John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English drummer and member of the band Led Zeppelin. He was renowned for his power, fast right foot, distinctive sound and "feel" for the groove. Bonham is described by the Encyclopædia Britannica as "the perfect model for all hard rock drummers that have followed him".[1]
Contents[hide]
1 Early years
2 Led Zeppelin
3 Death
4 Family
5 Drumming technique
6 Equipment
7 Tribute Kit
8 References
9 Sources
10 External links
//
[edit] Early years
Bonham was born in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. He first learned how to play drums at the age of five, making a drum kit out of containers and coffee tins, and copying the moves of his idols Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. His mother Joan gave him a snare drum at the age of ten. He received his first proper drum kit from his father at the age of fifteen, a Premier Percussion kit. The drummer - nicknamed 'Bonzo' after the dog in a British comic strip[2] - never took any drum lessons, though as a teen he would knock on the doors of other Redditch drummers and ask for advice. While still at school, he would hone his craft by rehearsing and occasionally performing as a stand-in drummer for bands such as the Blue Star Trio between 1962-63,[3] and Gerry Levene & the Avengers in 1963.[4]
Bonham attended Lodge Farm Secondary Modern School, where his headmaster once wrote in his school report card that "He will either end up a dustman or a millionaire".[5][6] After leaving school in 1964, he worked for his father Jack Bonham as an apprentice carpenter[7] in between drumming for different local bands. In 1964, Bonham joined his first semi-professional band, Terry Webb and the Spiders, and met his future wife Pat Phillips at a dance in Kidderminster. He also played in other Birmingham bands such as The Nicky James Movement, and The Senators, who released a moderately successful single "She's a Mod," in 1964. Bonham enjoyed the experience and decided to take up drumming full-time. Two years later, he joined A Way of Life, but the band soon became inactive. In desperation for a regular income, he joined a blues group called Crawling King Snakes whose lead singer was a young Robert Plant.
In 1967, A Way of Life asked Bonham to return to their group, and he agreed — though throughout this period, Plant kept in constant contact with Bonham. When Plant decided to form Band of Joy, Bonham was first choice as drummer. The band recorded a number of demos but no album. In 1968 American singer Tim Rose toured Britain and invited Band of Joy to open his concerts. When Rose returned for another tour months later, Bonham was formally invited by the singer to drum for his band, which gave him a regular income.
[edit] Led Zeppelin
Main article: Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin in 1969. From left to right: John Bonham, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones
When Jimmy Page wanted to start a band in the wake of The Yardbirds break-up, his first choice for singer was Terry Reid. However Reid had already signed with Mickie Most for a solo career. Reid suggested Robert Plant, who in turn suggested Bonham. Bonham had already drummed with Plant, and knew Page from session work, as well as John Paul Jones. Page's choices for drummer included Procol Harum's B.J. Wilson, and session drummers Clem Cattini and Aynsley Dunbar. Ginger Baker was also rumoured to be on Page's list. However, upon seeing Bonham drum for Tim Rose in Hampstead, north London, in July 1968, Page and manager Peter Grant were instantly convinced that he was the perfect fit for the new project.
Despite an intensive campaign to snare the drummer, Bonham was initially reluctant to join the band,[8] as he thought that the Yardbirds was a name from the past with no future. Plant sent eight telegrams to Bonham's pub, the "Three Men in a Boat", in Walsall, which were followed by forty telegrams from Grant. However, at the same time he was also receiving lucrative offers from established artists Joe Cocker and Chris Farlowe. In the end, though, Bonham accepted Grant's offer. He later recalled, "I decided I liked their music better than Cocker's or Farlowe's."[2]
During Led Zeppelin's first tour of the United States in December 1968, Bonham became friends with Vanilla Fudge's drummer Carmine Appice. Appice introduced him to Ludwig drums, which he then used for the rest of his career. Bonham used the longest and heaviest sticks available (size 5B), which he referred to as "trees." His hard hitting style was displayed to great effect on many Led Zeppelin songs, including "Immigrant Song" (Led Zeppelin III), "When the Levee Breaks" (Led Zeppelin IV / ), "Kashmir" (Physical Graffiti), "The Ocean" (Houses of the Holy), and "Achilles Last Stand" (Presence). The studio recording of "Misty Mountain Hop" perfectly captures his keen sense of dynamics, and this is similarly exhibited by his precise drumming on "No Quarter." On several cuts from later albums, Bonham rather adeptly handled funk and Latin-influenced drumming. Songs like "Royal Orleans" and "Fool in the Rain" are good examples, the latter displaying great skill with a New Orleans shuffle and a samba rhythm.
