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Volcanic Materials Identification

EARTHSCIENCELAB
VolcanicMaterialsIdentification
VolcanicLavaFlowsandPyroclasticMaterials
Volcanicmaterialsaredividedintotwomaingroups:Pyroclasticmaterialsandlavaflowmaterials.Belowisalistofthevariousvolcanicmaterial
definitionsdescribingthegeneralcharacteristicsofthosematerials,andinsomecasesexplanationsontheirformation.Readthroughthesedefinitions
andbecomefamiliarwiththembeforeproceedingtotheonlineactivities.

LavaFlowMaterials
Aa:Aa(pronounced"ahah"aHawaiianterm),islavathathasarough,jagged,spiny,andgenerallyclinkerysurface.Inthickaaflows,therubbly
surfaceoflooseclinkersandblockshidesamassive,relativelydenseinterior.
Block:Fragmentsoflavaorrocklargerthan64millimetersinsizewhichformduetothefracturingofviscouslavaflowsurfacesduringflow.
Lava:ThetermusedformagmaonceithaseruptedontotheEarth'ssurface.Moltenrockthateruptsfromaventorfissure.
Lavaflow:Streamofmoltenrockthateruptsrelativelynonexplosivelyfromavolcanoandmovesslowlydownslope.Anoutpouringoflavaontothe
landsurfacefromaventorfissure.Also,asolidifiedtonguelikeorsheetlikebodyformedbyoutpouringlava.
Pahoehoe:Pahoehoe(pronounced"pahhoyhoy"aHawaiianterm),isaveryfluidlavaflow,thatinsolidifiedform,ischaracterizedbyasmooth,
billowy,orropysurfaces.
PillowLava:Fluidlavaeruptedorflowingunderwatermayformaspecialstructurecalledpillowlava.Suchstructuresformwhenmoltenlavabreaks
throughthethinwallsofunderwatertubes,squeezesoutliketoothpaste,andquicklysolidifiesasirregular,tonguelikeprotrusions.Thisprocessis
repeatedcountlesstimes,andtheresultingprotrusionsstackoneuponanotherasthelavaflowadvancesunderwater.Thetermpillowcomesfromthe
observationthatthesestackedprotrusionsaresackorpillowshapedincrosssection.Typicallyrangingfromlessthanafoottoseveralfeetin
diameter,eachpillowhasaglassyouterskinformedbytherapidcoolingofthelavabywater.Muchpillowlavaiseruptedunderrelativelyhighpressure
createdbytheweightoftheoverlyingwaterthereislittleornoexplosiveinteractionbetweenhotlavaandcoldwater.Thebulkofthesubmarinepartof
aHawaiianvolcanoiscomposedofpillowlavas.

PyroclasticMaterials
Agglutinate:Cinders,scoriaorpumicefragmentsthathavepartiallyweldedtogethertoformacohesivemass.Agglutinateformswhentheindividual
pyroclastsretainahighenoughtemperatureafterimpacttopartiallymelttogether(welding).Ifthefragmentarecompletelymoltenafterimpact,they
maybegintoflowdownhillinwhatisknownasarootlessflow.
Ash(volcanic):Fragmentslessthan2millimetersindiameteroflavaorrockblastedintotheairbyvolcanicexplosions.
Blocks:Fragmentsoflavaorrocklargerthan64millimetersinsizethatareblastedintotheairbyvolcanicexplosions.Blocksareejectedduringthe
eruptioninasolidstate,whilebombsareejectedduringtheeruptioninasemisolid,orpartialmolten,condition.Generally,blocksoftenhavean
angularappearance,duetothefracturingofsolidmaterialduringtheeruption.
Bombs:Fragmentsoffluidorpartiallyfluidlavaorrocklargerthan64millimetersinsizethatareblastedintotheairbyvolcanicexplosions.Bombsare
ejectedduringtheeruptioninasemisolid,orpartialmolten,condition,whileblocksareejectedduringtheeruptioninasolidstate.Volcanicbombs
undergowidelyvaryingdegreesofaerodynamicand/orimpactshaping,dependingontheirfluidity,duringtheflightthroughtheatmosphereand
subsequentimpactwiththeground.Basedontheirshapesaftertheyhittheground,bombsarevariouslydescribed,inthefollowinggraphicterms:
BreadcrustBombsThesearebombsthathavehadtheirsurfacefractured,withoutbreakingthebombapart.Thesefracturesforminoneoftwoways.Inboth
cases,theexteriorshellofthebombcoolsandsolidifies,whiletheinteriorremainsmoltenorpartiallymolten.Impactwiththesurfacecancausethebombtoflex,
thusfracturingthesolidsurface.Onceontheground,gasesinthemolteninteriorbegintoexpand,causingthesolidsurfacetofractureandexpand.
CowPieBombsAlsocalledcowdungbombs.Theseareveryfluidbombsthataregreatlydeformedduringimpact.Thefluidnatureofthebombcausesthelava
toflowoutwardfromthecenteroftheimpact,formingaroughlycircular,pancakeshapedbomb.
FusiformbombsAlsocalledspindleoralmondbombs.Thesebombshaveanelongatedformwhichtapersdownateachend,witharelativelysmoothsurface.
Manyhaveanalmondshape.
IrregularBombsThesearebombsthathavenodistinguishingshape,butclearlylacktheangularnaturecommonwithblocks.
RibbonbombsBombsthathavealongflat,ribbonlikeform.
SphericalBombsAsthenameimplies,thesearebombswithasphericalorballlikeshape.

