Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Then And Now: Vegetative Change Detection On Mount St. Helens 2000-2015, Douglas S. Thalacker, Andrés Holz

Student Research Symposium

The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (MSH) proved a dramatic event with many important socio-economic consequences. In addition, this eruption resulted in an array of ecological consequences with subsequent studies and profound theoretical ramifications. The eruption created a complex gradient in disturbance severity on the northern aspect of MSH3, promoting successional processes from varying starting points and change rates. This study uses a landscape-scale approach to quantify spatio-temporal trends in vegetative responses to the eruption from 2000-2015, relying on Landsat TM and ETM+ imagery focusing on the primary and (i.e. no biological legacies) secondary (i.e. with biological legacies) succession …