Laser Rangefinder Data for Surficial Mass Movements in the Cascades

A laser rangefinder was used to record surficial mass movements at Cascades volcanoes and an experimental debris flow flume. Mass movements such as large lahars and smaller seasonal debris flows can occur at volcanoes in the Cascades. A combination of seismic, infrasound, tripwires, and webcams can be used to detect and characterize these flows. A laser rangefinder can be placed on the banks of the drainages and pointed towards the channel as a low power, low bandwidth piece of equipment to confirm increases in flow past the station. This can serve as another piece of evidence for flows and may be able to be incoporated into future alarm systems to improve their accuracy and performance.