His famous drum solo, first entitled "Pat's Delight," later renamed "Moby Dick," would often last for half an hour and regularly featured his use of bare hands to achieve different sound effects. In Led Zeppelin concert tours after 1969, Bonham would expand his basic kit to include congas, orchestral timpani, and a symphonic gong. Bonham is also credited (by the Dallas Times Herald) with the first in-concert use of electronic timpani drum synthesizers (most likely made by Syndrum) during a performance of the song "Kashmir" in Dallas, Texas in 1977. Many modern rappers would later heavily sample his drumming and incorporate it into their compositions, such as Beastie Boys, who sampled "Moby Dick," "The Ocean," and "When the Levee Breaks."
Bonham performing during Led Zeppelin's 1977 North American Tour
In 1974, Bonham appeared in the film Son of Dracula, playing drums in Count Downe's (Harry Nilsson) backing band. This was an Apple film directed by Freddie Francis. Bonham appeared in an overcrowded drum line-up including Keith Moon and Starr on the soundtrack album. Bonham's action sequence for the film The Song Remains the Same featured him in a drag race at Santa Pod Raceway to the sound of his signature drum solo, "Moby Dick."
During his time with Led Zeppelin, Bonham was also an avid collector of antique sports cars and motorcycles, which he kept on his family's farm called The Old Hyde. He even bought The Plough pub in the nearby village of Shenstone, which shows signs of conversion work to allow him to drive his bikes or cars right behind the bar. This was not, however, the pub featured in the film The Song Remains the Same. It was in fact the New Inn which is currently boarded up, the only clue to its famous past being a picture hanging close to the bar.[citation needed]
As well as recording with Led Zeppelin, Bonham also found time to play on sessions for other artists. In 1969 Bonham appeared on The Family Dogg's A Way of Life, with Page and Jones. Bonham also sessioned for Screaming Lord Sutch on his album Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends in 1970. He also played drums on Lulu's 1971 song "Everybody Clap," originally written by Maurice Gibb and Billy Lawrie. Later in his career, Bonham drummed for his Birmingham friend, Roy Wood, on his 1979 album, On the Road Again, and for Wings on Paul McCartney's Back to the Egg Rockestra project.
[edit] Death
On 25 September 1980, John Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for the upcoming tour of the United States, the band's first since 1977. During the journey Bonham had asked to stop for breakfast, where he downed four quadruple vodkas (roughly sixteen shots, amounting to about 1/2 of an imperial quart or 473 ml). He then continued to drink heavily when he arrived at the rehearsals. A halt was called to the rehearsals late in the evening and the band retired to Page's house, The Old Mill House in Clewer, Windsor. After midnight, Bonham had fallen asleep and was taken to bed and placed on his side. Benji LeFevre (who had replaced Richard Cole as Led Zeppelin's tour manager) and John Paul Jones found him dead the next afternoon.[9] Bonham was 32 years old.
Weeks later at the coroner's inquest, it emerged that in the 24 hours before he died, John Bonham had drunk forty measures of vodka which resulted in pulmonary edema: waterlogging of the lungs caused by inhalation of vomit. A verdict of accidental death was returned at an inquest held on October 27.[9] An autopsy had found no other drugs in Bonham's body.[10] John Bonham was cremated and on 12 October 1980 interred at Rushock Parish Church, Worcestershire. His headstone reads:
“
Cherished memories of a loving husband and father, John Henry Bonham Who died Sept. 25th 1980. aged 32 years. He will always be remembered in our hearts, Goodnight my Love, God Bless.
