Effusive eruptions Flashcards
What 2 ways can the behaviour of magam be classified when it reaches the surface?
Explosive
Effusive
What are key controls of explosive eruptions?
viscosity and gas content
What is first needed for an effusive eruption to occur?
magma must reach the surface as a liquid (lava)
What is low viscosity magma?
this occurs if bubbles can escape and/or if there’s
insufficient gas to drive explosive fragmentation of the magma
What is high viscosity magma?
this occurs if there is no gas loss or high gas content
(and slow ascent)
What is lava?
magma reaching earths surface in liquid form
What is tephra?
the fragmental material generated by the break-up of magma during explosive eruptions
What structures do low and high viscosity lava produce?
Low - lava flows
High - lava domes
What are the typical compositions of lava flows and domes?
Flows are mafic
Domes are felsic
What composition are the majority of explsoive eruptions?
MOre evolved higher viscosity
What is lava viscosity/ behaviour dependant on?
Silica content
Other chemical species (volatiles)
Temperature
Crystal content
What does viscosity determine?
Lava flow - speed, thickness and surface morphology
What do viscous lavas form?
Blocky thick relatively short flows, coulees and domes
What are pahoehoe and A’a lava flows?
BAsaltic lava flows
P - ropy
A - rubbly
Which magma type is more polymerised basalt or rhyolite?
rhyolite is more polymerised, more silica-rich lower amount of other cations that inhibit polymerisation. The silica content is by far the strongest influence on polymerisation and viscosity.
Which is more dense in general out of basalts and rhyolite lava?
The basalt – it is much richer in Mg, Fe, Ca
What is density of lavas dependant on?
temperature - higher temp = lower density
what is the relationship between viscosity and temperature?
reduced viscosity with increased temp
how does adding dissolved h2o to silicate melt affect viscosity?
significant reduction in viscosity
What might the eruotion differeces be between a degassed rhyolite and a water rich rhyolite?
Water rich magma, with relatively lower viscosity, is able to flow more easily, potentially ascend
more rapidly and more likely to erupt explosively than a gas-poor rhyolite, which may ascend
slowly and erupt effusively in styles typical of very viscous magma (lava domes)
What area of monserrat was most affected by the 1990s to 2013 eruption?
South of the island