattle, in which he focused on the Cimmaron Volcano.[5][7] Johnston's reconstruction of the eruptive history of the extinct volcanoes prepared him to study active volcanoes.[5] Johnston's first experience with active volcanoes was a geophysical survey of Mount Augustine in Alaska in 1975. When Mt. Augustine erupted in 1976, Johnston raced back to to Alaska, shunting his former work on the Cimmaron Volcano into a masters thesis, and making Mt. Augustine the focus of his Ph.D. work. After only 25 months, he graduated in 1978 with his Ph.D., having shown that (1) the emplacement mechanism of the pyroclastic flows had changed over time, as they became less pumaceous, (2) the magmas contained high quantities of water, chlorine, and sulfur, and (3) underground mixing of the felsic (silicic) magmas with less-viscous mafic (basaltic) magmas could have triggered eruptions. Mount Augustine was also the site of an early near-disaster for Johnston, who was trapped on the mountain during an eruption when high winds grounded the first two of their evacuation aircraft.[8]

After graduation, in 1978 and 1979, Johnston led a study of the ash-flow sheet emplaced in the 1912 eruption of Mount Katmai in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.[5] The gas phase is extremely important in propelling volcanic eruptions; Johnston therefore mastered the many analytical techniques required to tease information about gases present during eruptions out of glass-vapor inclusions in phenocrysts embedded in the lavas. His work at Mount Katmai and other volcanoes in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes paved the way for his career, and his "agility, nerve, patience, and determination around the jet-like summit fumaroles in the crater of Mt. Mageik" impressed his colleagues.[5]

Later in the year of his graduation (1978) Johnston joined the United States Geological Survey (USGS), where he monitored volcanic emission levels in the Cascades and Aleutian Arc. There he helped to strengthen the theory that eruptions can be predicted, to some degree, by changes in the makeup of volcanic gases.[9] Fellow volcanologist Wes Hildreth said of Johnston, "I think Dave's dearest hope was that systematic monitoring of fumarolic emissions might permit detection of changes characteristically precursory to eruptions... Dave wanted to formulate a general model for the behavior of magmatic volatiles prior to explosive outbursts and to develop a corollary rationale for the evaluation of hazards." During this time, Johnston continued to visit Mt. Augustine every summer and assessed the geothermal energy potential of the Azores and Portugal. In the last year of his life, Johnston developed an interest in the health, agricultural, and environmental effects of both volcanic and anthropogenic emissions to the atmosphere.[5]

Just before the Mount St. Helens eruptive activity began in 1980, Johnston was working at the Menlo Park, California branch of USGS. When the first earthquakes shook the volcano on March 16, Johnston was at the University of Washington, where he had pursued his doctorate. Intrigued by the possible advent of an eruption, Johnston contacted Dr. Stephen Malone, a professor of geology at the university. Malone had been his mentor when Johnston had worked at the San Juan complex in Colorado, and Johnston admired his work.[4] Malone stated that he "put him to work" almost instantly, allowing Johnston to escort interested reporters to a place near the volcano.[10] Johnston was the first geologist on the volcano,[5] and soon became a leader for the USGS team, taking charge of monitoring of volcanic gas emissions.[10]

The eruption

Precursor activity

A man carefully walks down a steep sloping crater wall towards a lake at the bottom of the crater.
Johnston going into the Mount St. Helens crater to sample the lake. Photographed on 30 April 1980. For a picture of Johnston sampling the lake, see here.

Since its last eruption(s) in the mid-19th century, Mount St. Helens had been largely dormant. In fact, seismographs were not installed until 1972. This period of more than 100 years of inactivity ended in early 1980. On March 15, a cluster of tiny earthquakes rocked the area around the mountain. For six days, more than 100 earthquakes clustered around Mount St. Helens, suggesting that magma could be on the move. There was initially some doubt as to whether the earthquakes were precursors to an eruption. By March 20, a magnitude 4.2 earthquake shook the wilderness around the volcano. The next day, seismologists installed three seismic recorder stations.[11] After the 25th, seismic activity drastically increased. By March 24, volcanologists at the USGS—including Johnston—were sure that this could be a sign of volcanic activity. By March 26, more than seven earthquakes over magnitude 4.0 had been recorded, and the next day, hazard warnings were publicly issued. On March 27, a phreatic eruption took place, ejecting a plume of ash nearly 7,000 feet (2,134 m) into the air.[12]

