Hoodoo Mountain - Current Threats and Preparedness

Current Threats and Preparedness

The volcano continues to pose a serious threat to the surrounding area. In 1997, a group of university and industry scientists associated with the Geological Survey of Canada spent six weeks camping at the edge of Hoodoo's summit ice cap to determine the volume of water on the volcano's summit which could be mobilized in the event of an eruption using ice-penetrating radar. This group included Mark Stasiuk and Catherine Hickson of the Geological Survey of Canada, Alison Rust, Kelly Russell and Ben Edwards of the University of British Columbia, Trevor Page of Lancaster University, Guy Cross and Jeff Schmok of Golder Associates and Jim Nicholls of the University of Calgary. Hoodoo's summit ice cap remains 150 m (490 ft) thick and 3 km (1.9 mi) in diameter and throughout the volcano's history, it has been influenced by glacial ice. Most of the volcano's volcanic activity has produced lava flows from its flat-topped summit, indicating any potential volcanism will occur under the summit ice cap to trigger considerable melting, flooding and mudflows, which could have a disastrous effect on the adjacent Iskut and Stikine rivers. Although very few people live in the region, large mining and mineral exploration camps exist 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Hoodoo Mountain on the Iskut River. Should there be renewed activity in the form of lava flows, damming of the Iskut River would be a significant hazard to these mining and mineral operations. In the 1980s, the Iskut River was studied as a possible site for a hydroelectric plan. However, the plain was left alone partly because of the uncertain volcanic potential in the surrounding environment. High columns of volcanic ash associated with explosive eruptions would have more widespread effects, including disruption of air traffic between Canada, Alaska, and Asia. However, this is a less possibility because most eruptions at Hoodoo Mountain are lava flows.

The Interagency Volcanic Event Notification Plan, Canada's volcanic emergency notification program, was established to outline the notification procedure to some of the main agencies that would be involved in response to a volcanic eruption in Canada, an eruption close to Canada's borders, or an eruption significant enough to have an effect on Canada and its people. It focuses primarily on aviation safety because air traffic can quickly enter areas of volcanic ash. The program notifies all impacted agencies that have to deal with volcanic events. Aircraft are rerouted away from hazardous ash and people on the ground are notified of potential ash fall.