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Article
A New Approach to Probabilistic Lava Flow Hazard Assessments, Applied to the Idaho National Laboratory, Eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho, USA
Geology
  • Elisabeth Gallant, University of South Florida
  • Jacob Richardson, University of Maryland
  • Charles Connor, University of South Florida
  • Paul Wetmore, University of South Florida
  • Laura Connor, University of South Florida
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2018
Keywords
  • Idaho,
  • Idaho National Laboratory,
  • Snake River plain,
  • nuclear facilities,
  • United States
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1130/G45123.1
Disciplines
Abstract

We present a new probabilistic lava flow hazard assessment for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) nuclear facility that (1) explores the way eruptions are defined and modeled, (2) stochastically samples lava flow parameters from observed values for use in MOLASSES, a lava flow simulator, (3) calculates the likelihood of a new vent opening within the boundaries of INL, (4) determines probabilities of lava flow inundation for INL through Monte Carlo simulation, and (5) couples inundation probabilities with recurrence rates to determine the annual likelihood of lava flow inundation for INL. Results show a 30% probability of partial inundation of the INL given an effusive eruption on the eastern Snake River Plain, with an annual inundation probability of 8.4 × 10−5 to 1.8 × 10−4. An annual probability of 6.2 × 10−5 to 1.2 × 10−4 is estimated for the opening of a new eruptive center within INL boundaries.

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Geology, v. 46, issue 10, p. 895-898

This paper is published under the terms of the CC-BY license.

Citation Information
Elisabeth Gallant, Jacob Richardson, Charles Connor, Paul Wetmore, et al.. "A New Approach to Probabilistic Lava Flow Hazard Assessments, Applied to the Idaho National Laboratory, Eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho, USA" Geology Vol. 46 Iss. 10 (2018) p. 895 - 898
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/charles_connor/36/