Similar activity continued at the volcano over the following weeks, excavating the crater, forming an adjacent caldera, and erupting small amounts of steam, ash, and tephra. With each new eruption, the plumes of steam and ash from the volcano rose, eventually climbing to 20,000 feet (6,096 m). By late March, the volcano was erupting up to 100 times per day. Spectators congregated in the vicinity of the mountain, hoping for a chance to see its eruptions. They were joined by reporters on helicopters, as well as mountain climbers.[13]

On April 17, a bulge was discovered on the mountain's north flank, suggesting that Mount St. Helens could produce a lateral blast.[14] Johnston was one of few people who believed this, along with a professor of geology at a Tacoma community college (Jack Hyde). Observing that Mount St. Helens didn't possess visible vents, Hyde suggested that pressure would increase until the mountain exploded. Because Hyde was not a part of the USGS or in a position of responsibility, his opinion was generally dismissed.[15] Both, in fact, were correct. Rising magma under Mount St. Helens veered off to the north flank, creating a growing bulge on the surface.[14]

Final signs and primary blast

Given the increasing seismic and volcanic activity, Johnston and the other volcanologists working for the USGS in its Vancouver branch prepared to observe any impending eruption. Geologist Don Swanson and others placed reflectors on and around the growing domes,[16] and established the Coldwater I and II observation posts to use laser ranging to measure how the distances to these reflectors changed over time as the domes deformed. Coldwater II, where David Johnston died, was located just 6 miles (10 km) north of the mountain. To the astonishment of the USGS geologists, the bulge was growing at a rate of 5 to 8 feet (2.5 to 3.4 meters) per day.[17]

A man climbing a steep cliff face dwarfed by massive boulders around him.
Johnston (center) climbing on the bulge on Mount St. Helens to sample gases from fumaroles. Photographed the day before the bulge exploded in the eruption. For the scale, see this picture.

Tiltmeters installed on the volcano's north side displayed a northwest trending tilt for that side of the mountain, and a southwest trending tilt was observed on the south side. Worried that the amount of pressure on the magma underground was increasing, scientists analyzed gases by the crater, and found high traces of sulfur dioxide. After this discovery, they began to regularly check the fumarolic activity and monitor the volcano for dramatic changes, but none came. Disheartened, they instead opted to study the growing bulge and the threat an avalanche could have for humans relatively near the volcano.[18] An evaluation of the threat was carried out, concluding that a landslide or avalanche in the Toutle River could spawn lahars, or mudflows, downstream.[14]

At that point, the only strange thing about the phreatic eruptions was the lack of them: the previously-consistent phreatic activity had become intermittent. Between May 10 and May 17, the only change occurred on the volcano's north flank, as the bulge increased in size. On May 16 and 17, the mountain stopped its phreatic eruptions completely.[18]

Large volcanic mountain deformed by large cracks and bulges on its slopes, seen from a ridge across a thickly forested valley. A summit crater is partially seen.
BEFORE: Mount St. Helens one day before the eruption, photographed by Harry Glicken from the ridge where the Coldwater II observation post manned by Johnston was located
The same volcano and landscape as in the previous picture. Much of the mountain is missing, replaced by an enormous caldera (volcanic crater). The previously forested landscape is now barren as the trees were destroyed in the volcanic blast.
AFTER: Mount St. Helens four months after the eruption, photographed by Harry Glicken from approximately the same location as the earlier picture. In the intervening period, the volcano had erupted, killing Johnston and devastating the landscape.

