Open File Report 2022-01

Author(s) Date 2022-12-12

This report provides a summary of both the lessons learned from the Turtle Mountain monitoring system (TMMS), and from studies undertaken by the Alberta Geological Survey (AGS) and collaborators between January 1 and December 31, 2020. The TMMS is a near-real-time remote monitoring system that provides data from a network of sensors and monitoring campaigns on Turtle Mountain, located in the Crowsnest Pass of southern Alberta. 
As of April 1, 2005, the AGS took ownership of this system, and the responsibility for long-term monitoring, interpretation of data, and notification to the Alberta Emergency Management Agency should significant movements occur. Since that time, Turtle Mountain has been the site of ongoing monitoring and research focused on understanding the structure and kinematics of movements on the unstable eastern slopes. As this site provides a rich dataset and optimal conditions for the application of new and evolving warning characterization technologies, the site has been termed the ‘Turtle Mountain Field Laboratory’.
As part of this responsibility, the AGS performs an annual detailed review of the data stream from the TMMS. To help in this interpretation, the AGS initiated specific studies to better understand the structure of the mountain and its relationship to the style and rate of movement seen in recent and historical deformations of South Peak. These studies also better define the unstable volumes of rock from the South, North, and Third Peak areas.
This report comprises five main sections.
•    The first section contains information about the significant changes to the TMMS’s network during 2020. This includes a review of the system outage and repair activities, alternative monitoring efforts, and a summary of system performance and reliability.
•    The second section discusses safety update at the pump house located near Bellevue. 
•    The third section provides data analysis and interpretation from the primary monitoring equipment, known as LiSAmobile. 
•    The fourth section discusses supporting studies and research as well as the scheduling of these studies in 2020. 
•    The last section features information on two videos produced by the AER to highlight work completed on Turtle Mountain in 2020.

NTS Keywords

Chao, D.K. (2022): Turtle Mountain Field Laboratory, Alberta (NTS 82G): 2020 data and activity summary; Alberta Energy Regulator / Alberta Geological Survey, AER/AGS Open File Report 2022-01, 16 p.