Augustine Tephra B
Start: 390 yBP [1]
Event Type: Explosive
Description: From Beget and others (1994): "The next lower tephra occurs from 22 to 64 cm below the top of cores, depending on localized sedimentation rates, and is correlated here with tephra layer "B" from Mount St. Augustine in the southernmost part of Cook Inlet. Field studies at Mount St. Augustine (Siebert and others, 1989) showed that the West Island debris avalanche occurred about 367+/-55 yr B.P., and Beget (1989) showed that the 30-50-cm-thick pumiceous air-fall layer B tephra on Augustine Island was erupted at about the same time [note that more recently, Waitt and Beget (1996) indicate that the West Island debris avalanche occurred after tephra layer B, thus the West Island debris avalanche has been entered in to the database separately]. Conversion of the age of layer "B" and the West Island debris avalanche to calendar years using the approach of Stuiver and Becker (1986) yields a calibrated age of about 1490 A.D., indicating these eruptions occurred ca. 500 years ago. The discovery of Layer "B" from Mount St. Augustine at Skilak Lake demonstrates that this prehistoric tephra was distributed at least 200 km north of the source volcano, and provides an important chronologic datum, allowing estimates of the age of younger tephras in the Skilak Lake cores by interpolation and sedimentation rate estimates."
From Waitt and Beget (2009): "Of the two youngest coarse tephras, M drifted south and B strongly northeast (fig. 7 [in original text])."
"On the south and west, tephra M seems everywhere much thicker than tephra B."
"The two major Augustine proximal tephras that are also identified in distal locations are tephra B (about 390 yr B.P.) and tephra I (about 1,700 yr B.P.). Tephra I is about 3 cm thick at a distance of 110 km, and B is about 7 mm thick at a distance of 200 km (fig. 8 [in original text])."
The Global database on large magnitude explosive volcanic eruptions (LaMEVE; accessed 2017) reports a magnitude of 4, bulk eruptive volume of 0.100 cubic km and a dense rock equivalent eruptive volume of 0.040 cubic km for the eruption.
From Waitt and Beget (2009): "Of the two youngest coarse tephras, M drifted south and B strongly northeast (fig. 7 [in original text])."
"On the south and west, tephra M seems everywhere much thicker than tephra B."
"The two major Augustine proximal tephras that are also identified in distal locations are tephra B (about 390 yr B.P.) and tephra I (about 1,700 yr B.P.). Tephra I is about 3 cm thick at a distance of 110 km, and B is about 7 mm thick at a distance of 200 km (fig. 8 [in original text])."
The Global database on large magnitude explosive volcanic eruptions (LaMEVE; accessed 2017) reports a magnitude of 4, bulk eruptive volume of 0.100 cubic km and a dense rock equivalent eruptive volume of 0.040 cubic km for the eruption.
References Cited
[1] Volcanic processes and geology of Augustine Volcano, Alaska, 2009
Waitt, R.B., and Beget, J.E., 2009, Volcanic processes and geology of Augustine Volcano, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1762, 78 p., 2 plates, scale 1:25,000, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1762/ .[2] Provisional geologic map of Augustine Volcano, Alaska, 1996
Waitt, R. B., and Beget, J. E., 1996, Provisional geologic map of Augustine Volcano, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 96-0516, 44 p., 1 plate, scale 1:25,000.
map in GIF format 21 KB 
full-text PDF 2.6 MB
map sheet 295 MB! [3] Preliminary volcano-hazard assessment for Augustine Volcano, Alaska, 1998
Waythomas, C. F., and Waitt, R. B., 1998, Preliminary volcano-hazard assessment for Augustine Volcano, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-0106, 39 p., 1 plate, scale unknown.