The active Mount St. Helens was extremely different from its dormant form, now featuring an enormous bulge and several craters. In the week preceding the eruption, cracks formed in the north sector of the volcano's summit, indicating a movement of magma from the bulge and towards the caldera.[18]

In the early morning of the next day (at 8:32 am local time), an earthquake measuring magnitude 5.1 on the Richter scale rocked the area, triggering the landslide that started the main eruption. In a matter of seconds, vibrations from the earthquake loosened 2.7 cubic kilometers (1 cu mi) of rock on the mountain's north face and summit, creating a massive landslide. Up to 400 metres (1,312 ft) of rock fell from the volcano, including the bulge. With the loss of the confining pressure of the overlying rock, the caldera of Mount St. Helens began to rapidly emit steam and other volcanic gases. A few seconds later, it erupted laterally, sending swift pyroclastic flows down its flanks at near supersonic speeds. These flows were later joined by lahars.[19] Before being struck by a series of flows that at their fastest would have taken less than a minute to reach his position, Johnston managed to radio "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!" to his USGS co-workers. Seconds later, the signal from the radio went blank.[20] Initially, there was some debate as to whether Johnston had survived; records soon showed a radio message from fellow eruption victim and amateur radio operator Jerry Martin, located near the Coldwater peak and further north of Johnston's position, reporting his sighting of the eruption enveloping the Coldwater II observation post. As the blast overwhelmed Johnston's post, Martin declared solemnly, "It's gonna get me, too." before his radio, too, went blank.[21]

The eruption was heard hundreds of miles away,[22] but some of those who survived the eruption declared that the landslide and pyroclastic flows were silent as they raced down the mountain. Krau Kilpatrick, an employee of the United States Forest Service, recalled, "There was no sound to it, not a sound. It was like a silent movie and we were all in it."[23] The reason for this discrepancy is a "quiet zone", created due to the motion and temperature of air and, to a lesser extent, upon local topography.[22]

Famous for calling the mountain a "dynamite keg with the fuse lit", Johnston was among the first volcanologists at the volcano when eruptive signs appeared, and shortly after was named the head of volcanic gas monitoring. Though a careful analyst, Johnston strongly believed that scientists needed to take this risk for themselves in order to prevent civilian deaths, and therefore chose to partake in dangerous on-site monitoring. He and several other volcanologists prevented people from being near the volcano during the few months of pre-eruptive activity, and successfully fought pressure to re-open the area. Johnston supported the lateral blast theory: he believed the explosive eruption would be ejected sideways out of the volcano, not upward. He also believed that the eruption would originate from the bulge. Because of this, he was more aware than most of the threat of a north-directed eruption.[9]

USGS team and rescue efforts

Satellite image of the area surrounding Mount St. Helens, labeled with various locations. The primary locations marked are: Mount St. Helens (in the center of the volcano there is a circular black crater); and to the north of the volcano the Coldwater II observation post, where Johnston was camped. The other locations marked are three lakes (Spirit Lake, Bear Cove, and Coldwater lake) and a river (North Fork Toutle River).
Johnston's Clearwater II observation post was immediately in the path of the blast when the north side of Mount St. Helen's collapsed.

Many USGS scientists worked on the team monitoring the volcano, but it was Harry Glicken who had been manning the Coldwater II observation post for the two and a half weeks immediately preceding the eruption.[24] The evening before the eruption—Saturday, 17 May, 1980—he was scheduled to be relieved by USGS geologist Don Swanson in order to visit the graduate school at the University of California. Swanson, however, wanted to meet with a German graduate student who was returning to Germany on Sunday, the 18th of May. Two days before the eruption, Swanson ran into Johnston in the hallway and asked him to take his place. Johnston hesitantly agreed to man the base for one day.[25] That Saturday, Johnston ascended the mountain and went on a patrol of the volcano with geologist Carolyn Driedger. Tremors shook the mountain. Driedger was supposed to camp on one of the ridges overlooking the volcano that night, but Johnston told her to head home and said that he would stay on the volcano alone.[26] While at Coldwater II, Johnston would to observe the volcano for any further signs of an eruption.[27] Just prior to his departure, at 7 pm on the evening of May 17, 13 1/2 hours before the eruption, Glicken took a photograph of Johnston sitting by the observation post trailer with a notebook on his lap, smiling.[18]

