GEOG 310 Lab 3 Mass Wasting.docx

GEOG 310 W24 S. Jones Lab 3: Mass Wasting In this lab, you will consider different types and scales of mass wasting events. You will recognize terms and concepts from topics we have covered in class. For example, the carbonate (chemical sedimentary rocks) of Turtle Mountain, terms describing faults and folds, freeze-thaw cycles, frost wedging, and more. Part 1: Frank Slide Read about Frank Slide on the Alberta Geological Survey/Alberta Energy Regulator website: https://ags.aer.ca/research-initiatives/frank-slide Read the sections called: 1. “One of Canada’s Largest Modern Rockslides” 2. The five short modules nested in the section, “The History and Geology of Turtle Mountain and Frank Slide,” and 3. “Geology of Turtle Mountain” Quick comprehension check-in questions: Q1.1 : Turtle Mountain contains layers of limestone, sandstone, shale, and coal. What environment was the limestone deposited in? (1 point) Limestone is usually formed in marine environments (sea or ocean). So the limestone of Turtle Mountain is likely deposited in marine environment Q1.2 : During mountain building, the rocks at Turtle Mountain were folded. The fold is described as “an arched ‘A-frame’ shape.” What is the term used to describe a fold of this geometry? (1 point) A nticline Q1.3 : What was being mined at Turtle Mountain in the early 1900s? (1 point) Coal was being mined at Turtle Mountain in the early 1900 s Let’s see for ourselves! Investigate Frank Slide using Google Earth Pro (available on the lab computers). Navigate to the starting coordinates: 49°35'28.30"N 114°23'13.59"W Q1.4 : What is the first thing you notice or something that stands out to you when you look at the landscape and Frank Slide? (2 points) Massive rock debris covering the area and the random arrangement of rocks. They are very scattered with what seems to be no rhyme or reason. Probably due to the landslide. Q1.5 : Estimate a rock volume in m 3 for Frank Slide. Use the measuring tool in Google Earth Pro to measure the length of the slide from the base of the mountain to the end of the rockslide debris, measure the width of the slide, and assume an average depth/vertical thickness of 14 meters ( Frank Slide Interpretive Centre, 2024 ). Write down your measurements and show your work. (2 points) Length: 1530.77 meters Page 1 of 4

GEOG 310 W24 S. Jones Width: 1405.2 meters Vertical Thickness: 14 meters Volume = Length x Width x Vertical Thickness = 1530.77*1405.2*14 = 30,110,245 m^3 Q1.6 : How does the rock volume you approximated compare with the volume estimate on the Alberta Geological Survey/Alberta Energy Regulator website? (1 point) It is lower than the historical geological survey on the website. Q1.7 : Use the Google Street View feature to look at Frank Slide from the highway (HWY 3). (2 points) a) What do you notice about the shape of the boulders? All the boulders are quite large and almost jagged in nature. They seem sharp around the corners like they have been shattered into smaller pieces b) And what does that tell you about the speed at which the mass wasting event happened? Mass wasting event started slow then picked up as they rocks hurtled down the mountain Review the information at the following two monitoring campaign webpages (they are both short pages): - https://ags.aer.ca/research-initiatives/turtle-mountain-monitoring - https://ags.aer.ca/research-initiatives/turtle-mountain-monitoring-campaign Q1.8 : The Turtle Mountain Monitoring System (TMMS) is described as being “near real-time” ( Alberta Geological Survey, 2020 ). Why do you think this is important? (1 point) Since Turtle Mountain is close to a couple towns and a highway as well as a tourist location it gives people time to take cover or get away from the mountain. It's important to prevent the loss of human life and try to avoid as much damage to surrounding areas as possible. Part 2: Now for a Slow Jam Navigate to the starting coordinates: 51°1'25.81"N 114°0'0.10"W Q2.1 : What features do you see? Explain how you know including a description of the shape. (2 points) Page 2 of 4

GEOG 310 W24 S. Jones Q3.3 : Based on what you have learned about the relationship between moisture/precipitation and mass wasting, what do you think a warmer, wetter future due to climate change might mean for the frequency of mass wasting events? (1 point) If the future environment is to become warmer and wetter I believe the frequency of mudslides will increase. Also the severity of these mudslides will also increase. References and Resources Alberta Geological Survey. 2020. Turtle Mountain Monitoring Campaign: Using Secondary Campaigns to Detect Rock Movements. https://ags.aer.ca/research-initiatives/turtle-mountain-monitoring-campaign Other Alberta Geological Survey/Alberta Energy Regulator websites: - Frank Slide: https://ags.aer.ca/research-initiatives/frank-slide - Turtle Mountain Monitoring: https://ags.aer.ca/research-initiatives/turtle-mountain-monitoring Frank Slide Interpretive Centre. 2024. Learn. Government of Alberta. https://frankslide.ca/learn NASA 2019. Drought then Deluge Turned a Stable Landslide into Disaster. Image of the Day for February 8, 2019. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/144518/drought-then-deluge-turned-a-stable-landslide-i nto-disaster Optional additional resources (These are optional additional resources/further reading if you are interested. You will not be tested on optional material) : - If interested, you can view livestream at Turtle Mountain: https://ags.aer.ca/research-initiatives/turtle-mountain-webcams - More on Mud Creek: Handwerger et al. 2019. A shift from drought to extreme rainfall drives a stable landslide to catastrophic failure. Scientific Reports 9: 1569. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-38300-0 Page 4 of 4