”
John Bonham's gravestone
Despite media rumors that Cozy Powell, Phil Collins, Bill Ward, Aynsley Dunbar, Carmine Appice, Barriemore Barlow, Simon Kirke, or Bev Bevan[citation needed] would join the group as his replacement, the remaining members decided to disband Led Zeppelin after Bonham's death. They issued a press statement on 4 December 1980, confirming that the band would not continue without its drummer. "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend and the deep respect we have for his family, together with the sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were." It was simply signed "Led Zeppelin".[11]
[edit] Family
John Bonham's younger sister, Deborah Bonham (born 1962), is a singer-songwriter. His younger brother, Mick Bonham (1951-2000), was a disc jockey, author and photographer. John Bonham's son, Jason Bonham (born 1966), is a rock drummer, who recently played with Led Zeppelin on their one-off reunion show in December 2007, as well as their previous reunion at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show in 1988. A 1970 film clip of a 4-year-old Jason playing drums appears in the Led Zeppelin film The Song Remains the Same. Bonham's daughter, Zoë Bonham (born 1975), is a singer-songwriter and also appears regularly at Led Zeppelin conventions and awards. Zoë and Jason appeared at the induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 along with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin. His mother, Joan Bonham, is one of the lead vocalists for the Zimmers[12], a 40-member band set up as a result of a BBC documentary on the treatment of the elderly.[13] Bonham's cousin Billy Bonham (born 1950), also played keyboards for Terry Reid and Ace Kefford.[14]
[edit] Drumming technique
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)
Bonham used the matched grip. When using his snare, he would often add emphasis with rimshots to bring out a more solid attack. His heavy sound was due in part to the unusually large drums incorporated into his various kits. Bass drums in common use at the time were on the average of 22 inches in diameter, whereas Bonham opted for 24 and 26 inch bass drums. His mounted tom was 12 inches deep, much like a parade drum.
One of the highlights of his Moby Dick drum solo, would be a segment where he would play his drums with only his hands.
Bonham was known for his unusual time signatures on many songs like "Nobody's Fault but Mine" and "In My Time of Dying". Despite being rather basic blues songs, he would make them complex using off-tempos. He would also tend to utilise interplay with the rhythm and bass guitars on a track, often seeming to "play along" with them. This led to his widely regarded "sense of groove", as this tended to lead to drum beats uniquely tailored for each song and that also tended to fit with the song well. Examples of this can be heard on the track "Over the Hills and Far Away", where there is a lot of interplay between Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones, as well as the final, Hard Rock section of "Stairway to Heaven", where Bonham's rhythm is perfectly in sync with both guitarist Jimmy Page's guitar and John Paul Jones' Bass.
This information is from Wikipedia.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Oil Terminal Under Redoubt Volcano
Why build an Oil Terminal right under Redoubt Volcano?
The oil tanks at Drift river. The dark lahar mud spilled over the edge of the dike before this photo was taken on March 23. Photo from the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
Since its completion in 1968, The Drift River oil terminal has provided temporary storage for oil from wells in Cook Inlet. A pipeline brings oil from offshore wells to the storage terminal on the west side of the inlet. When enough oil has accumulated, a tanker removes the oil and brings it across to the east side to the Tesoro oil refinery at Nikiski, where it is processed (along with imported oil and oil from the North Slope) into fuel for Alaska markets.
Most of the platforms in Cook Inlet cannot pipe oil directly to the refinery on the east side of the inlet, they instead store the oil at the Drift River oil terminal (southwest corner of the map) until there is enough to ship across the inlet. Click on the map pins to see the name of the platform or facility that is marked.
At first glance, any spot on the west shore would work as well as any other. But most of the shore is too shallow for large ships to approach it closely. So Chevron sited the facility near the mouth of the Drift River, to take advantage of the steep delta left by thousands of years of volcanic mud flows (lahars) from nearby Redoubt Volcano. Unfortunately, this placed the facility right where it was vulnerable to these same lahars, and to other volcanic hazards.
