Identify Potential Lahar Pathways in Proximity to Cascade Stratovolcanoes

This project focused on the creation of a simple lahar pathway identification model for Mount Saint Helens that can be readily reproduced using publicly available datasets. The model parameters included: slope derived from a depressionless digital elevation model (DEM), land cover, and a hydrological network. Previous lahar studies utilized complex mathematical equations or process modeling schema such as the LAHARZ model. While slope had been used in previous modeling efforts, most lahar models examined lahar inundation zones from the perspective of flow volume by calculating cross-sectional and planimetric area. Two modeling methods, simple overlay and weighted overlay, and two classification schema of slope factors, steep slope and inverse slope, were investigated to determine potential lahar pathways and compared against United States Geological Survey (USGS) volcanic hazard zones in the vicinity of Mount Saint Helens. The inverse slope overlay models were more successful at determining potential lahar pathways in low-lying valley and the steep slope overlay models would be more useful in identifyin