Iceland Lava

• Main Authors: Pankhurst, Matt, Kuva, Jukka
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Jukka Kuva 2019
• Subjects: Iceland
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.23729/7880a25a-3004-486a-b085-724f322607c7; https://etsin.fairdata.fi/dataset/e5e9d1ed-4497-439c-9f0a-83c71b6ba230

The samples represent a selection of picritic lavas from Iceland. Lava is magma that erupted from a volcano as a molten material, flowed from some distance, and finally cooled and solidified on the surface. Picrites are dark coloured rocks, most easily distinguished by their high abundance of the mineral olivine, a greenish yellow and stubby phase, which usually occurs as large (several mm) crystals. Picrites are chemically primitive (high Mg, low Si), which means they have not chemically changed much since they were produced by melting inside the Earth's mantle. Due to this primitive nature, picrites are useful to researchers because they can be regarded as chemical messengers from the mantle that 'speak' the clearest. Yet, even these rocks must be interpreted together with evidence for their physical evolution, such as crystal settling and vapor phase processes. By measuring the 3D textures of these lavas, the physical histories of each feature can be addressed since it is their combined shape and density that affect their physical behavior. These measurements are not possible using only 2D data. New insights to the range of cooling paths during ascent and emplacement of the magma can be discovered because each crystal or voids' history can be understood in relation to each of the others, which forms a picture of how the magma has moved through time. When chemical information from inside individual crystals is placed into this broad physical context, a more complete understanding of melt extraction from the mantle is possible. Thanks to Thor Thordarson (University of Iceland) and Godfrey Fitton (University of Edinburgh) for allowing access to this collection, and generous donation of these sub-samples for ongoing study. To get this dataset, please contact [e-mail]. Preview dataset found at http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:att:6f044732-2a5a-4655-bba1-8e9d661492da