Turtle Mountain Field Laboratory, Alberta (NTS 82G): 2013 Data and Activity Summary

The Turtle Mountain monitoring system (TMMS) is a near-real-time monitoring system that provides data from a series network of eight geotechnical sensors on the south peak of Turtle Mountain (site of the 1903 Frank Slide) in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. Alberta Geological Survey (AGS) is responsible for the long-term monitoring and interpretation of these data. It also notifies the Alberta Emergency Management Agency should significant movements occur.

This report has four main sections:

The first section contains information about the major changes to the TMMS’s network during the 2013 field season. This includes a review of the main repair and maintenance activities, a summary of new installations and abandoned stations, and a summary of system performance and reliability.

The second section provides data analysis for the primary, secondary, and non-operational instruments. These interpretations include slope conditions and displacement behavior from instrumentation results. Since weather factors have affected some of the sensors, this discussion focuses only on the sensors that have provided reliable annual data.

The third section reviews the trial of ground based LiDAR scanning by the University of Lausanne, and analysis of periodic GPS data which was provided by the University of Calgary.

Lastly, there is an overview of the Waterton Workshop which was held in June of 2013.