This sort of compromise between feasibility and risk is common in large resource extraction projects like the oil drilling in Cook Inlet. In theory, risk is carefully weighed against benefits of development. However, the corporations developing a resource receive a greater portion of the benefits than the public with whom they share the risk. This conflict of interest between the public and industry muddles the issues involved and leads to a reactive policy of handling hazards, like we see at the Drift River Terminal. The lahars that are now lapping up against dikes that protect oil tanks could have been anticipated long before they arrived, and less likely but more severe volcanic hazards should have been considered as well. We rely on regulatory agencies to resolve conflicts between industry and the public, but as yet the process has not risen above the politics that inevitably surround major resource development projects.
A history of lahars on the Drift River
During the winters between eruptions, snow accumulates on the north slope of Redoubt, forming a glacier that flows five miles down into the Drift River valley. During eruptions, hot ash dumps onto this glacier. The glacier melts and mixes with the ash to form a great flood of mud that carries boulders and anything else in its path. Even as the Drift River facility was being built, the volcano erupted, leaving workers stranded by volcanic mud. In addition to worker safety, lahars could unleash a large oil spill, if any of the tanks were ruptured or torn from their foundations.
Lahar deposits from the 1989-90 eruptions as seen in 2001. This photo is only 2-3 miles upstream of the terminal, and even here boulders four or five feet in diameter are common.
1989-90 eruptions
A series of eruptions in late 1989 and early 1990 sent lahars flowing down the Drift River, flooding the oil storage facility. At the time, around 38 million gallons of oil were being stored at the terminal. All the tanks survived the flood, and no oil was spilled. In response, Chevron built a 25-foot earth and gravel dike (with concrete on the river side) to protect the tank farm from future eruptions.
Current (2009) eruptions
Oil production in Cook Inlet has declined greatly since 1990, and at the beginning of this eruptive episode, approximately 6 million gallons of oil remained, in just two of seven tanks. This information was not initially available to the public. Although the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) had been warning of increased activity at Redoubt since late January, Chevron initially declined to release information about the oil stored there, citing homeland security concerns.
The first eruption at Redoubt happened on March 22, sending a lahar down the Drift River and around the terminal. Several eruptions followed including a violent explosion on April 4 that sent another large lahar down the Drift River. Mudflows have overtopped the dikes and surrounded the tank farm, swamped the airport, and caused damage to some equipment. But so far, major flows have not breached the dikes, and no oil tanks have been damaged.
The April 4th Lahar on the Drift River flooded the entirety of the upper Drift River valley, and spread out to be 8 miles wide. Source
On April 6, the volcano had quieted somewhat, and it was determined to be safe enough for a tanker to dock and offload approximately 60% of the oil. 2.53 million gallons of oil and sludge remain in the tanks, and in the pipeline between the facility and one of the oil platforms in the inlet. Reversing an earlier decision by the Coast Guard, 840,000 gallons seawater was used as ballast to refill the partially-drained tanks, lessening the chance that they could spill oil by being floated and torn from their foundations in a future lahar. The oil-water mixture is hazardous, and will eventually need to be disposed of. The Drift River facility is currently shut down for the duration of this episode of unrest, forcing the shutdown of ten nearby oil rigs in the inlet. AVO speculates that the eruptions could last for weeks to months.
Future Eruptions?
Even if the facility escapes this episode of eruptions unscathed, as sediment accumulates in the floodplains and channels around the facility, but not within the diked areas, it becomes progressively more vulnerable. In time, the area within the dikes will become the lowest spot in the valley, and mud, like water, will seek that lowest spot.
Bigger eruptions
Volcanoes don’t follow any rule that says every eruption must be the same. Stratovolcanoes like Redoubt build massive mountains over thousands of years, and can destroy the whole edifice in an eruption thousands of times larger than we have seen in Redoubt’s current episode of unrest. These giant eruptions can leave a hole where before there was a mountain. During such a caldera forming eruption, it is possible that an avalanche of hot ash, pumice, and rock (called a pyroclastic flow) would reach all the way to Cook Inlet, and in the process overrun and destroy the Drift River Terminal.
For an example of an eruption of this sort, we can look southwest of Mt. Redoubt to Aniakchak Caldera on the Alaska Peninsula. This volcano exploded catastrophically 3500 years ago, sending a pyroclastic flow 20 miles to the Bering Sea, where it then continued into the water, generating a tsunami that was likely over 30 feet high even after crossing over 75 miles of the shallow Bristol Bay. Along the Bering Sea coast the deposits of the pyroclastic flow are tens of feet thick.