Cinders:Cindersarevesicularlavafragments1centimeterorlargerindiameter.SeeScoria.
Lapilli:Fragmentsoflavaorrockbetween2and64millimetersinsizethatareblastedintotheairbyvolcanicexplosions.
Pumice:Alightcolored,frothy,vesicularvolcanicrock,usuallyofintermediateandfelsiccomposition,formedbytheexpansionofgasineruptinglava.
Commonlyperceivedaslumpsorfragmentsofpeasizeandlargerbutcanalsooccurabundantlyasashsizeparticles.Becauseofitsnumerousgas
bubbles,pumicecommonlyfloatsonwater.
Pyroclastic:Pertainingtofragmented(clastic)rockmaterialformedbyavolcanicexplosionorejectionfromavolcanicvent.SeeTephra.
Reticulite:Duringtheexceptionallyhighfountainingepisodesofsomeeruptions,anextremelyvesicular,featherylightpumice,calledreticuliteor
threadlacescoria,canformandbecarriedmanymilesdownwindfromthehighlavafountains.Eventhoughreticuliteistheleastdensekindoftephra,
itdoesnotfloatonwater,becauseitsvesiclesareopenandinterconnected.Consequently,whenitfallsonwater,itbecomeseasilywaterloggedand
sinks.
Scoria:Adarktoreddishcolored,scoriaceous,vesicularvolcanicrock,usuallyofmaficcomposition.Scoriaformswhenblobsofgaschargedlavaare
thrownintotheairduringaneruptionandcoolinflight,fallingasdarkvolcanicrockcontainingcavitiescreatedbytrappedgasbubbles.
Tephra:Solidmaterialofallsizesexplosivelyejectedfromavolcanointotheatmosphere.Tephraisthegeneraltermnowusedbyvolcanologistsfor
airbornevolcanicejectaofanysize.Historically,however,varioustermshavebeenusedtodescribeejectaofdifferentsizes.Fragmentalvolcanic
productslessthan2mmindiameterarecalledash,between2and64mmindiameterarecalledlapilli,fragmentslargerthan64mmarecalledblocks
iftheywereejectedduringtheeruptioninasolidstate,whilebombsareejectedduringtheeruptioninasemisolid,orpartialmolten,condition.See
Pyroclastic.

http://facweb.bhc.edu/academics/science/harwoodr/Geol101/labs/VolcanicMaterials/index.htm

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Volcanic Materials Identification

Alldefinitionshavebeentakenand/ormodifiedfromtheCVOGlossaryofVolcanoandRelatedTerminologywebpage.Referencesfororiginalsourcesareavailableonthewebpage.

SampleIdentification
Oneachofthefollowingpagesyouwillfindanimageofasampleoflavafloworpyroclasticmaterial,andaVolcanicMaterialsIdentificationWorksheet.
YoumaywishtoreviewthematerialintheIgneousRockIdentificationactivitybeforeproceeding.
Manyofthesesampleshavemorethanonetexture.Ifthereismorethanonetextureforasample,thefirsttexturewillbethattexturewhichappears
higheronthelistoftexture.Thesecondtexturewillbelowerinthelist.Forexample,ifyoudeterminethatthesamplehasbothglassyandvesicular
textures,selectglassy(higherinthelist)forTexture#1,andvesicular(lowerinthelist)forTexture#2.Ifyoureversetheorderofthetexturesinthelist,
thetextureswillbemarkedasincorrectlyidentified.

SelectaSampletoIdentify:

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http://facweb.bhc.edu/academics/science/harwoodr/Geol101/labs/VolcanicMaterials/index.htm

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