Emplacement and Solidification of Basaltic Lava Flows

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9508144 Cashman Detailed measurements of the vesicle structure of two inflated sheet flows from Mauna Loa volcano and two inflated sheet flows in central Oregon will allow testing of the applicability of the model of Cashman et al. (in review) to flows of larger volume that typically produced by Kilauea Volcano. This goal of interpreting the dynamics of the emplacement process is distinctly different from previous studies that have viewed the development of flow vesicularity as a static process. This work will lay the foundation for addressing the emplacement of more enigmatic flows, such as flood basalts. Temperature changes with transport distance will be determined for both of these flows using the completed glass geothermometer with the goal of calibrating temperature loss with basalt eruption rate (and thus flow emplacement style). A glass geothermometer will be calibrated experimentally for quantitative determination of temperature loss during transport and emplacement of the Gingko flow. Finally, both pre- and post-emplacement cooling rates of basalt flows are preserved in the microlite population of both glassy selvages and solidified flow interiors. Experimental quantification of observed qualitative relationships between cooling rate and crystal number density will provide a new tool for determining cooling rate distributions in solidified basalt flows.