The following morning, May 18, at 8:32 AM,[28] the volcano erupted, killing Johnston. Immediately, rescue workers were dispatched to the area. The official USGS pilot, Lon Stickney, who had been flying the scientists to the mountain, conducted the first rescue attempt. He flew his helicopter over the scarred remains of trees, valleys, and Coldwater Ridge II, where he saw bare rock and uprooted trees. Because he saw no sign of Johnston's trailer, Stickney began to panic, becoming "emotionally distraught".[29]

A frantic and guilt-stricken Harry Glicken convinced three separate helicopter pilots to take him up on flights over the devastated area in a rescue attempt, but the eruption had so changed the landscape that they were unable to locate any sign of the Coldwater II observation post, which had been swept away and buried in the blast. He and the helicopter crew did manage to find a car with people in it at a logging camp, but when they landed and tried to evacuate the victims, skin fell off the dead victims' hands.[24] Shortly after the eruption, Don Swanson found Johnston's backpack and parka buried in the rubble, but he hid the discovery from all but a few people for fear that scavengers (who were already removing and selling souvenirs of victims of the volcano) would find and remove his friend's body or belongings.[30] In 1993, while constructing a new highway road, workers discovered pieces of Johnston's trailer. His body, however, was not found and never has been recovered.[31]

Consequences and response

The public was shocked by the extent of the eruption. The eruption blew more than 1,000 feet (305 m) of rock off of the volcano, destroyed 230 square miles (596 km2) of woodland, and spread ash into other states.[32] The lateral blast that killed Johnston started at 220 miles per hour (354 km/h) and accelerated to 670 miles per hour (1,078 km/h).[22] Even USGS scientists were awed. At a Volcanic Explosivity Index value of 5, the eruption was catastrophic. More than 50 people were killed or missing, including Johnston, mountain resident Harry Randall Truman, and National Geographic photographer Reid Blackburn.[32]

Realizing the extent of the eruption, the United States government responded quickly to the events. After accepting their mistake in allowing people to stay in their homes near the volcano, they set aside 110,000 acres of land for the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. This protected area, which includes the Johnston Ridge Observatory and several other research and visitor centers, serves strictly as an area for scientific research, tourism and education.[33]

The disaster was the deadliest and most destructive volcanic eruption in the history of the United States of America. A total of 57 people are known to have died, and more were left homeless when the ash falls and pyroclastic flows destroyed or buried 200 homes.[32] In addition to the human fatalities, thousands of animals perished. The official estimate from the USGS was 7,000 game animals, 12 million salmon fingerlings, and 40,000 salmon.[32] Several geologists, including Johnston, fought pressure for people to return to their homes the day before the eruption. Their efforts prevented the fatality count from being much higher.[32][5]

Legacy

Scientific

Flowers and small bushes growing among long-dead tree trunks on a slope leading up to the crest of a ridge.
Johnston Ridge from the Johnston Ridge Observatory in July 2005, showing new plant growth among dead trees from the eruption 25 years earlier.

Johnston, known to his friends as Dave, was commemorated by both his fellow scientists and by the government. Known for his diligent and particular nature, he was called "an exemplary scientist" by a USGS dedication paper, which also described him as "unaffectedly genuine, with an infectious curiosity and enthusiasm." He was quick to "dissipate cynicism" and believed that "careful evaluation and interpretation" was the best approach to his work.[9] Co-worker Andrew Alden states that Johnston had great potential, declaring that he "had many friends and a bright future". Following the eruption, Harry Glicken and other geologists at the USGS dedicated their work to Johnston.[30]

Because Johnston was believed to be safe at the Coldwater II observation post, the fact that he died shocked his friends and co-workers alike. However, most of his colleagues and family asserted that Johnston died "doing what he wanted to do." His mother made statements in an interview shortly after the eruption. "Not many people get to do what they really want to do in this world, but our son did. [...] He would tell us he may never get rich but he was doing what he wanted. He wanted to be near if the eruption came. In a phone call on Mother's Day, he told us it's a sight very few geologists get to see."[2] Dr. Stephen Malone describes Johnston as a "fire dog"; he, like Johnston's parents, agrees that Johnston died in a way that he would have preferred, and that he "was very good at his work."[10]