The bluffs along the coast near the village of Port Heiden are composed of packed pumice from the 3500 year old Aniakchak eruption. Here, over 20 miles from the center of the caldera, they are 15-20 feet thick, and in some places along this coast they are twice this thick.
If a similar eruption occurred at Redoubt, the flow might well be strong enough to rupture the tanks, and could be hot enough to ignite the oil in them. Cleanup in a vast plain of porous pumice would be an unprecedented problem, and likely impossible, leaving the oil to leach into the environment in an uncontrolled fashion. This sort of worst case scenario is left out of analyses that are done when development is considered even now, since they are historically rare enough that it’s easily dismissed.
This map shows a cartoon of a hypothetical giant caldera forming eruption at Redoubt Volcano. An eruption of this scale is very rare, but not unheard of. Zoom out and look southwest to see the caldera and pyroclastic flow of an eruption at Aniakchak for comparison.
Designed for hazards?
Despite its proximity to Redoubt, the Drift River Terminal was not designed to be quickly evacuated of oil. If eruptions had been factored into its design, this would provide very good protection against oil spills, especially for extreme cases such as a caldera forming eruption. For an eruption as large as Aniakchak to happen, many cubic miles of magma would have to pool beneath the mountain, presumably causing easily detected swelling of the volcano and swarms of earthquakes prior to the eruption. Smaller eruptions can often be predicted somewhat in advance as well. This current cycle of lahar-producing eruptions was predicted months in advance by the Alaska Volcano Observatory. However, the outlet pipes from the tanks are set several feet above the bottom of the tank, so it is very difficult to remove all the oil.
Privatized gains, socialized losses
The natural resource extraction industry often finds itself in a conflict of interest with the public. The Drift River terminal faces what is for Chevron likely a financially acceptable risk of destruction by volcanic catastrophe. In cases like this, the industrial operator of a facility need only multiply the probability of destruction by the cost of the facility and cleanup. If that is less than the profits from having the facility, then the risk is financially acceptable.
From a public perspective the calculation is very different. The potential costs are many and difficult to quantify: destruction of subsistence, recreational, and commercial fisheries; damage to a regional reputation for pristine wilderness that draws visitors; and moral concerns over destruction of ecosystems. And the benefits are smaller and less direct. Some stakeholders receive almost no benefit from Chevron’s success, and many only gain tertiary benefits through increased economic activity.
If everything goes well, Chevron profits. If things go badly, everyone loses.
Questions for the future
The Drift River Terminal might survive the lahars from this eruption, as it has before. We all hope so. However, there is a growing public perception that Chevron is being cavalier about volcano hazards. Perhaps in the end it will be that perception that dooms The Drift River Terminal.
However, this is not how the system should work.
There should have been a facility built with a detailed assessment of volcanic hazards in mind. Instead we got a facility protected by dikes only after inundation by a lahar. We got tanks that cannot be drained in an emergency.
The operation of the facility should have been reconsidered after it was built, taking into account a new understanding of the hazard posed by Redoubt. Instead we see public outcry as a more important force than an understanding of hazards.
We should have easily understood information for the public about the vulnerabilities and mitigation measures at the Drift River facility. Instead we see a corporation unwilling to share information with the public, and a public correspondingly surprised when they learn about the situation.
Next time, will we do better?
The oil tanks at Drift river. The dark lahar mud spilled over the edge of the dike before this photo was taken on March 23. Photo from the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
Since its completion in 1968, The Drift River oil terminal has provided temporary storage for oil from wells in Cook Inlet. A pipeline brings oil from offshore wells to the storage terminal on the west side of the inlet. When enough oil has accumulated, a tanker removes the oil and brings it across to the east side to the Tesoro oil refinery at Nikiski, where it is processed (along with imported oil and oil from the North Slope) into fuel for Alaska markets.
Most of the platforms in Cook Inlet cannot pipe oil directly to the refinery on the east side of the inlet, they instead store the oil at the Drift River oil terminal (southwest corner of the map) until there is enough to ship across the inlet. Click on the map pins to see the name of the platform or facility that is marked.
