Quantification of submarine lava-flow morphology through analog experiments

A technique was developed for determining paleoeffusion rates and emplacement times for submarine lava flows, using observations of flow morphology and estimates of eruption volume, eruption temperature, lava viscosity, and preflow topography. Using laboratory simulations, and correlating these results with sea-floor observations, four submarine lava-flow morphologies are considered to be diagnostic of specific effusion rates: jumbled, folded, and lineated sheets, and striated pillows. This approach was applied to the CoAxial flow, emplaced in less than 14 days on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. -from Authors