Since Johnston's death, his field of volcanic eruption prediction has advanced by leaps and bounds, and volcanologists are now able to predict eruptions based on a number of precursors that become apparent between days and months in advance.[34] Geologists can now identify characteristic patterns in seismic waves that indicate particular magmatic activity.[35] In particular, volcanologists have used deep, long-period earthquakes that indicate that magma is rising through the crust. They can also use carbon dioxide emission as a proxy for magma supply rate. Measurements of surface deformation due to magmatic intrusions, like those which were conducted by Johnston and the other USGS scientists at the Coldwater I and II outposts, have advanced in scale and precision. Ground deformation monitoring networks around volcanoes now consist of InSAR (interferometry), surveys of networks of GPS monuments, microgravity surveys in which scientists measure the change in gravitational potential or acceleration because of the intruding magma and resulting deformation, strain meters, and tiltmeters. Though there is still work to be done, this combination of approaches has greatly improved scientists' abilities to forecast volcanic eruptions.[34]

Despite volcanologist deaths in later eruptions at Mount Unzen and Galeras, prediction methods similar to Johnston's allowed scientists to convince settlements near the Mount Pinatubo volcano to evacuate, preventing thousands of deaths.[36] In addition to his work, Johnston himself has become part of the history of volcanic eruptions. With Harry Glicken, he is one of two volcanologists from the United States to die in a volcanic eruption.[37] Ironically, Glicken was being mentored by Johnston, who relieved Glicken of his watch at the Coldwater II observation post thirteen hours before Mount Saint Helens erupted. Glicken was leaving the post so he could fly to visit the University of California graduate school, but after the eruption he missed the flight in a frantic search to find if Johnston was alive.[24] He died in 1991, eleven years later, when a pyroclastic flow overran him and several others at Unzen Volcano in Japan.[37][38]

Commemoration

Refer to caption.
Sign showing the full and official name of the David A. Johnston Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO)

Early acts of commemoration included two trees that were planted in Tel Aviv, Israel,[8] and the renaming of a community center in Johnston's hometown as the "Johnston Center". Both these acts of commemoration were reported in newspapers at the time of the first anniversary of the eruption in May 1981.[8][39]

On the second anniversary of the eruption (18 May 1982), the USGS office in Vancouver (which had been permanently established following the 1980 eruption) was renamed the David A. Johnston Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) in his memory.[40] This volcano observatory is the one most responsible for monitoring Mount St. Helens, and has helped to predict each and every one of the eruptions at the volcano between 1980 and 1985.[41] In a 2005 open day, the lobby area of the CVO included a display and painting commemorating Johnston.[42]

Johnston's connections with the University of Washington (where he had carried out his masters and doctoral research) are remembered by a memorial fund that established an endowed graduate-level fellowship within what is now the department of Earth and Space Sciences. By the time of the first anniversary of his death, the fund had exceeded USD 30,000. Known as the 'David A. Johnston Memorial Fellowship for Research Excellence', a number of awards of this fellowship have been made over the years since it was launched.[8][43]

Following the eruption, the area where the Coldwater II observation post had been was sectioned off. Eventually, an observatory was built in the area in Johnston's name, and opened in 1997.[44] Located just over 5 miles (8 km)* from the north flank of Mount St. Helens, the Johnston Ridge Observatory (JRO) allows the public to admire the open crater, new activity, and the creations of the 1980 eruption, including an extensive basalt field. Part of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, the JRO was constructed for USD 10.5 million, equipped with monitoring equipment. Visited by thousands of tourists annually, it also includes tours, a theater, and an exhibit hall.[45]

There are several public memorials where Johnston's name is inscribed in a list of those known to have died in the eruption. These memorials include a large curved granite monument at an outside viewing area at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, which opened in 1997, and a plaque at the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor's Centre, which was unveiled in a memorial grove in May 2000.[46][47]

Depictions

Surrounding a curved building with glass windows is a landscape of snow.
Johnston Ridge Observatory (JRO) in December 2005

There have been several tellings of Johnston's story in documentaries, films and docudramas about the eruption.