At first glance, any spot on the west shore would work as well as any other. But most of the shore is too shallow for large ships to approach it closely. So Chevron sited the facility near the mouth of the Drift River, to take advantage of the steep delta left by thousands of years of volcanic mud flows (lahars) from nearby Redoubt Volcano. Unfortunately, this placed the facility right where it was vulnerable to these same lahars, and to other volcanic hazards.
This sort of compromise between feasibility and risk is common in large resource extraction projects like the oil drilling in Cook Inlet. In theory, risk is carefully weighed against benefits of development. However, the corporations developing a resource receive a greater portion of the benefits than the public with whom they share the risk. This conflict of interest between the public and industry muddles the issues involved and leads to a reactive policy of handling hazards, like we see at the Drift River Terminal. The lahars that are now lapping up against dikes that protect oil tanks could have been anticipated long before they arrived, and less likely but more severe volcanic hazards should have been considered as well. We rely on regulatory agencies to resolve conflicts between industry and the public, but as yet the process has not risen above the politics that inevitably surround major resource development projects.
A history of lahars on the Drift River
During the winters between eruptions, snow accumulates on the north slope of Redoubt, forming a glacier that flows five miles down into the Drift River valley. During eruptions, hot ash dumps onto this glacier. The glacier melts and mixes with the ash to form a great flood of mud that carries boulders and anything else in its path. Even as the Drift River facility was being built, the volcano erupted, leaving workers stranded by volcanic mud. In addition to worker safety, lahars could unleash a large oil spill, if any of the tanks were ruptured or torn from their foundations.
Lahar deposits from the 1989-90 eruptions as seen in 2001. This photo is only 2-3 miles upstream of the terminal, and even here boulders four or five feet in diameter are common.
1989-90 eruptions
A series of eruptions in late 1989 and early 1990 sent lahars flowing down the Drift River, flooding the oil storage facility. At the time, around 38 million gallons of oil were being stored at the terminal. All the tanks survived the flood, and no oil was spilled. In response, Chevron built a 25-foot earth and gravel dike (with concrete on the river side) to protect the tank farm from future eruptions.
Current (2009) eruptions
Oil production in Cook Inlet has declined greatly since 1990, and at the beginning of this eruptive episode, approximately 6 million gallons of oil remained, in just two of seven tanks. This information was not initially available to the public. Although the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) had been warning of increased activity at Redoubt since late January, Chevron initially declined to release information about the oil stored there, citing homeland security concerns.
The first eruption at Redoubt happened on March 22, sending a lahar down the Drift River and around the terminal. Several eruptions followed including a violent explosion on April 4 that sent another large lahar down the Drift River. Mudflows have overtopped the dikes and surrounded the tank farm, swamped the airport, and caused damage to some equipment. But so far, major flows have not breached the dikes, and no oil tanks have been damaged.
The April 4th Lahar on the Drift River flooded the entirety of the upper Drift River valley, and spread out to be 8 miles wide. Source
On April 6, the volcano had quieted somewhat, and it was determined to be safe enough for a tanker to dock and offload approximately 60% of the oil. 2.53 million gallons of oil and sludge remain in the tanks, and in the pipeline between the facility and one of the oil platforms in the inlet. Reversing an earlier decision by the Coast Guard, 840,000 gallons seawater was used as ballast to refill the partially-drained tanks, lessening the chance that they could spill oil by being floated and torn from their foundations in a future lahar. The oil-water mixture is hazardous, and will eventually need to be disposed of. The Drift River facility is currently shut down for the duration of this episode of unrest, forcing the shutdown of ten nearby oil rigs in the inlet. AVO speculates that the eruptions could last for weeks to months.
Future Eruptions?
Even if the facility escapes this episode of eruptions unscathed, as sediment accumulates in the floodplains and channels around the facility, but not within the diked areas, it becomes progressively more vulnerable. In time, the area within the dikes will become the lowest spot in the valley, and mud, like water, will seek that lowest spot.
