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Igneous Rocks, Minerals, and Volcanos Allan Treiman LPI
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Plan of Talk Tyrrany of Three –Three types of volcanos –Three types of lavas Volcanos in terms of Lava Properties and Environments Lava Properties in terms of Atoms Igneous Rocks and Minerals
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Three Types of Volcanos Shield Composite / Stratovolcano Cinder Cone
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But So Many More … Caldera Complex ‘Super- Volcano’ Lava Plateau Dome Single Flow Tuff Ring And …
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What Controls the Shape of a Volcano? Properties of lava –Viscosity of lava (runny or stiff) –Dissolved Gas - Explosive or Effusive –Solid grains in lava. Volume of lava erupted Single or Multiple eruptions Environment around eruption
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Lava Properties: Viscosity Different sorts of lavas are stiffer or runnier What is lava? –Molten material in the Earth –Solidifies at surface conditions Many sorts of ‘lava’ –Most common is silicate - abundant SiO 4 4- –Molten sulfur, carbonate, iron oxide –Mud is not lava on Earth (but “mud volcanos”) –Water is not lava on Earth (but is elsewhere)
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Silicate Lavas Large Range of Viscosity –Basalt - as runny as motor oil –Andesite - stiffer than taffy –Rhyolite/Granite - like window glass Depends on silica - SiO 2 –Basalt: < 52% SiO 2 in chemical analysis –Andesite: 52 - 63% SiO 2 –Dacite: 63 - 68 % SiO 2 –Rhyolite: > 68 % SiO 2
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Why does silica matter? Si - O bonds much stronger than others Silica tetrahedra, SiO 4 4- polymerize In lava, single silica tetrahedra flow easily, like little balls In lava, large silicate polymers flow poorly, like noodles
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Why does Water Matter? Force for explosive eruptions –Water vapor bubbles out as magma nears surface –No vapor, no explosion! Stiff water-rich magma makes foam (pumice)& shards of glassy ash Pumice + ash and water vapor can flow together as a ‘slurry’ = an ash flow
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Ash flow = pyroclastic flow = ‘nuee ardent’
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Caldera Complex “Super-Volcanos” Valles Grandes, NM Caldera is 22 km across Rhyolite ash flows & domes Slope outside caldera ~2° Yellowstone
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An Invisible Caldera Complex “Super- Volcano”: Harney Basin A shallow basin, slightly east of our field trip path. Multiple Ash Flows –Devine Canyon: 9 mybp –Prater Creek: 8.4 mybp –Rattlesnake: 6.4 mybp Nearly invisible under later basalts, and erosion Typical of later cenozoic geology of Basin & Range!
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Crystals in Lava Solid crystals make lava more viscous What kinds of crystals? –Olivine (Mg,Fe) 2 SiO 4 - green, glassy –Pyroxene (Ca,Mg,Fe)SiO 3 - black/green, breaks on flat surfaces (cleavage) –Feldspar - plagioclase (Ca, Na)(Al,Si)Si 2 O 8 - clear-white-greenish, glassy, breaks on flat surfaces. –Quartz - SiO 2 - clear, glassy, curved fractures.
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Single Eruption Paricutin Cinder Cone - 1.4 km 3 lava Columbia River, Grande Ronde - to 750 km long, 2000 km 3 lava Yellowstone - Lava Creek Tuff (like at Valles Caldera) - ~1000 km 3 ash How much is a cubic kilometer?
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Many Eruptions Mauna Loa Shield - ~75,000 km 3 lava Columbia River Basalts ~170,000 km 3 lava Olympus Mons (Mars) - ~500,000 km 3 volume Ontong-Java Plateau - ?6,000,000 km 3 lava
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Environment of Eruption Into Air –Typical Into Water –Maar Explosion –Tuff Ring –Pillow Lava Into Ice –Tuya Buttes
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What Controls the Shape of a Volcano? Properties of lava –Viscosity of lava (runny or stiff) –Dissolved Gas - Explosive or Effusive –Solid grains in lava. Volume of lava erupted Single or Multiple eruptions Environment around eruption
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Cinder Cone Paricutin, Mexico –1943 - 1952
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