David Huffman starred as a renamed Johnston (David Jackson) in the 1981 film St. Helens, where, controversially, his character became involved in a love affair and was killed by the blast while on top of the mountain. Johnston's parents criticized the production of the film, arguing that it possessed not "an ounce of David in it" and portrayed "him as a daredevil rather than a careful scientist". In fact, they threatened to sue over the fact that they felt their son's memory had been contaminated. Mrs. Johnston stated that the film had changed many true aspects of the eruption, and depicted her son as "a rebel" with "a history of disciplinary trouble".[20]

Prior to the film's release during the one-year anniversary of the eruption, 36 scientists who knew Johnston signed a letter of protest. They wrote that, "Dave's life was too meritorious to require fictional embellishments," and that, "Dave was a superbly conscientious and creative scientist."[48] Don Swanson, a USGS geologist who was Johnston's friend and who, due to other commitments, had convinced Johnston to take his place at the Coldwater II observation post on the day of the eruption,[25] believed that a movie based on Johnston's true life and exploits would have been a hit because of his friend's character.[48]

Johnston's story was also featured in an episode of the 2006 docudrama series Surviving Disaster.[49]

References

  1. ^ a b "David Johnston". St. Helens Hero. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Volcanologist reported missing". Star-News. Gruber, Bob. May 21, 1980. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c "Articles". St. Helens Hero. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  4. ^ a b Brettman, Allan (1995). "This Is It". Longview Daily News. Parrish, Rick. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hildreth, Wes (March 28, 2006). "Geological Survey Circular 838". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  6. ^ Lipman, Peter W. "Dedication, David A. Johnston, 1949-1980". In Lipman, Peter W., and Mullineaux, Donal R. (ed.). The 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens, Washington. USGS Professional Paper. Vol. 1250. United States Geological Survey. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  7. ^ Johnston, David A. (1978). Volcanistic facies and implications for the eruptive history of the Cimarron Volcano, San Juan Mountains, SW Colorado. Master's Thesis. Seattle, WA, USA: University of Washington.
  8. ^ a b c d Associated Press (18 May 1981). "Geologist's kin delay sad visit: Parents await quieter time to see site where son died". Eugene, OR, USA.: Eugene Publisher-Guard. pp. 1B. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  9. ^ a b c Lyn Topinka (December 28, 2007). "David A. Johnston December 1949 – May 18, 1980". Retrieved April 11, 2009.
  10. ^ a b c Hill, p. 33.
  11. ^ Klimasauskas, Ed, and Topinka, Lyn (2010). "Mount St. Helens Precursory Activity: March 15 – 21, 1980". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved March 24, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Klimasauskas, Ed, and Topinka, Lyn (2010). "Mount St. Helens Precursory Activity: March 22 – 28, 1980". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved March 24, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Bryson, p. 220.
  14. ^ a b c Fisher, p. 91.
  15. ^ Bryson, p. 221.
  16. ^ Parchman, pp. 108–109.
  17. ^ Balog, James (December 2004 / January 2005). "Back to the Blast". National Geographic Adventure. Washington, DC, USA: National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2010-11-04. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ a b c d Topinka, Lyn (2010). "Mount St. Helens Precursory Activity: May 10 – 17, 1980". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  19. ^ "Description: May 18, 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens". United States Geological Survey. March 28, 2005. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  20. ^ a b "Family Unhappy With Film Portrayal Of Son". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. The News-Journal Corporation. December 1, 1980. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  21. ^ Stepankowsky, Andre (May 16, 2005). "Memories, lessons from mountain's fury". The Daily News. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  22. ^ a b c Tilling, R.I (1990). Eruptions of Mount St. Helens: Past, Present, and Future. U.S. Geological Survey Special Interest Publication. Reston, VA, USA: United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2010-04-11. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ Sandler, p. 91.
  24. ^ a b c Parchman, 46.
  25. ^ a b Parchman, pp. 21–22.
  26. ^ Callimachi, Rukmini (4 Oct. 2004). "For scientists, this volcano study is personal". The World. Retrieved 10 April 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Harris, Stephen L. (1988). Fire Mountains of the West: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes. Mountain Press Publishing Company. p. 205. ISBN 978-0878422203. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  28. ^ "Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument". USDA Forest Service. November 26, 2006. Retrieved April 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  29. ^ McKean, Kevin (June 2, 1980). "U.S Geological Survey's pilot sees hot action over St. Helens". Eugene Register-Guard.
  30. ^ a b Parchman, p. 142.
  31. ^ "Across the USA: News From Every State". USA Today. June 30, 1993. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  32. ^ a b c d e Topinka, Lyn (December 27, 2006). "Report: Eruptions of Mount St. Helens: Past, Present, and Future". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  33. ^ "Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument". United States Forest Service. March 31, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  34. ^ a b Dzurisin, Daniel (February 2003). "A comprehensive approach to monitoring volcano deformation as a window on the eruption cycle". Reviews of Geophysics. 41 (1). American Geophysical Union: 1001. doi:10.1029/2001RG000107.
  35. ^ McNutt, S.R. "25. Volcano Seismology and Monitoring Eruptions". In Lee, W.H.K, Kanamori, H., Jennings, P.C., and Kisslinger, C. (ed.). International Handbook of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology. Vol. Part A. ISBN 9780124406582. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  36. ^ Alden, Andrew (2010). "Mount St. Helens Eruption of 1980: The man who gave everything". Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  37. ^ a b Lopes and Lopes, p. 43.
  38. ^ Siegel, Lee (7 June 1991). "Geologist Killed in Japan Eruption: Escaped Death when Mt. St. Helens Blew". Ludington Daily News. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  39. ^ "David Johnston Center, 9400 S. Oak Park Ave". Oak Lawn Park District. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  40. ^ Topinka, Lyn (December 8, 2009). "Establishing the David A. Johnston Cascades Volcano Observatory". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  41. ^ Tilling, Robert I. (October 1985). "Volcano hazards program in the United States". Journal of Geodynamics. 3 (3–4). Elsevier Ltd.: 425-446. doi:10.1016/0264-3707(85)90045-6. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  42. ^ Topinka, Lyn (May 21, 2005). "CVO Open House, May 21, 2005". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  43. ^ "Student Awards". University of Washington. 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  44. ^ Tim Klass (Associated Press) (May 17, 1997). "Center allows views of mountain's crater". The Free Lance-Star. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  45. ^ Topinka, Lyn (July 22, 2009). "Mount St. Helens and Vicinity Points of Interest: Johnston Ridge and Johnston Ridge Observatory". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  46. ^ "The Victims of the Eruption". The many faces of Mt St Helens website. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  47. ^ Associated Press (May 20, 2000). "Plaque dedication rekindles memories". Eugene Register-Guard.
  48. ^ a b Parchman, p. 206.
  49. ^ "Surviving Disaster, press release" (PDF). BBC Active. BBC. Retrieved April 3, 2010.