full-text PDF 2.08 MB
map sheet plate 3.14 MB [4] Volcanoes of the World, 2013
Global Volcanism Program, 2013, Volcanoes of the World, v. 4.5.3. Venzke, E (ed.): Smithsonian Institution. Downloaded 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW4-2013[5] Global database on large magnitude explosive volcanic eruptions (LaMEVE), 2012
Crosweller H.S., Arora, B., Brown, S.K., Cottrell, E., Deligne, N.I., Guerrero, N.O., Hobbs, L., Kiyosugi, K., Loughlin, S.C., Lowndes, J., Nayembil, M., 2012, Global database on large magnitude explosive volcanic eruptions (LaMEVE): Journal of Applied Volcanology, v. 1, n. 4, unpaged.[6] Cyclic formation of debris avalanches at Mount St Augustine volcano, 1992
Beget, J. E., and Kienle, J., 1992, Cyclic formation of debris avalanches at Mount St Augustine volcano: Nature, v. 356, n. 6371, p. 701-704.[7] Ejecta and landslides from Augustine Volcano before 2006, 2010
Waitt, R.B., 2010, Ejecta and landslides from Augustine Volcano before 2006, chapter 13 of Power, J.A., Coombs, M.L., and Freymueller, J.T., eds., The 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1769, p. 297-319 [http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1769/chapters/p1769_chapter13.pdf].[8] A 500-year-long record of tephra falls from Redoubt volcano and other volcanoes in upper Cook Inlet, Alaska, 1994
Beget, J. E., Stihler, S. D., and Stone, D. B., 1994, A 500-year-long record of tephra falls from Redoubt volcano and other volcanoes in upper Cook Inlet, Alaska: in Miller, T. P. and Chouet, B. A., (eds.), The 1989-1990 eruptions of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 62, n. 1-4, p. 55-67.Complete Eruption References
Preliminary volcano-hazard assessment for Augustine Volcano, Alaska, 1998
Waythomas, C. F., and Waitt, R. B., 1998, Preliminary volcano-hazard assessment for Augustine Volcano, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-0106, 39 p., 1 plate, scale unknown.
full-text PDF 2.08 MB
map sheet plate 3.14 MB 
Provisional geologic map of Augustine Volcano, Alaska, 1996
Waitt, R. B., and Beget, J. E., 1996, Provisional geologic map of Augustine Volcano, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 96-0516, 44 p., 1 plate, scale 1:25,000.
map in GIF format 21 KB
full-text PDF 2.6 MB
map sheet 295 MB! 
Volcanoes of the World, 2013
Global Volcanism Program, 2013, Volcanoes of the World, v. 4.5.3. Venzke, E (ed.): Smithsonian Institution. Downloaded 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW4-2013
Global database on large magnitude explosive volcanic eruptions (LaMEVE), 2012
Crosweller H.S., Arora, B., Brown, S.K., Cottrell, E., Deligne, N.I., Guerrero, N.O., Hobbs, L., Kiyosugi, K., Loughlin, S.C., Lowndes, J., Nayembil, M., 2012, Global database on large magnitude explosive volcanic eruptions (LaMEVE): Journal of Applied Volcanology, v. 1, n. 4, unpaged.
Cyclic formation of debris avalanches at Mount St Augustine volcano, 1992
Beget, J. E., and Kienle, J., 1992, Cyclic formation of debris avalanches at Mount St Augustine volcano: Nature, v. 356, n. 6371, p. 701-704.
Ejecta and landslides from Augustine Volcano before 2006, 2010
Waitt, R.B., 2010, Ejecta and landslides from Augustine Volcano before 2006, chapter 13 of Power, J.A., Coombs, M.L., and Freymueller, J.T., eds., The 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1769, p. 297-319 [http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1769/chapters/p1769_chapter13.pdf].
Volcanic processes and geology of Augustine Volcano, Alaska, 2009
Waitt, R.B., and Beget, J.E., 2009, Volcanic processes and geology of Augustine Volcano, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1762, 78 p., 2 plates, scale 1:25,000, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1762/ .
A 500-year-long record of tephra falls from Redoubt volcano and other volcanoes in upper Cook Inlet, Alaska, 1994
Beget, J. E., Stihler, S. D., and Stone, D. B., 1994, A 500-year-long record of tephra falls from Redoubt volcano and other volcanoes in upper Cook Inlet, Alaska: in Miller, T. P. and Chouet, B. A., (eds.), The 1989-1990 eruptions of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 62, n. 1-4, p. 55-67.
