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How does topography affect lava flows?

How does topography affect lava flows?

When there is a break in the terrain — a sharp change in slope, a valley, or a rock wall, for example — the smooth lava flow is disrupted. Pulses in flow volume or the formation of turbulent eddies caused by these topographic features can make the hard lava shell crack.

What influences lava flow?

The speed at which lava moves across the ground depends on several factors, including (1) type of lava erupted and its viscosity; (2) steepness of the ground over which it travels; (3) whether the lava flows as a broad sheet, through a confined channel, or down a lava tube; and (4) rate of lava production at the vent.

Does lava Follow topography?

Lava flows tend to follow topographic lows and depressions, and these lower areas of elevation can’t be modeled by interpolation from input points outside of the flow (Albino et al., 2015).

What are two factors that influence the viscosity of a lava flow?

Temperature, composition, and volatile (gas) content largely determine the viscosity of lava. Temperature: The hotter the lava, the lower the viscosity (the thinner it is). The cooler the lava, the higher the viscosity (the thicker it is).

How does volcanic eruption affect climate change?

The gases and dust particles thrown into the atmosphere during volcanic eruptions have influences on climate. Most of the particles spewed from volcanoes cool the planet by shading incoming solar radiation. The cooling effect can last for months to years depending on the characteristics of the eruption.

What will happen if you change the steepness of your volcano?

Using observations from historical eruptions and a simple mechanical model, researchers studied how changes in slope can affect lava flows. As soon as lava flows from a volcano, exposure to air and wind causes it to start to cool and harden. studied how changes in slope can affect lava flows.

Can lava flow uphill?

Since it tends to flow more as a thick liquid it can pour uphill as well as downhill and can create a huge variety of interesting shapes. If pahoehoe lava flows over a fairly flat ground it will coat the ground much like a parking lot – with a thick, smooth, flat coating of lava.

Can lava melt everything?

Does lava from an erupting volcano melt everything in its path? The short answer is that while lava is hot, it’s not hot enough to melt the rocks on the side of or surrounding the volcano. Most rocks have melting points higher than 700℃.

What are the two types of lava flows?

Lavas, particularly basaltic ones, come in two primary types: pahoehoe (pronounced ‘paw-hoey-hoey”) and aa (pronounced “ah-ah”). Both names, like a number of volcanological terms, are of Hawaiian origin. A third type, pillow lava, forms during submarine eruptions.

What type of lava flows the fastest?

Basaltic lava flows
Basaltic lava flows move much faster than rhyolitic lava flows. Also, the amount of gas dissolved in the lava can change the flows ability to flow (viscosity). The rate of material that the vent is spewing out. During some eruptions vast amounts of lava are released and so the flows tend to be faster.

What is highly viscous?

A fluid that is highly viscous has a high resistance (like having more friction) and flows slower than a low-viscosity fluid. To think of viscosity in everyday terms, the easier a fluid moves, the lower the viscosity. Honey would move slower than water, so honey would have a greater viscosity.

What are the three factors that influence the viscosity of magma?

The three factors that influence the viscosity of a lava are temperature, the dissolved gases it contains, and its chemical composition.