Bibliography

  • Parcham, Frank (2005). Echoes of Fury: The 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens and the Lives it Changed Forever. Kent Sturgis. ISBN 0-9745014-3-3.

Selected publications

Johnston, David A., and Donnelly-Nolan, Julie, ed. (1981). Guides to Some Volcanic Terranes in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Northern California. U.S. Geological Survey Circular. Vol. 838. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2010-04-10.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)

Johnston, David A. (1979). "Volcanic gas studies at Alaskan volcanoes". U. S. Geological Survey Circular (Report). C 0804-B. Reston, VA, USA: United States Geological Survey: B83–B84. ISSN 0364-6017.

Johnston, David A. (1979). "Revision of the recent eruption history of Augustine Volcano; elimination of the "1902 eruption"". U. S. Geological Survey Circular (Report). C 0804-B. Reston, VA, USA: United States Geological Survey: B80–B84. ISSN 0364-6017.

Johnston, David A. (1979). "Onset of volcanism at Augustine Volcano, lower Cook Inlet". U. S. Geological Survey Circular (Report). C 0804-B. Reston, VA, USA: United States Geological Survey: B78–B80. ISSN 0364-6017.

Johnston, David A. (1978). Volatiles, magma mixing, and the mechanism of eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska. PhD Thesis. Seattle, WA, USA: University of Washington.

Johnston, David A. (1978). Volcanistic facies and implications for the eruptive history of the Cimarron Volcano, San Juan Mountains, SW Colorado. Master's Thesis. Seattle, WA, USA: University of Washington.

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