Bigger eruptions
Volcanoes don’t follow any rule that says every eruption must be the same. Stratovolcanoes like Redoubt build massive mountains over thousands of years, and can destroy the whole edifice in an eruption thousands of times larger than we have seen in Redoubt’s current episode of unrest. These giant eruptions can leave a hole where before there was a mountain. During such a caldera forming eruption, it is possible that an avalanche of hot ash, pumice, and rock (called a pyroclastic flow) would reach all the way to Cook Inlet, and in the process overrun and destroy the Drift River Terminal.
For an example of an eruption of this sort, we can look southwest of Mt. Redoubt to Aniakchak Caldera on the Alaska Peninsula. This volcano exploded catastrophically 3500 years ago, sending a pyroclastic flow 20 miles to the Bering Sea, where it then continued into the water, generating a tsunami that was likely over 30 feet high even after crossing over 75 miles of the shallow Bristol Bay. Along the Bering Sea coast the deposits of the pyroclastic flow are tens of feet thick.
The bluffs along the coast near the village of Port Heiden are composed of packed pumice from the 3500 year old Aniakchak eruption. Here, over 20 miles from the center of the caldera, they are 15-20 feet thick, and in some places along this coast they are twice this thick.
If a similar eruption occurred at Redoubt, the flow might well be strong enough to rupture the tanks, and could be hot enough to ignite the oil in them. Cleanup in a vast plain of porous pumice would be an unprecedented problem, and likely impossible, leaving the oil to leach into the environment in an uncontrolled fashion. This sort of worst case scenario is left out of analyses that are done when development is considered even now, since they are historically rare enough that it’s easily dismissed.
This map shows a cartoon of a hypothetical giant caldera forming eruption at Redoubt Volcano. An eruption of this scale is very rare, but not unheard of. Zoom out and look southwest to see the caldera and pyroclastic flow of an eruption at Aniakchak for comparison.
Designed for hazards?
Despite its proximity to Redoubt, the Drift River Terminal was not designed to be quickly evacuated of oil. If eruptions had been factored into its design, this would provide very good protection against oil spills, especially for extreme cases such as a caldera forming eruption. For an eruption as large as Aniakchak to happen, many cubic miles of magma would have to pool beneath the mountain, presumably causing easily detected swelling of the volcano and swarms of earthquakes prior to the eruption. Smaller eruptions can often be predicted somewhat in advance as well. This current cycle of lahar-producing eruptions was predicted months in advance by the Alaska Volcano Observatory. However, the outlet pipes from the tanks are set several feet above the bottom of the tank, so it is very difficult to remove all the oil.
Privatized gains, socialized losses
The natural resource extraction industry often finds itself in a conflict of interest with the public. The Drift River terminal faces what is for Chevron likely a financially acceptable risk of destruction by volcanic catastrophe. In cases like this, the industrial operator of a facility need only multiply the probability of destruction by the cost of the facility and cleanup. If that is less than the profits from having the facility, then the risk is financially acceptable.
From a public perspective the calculation is very different. The potential costs are many and difficult to quantify: destruction of subsistence, recreational, and commercial fisheries; damage to a regional reputation for pristine wilderness that draws visitors; and moral concerns over destruction of ecosystems. And the benefits are smaller and less direct. Some stakeholders receive almost no benefit from Chevron’s success, and many only gain tertiary benefits through increased economic activity.
If everything goes well, Chevron profits. If things go badly, everyone loses.
Questions for the future
The Drift River Terminal might survive the lahars from this eruption, as it has before. We all hope so. However, there is a growing public perception that Chevron is being cavalier about volcano hazards. Perhaps in the end it will be that perception that dooms The Drift River Terminal.
However, this is not how the system should work.
There should have been a facility built with a detailed assessment of volcanic hazards in mind. Instead we got a facility protected by dikes only after inundation by a lahar. We got tanks that cannot be drained in an emergency.
The operation of the facility should have been reconsidered after it was built, taking into account a new understanding of the hazard posed by Redoubt. Instead we see public outcry as a more important force than an understanding of hazards.
We should have easily understood information for the public about the vulnerabilities and mitigation measures at the Drift River facility. Instead we see a corporation unwilling to share information with the public, and a public correspondingly surprised when they learn about the situation.
Next time, will we do better?
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