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On the genesis of lava cracks in Hawaii
Author(s) -
Scheidegger Adrian E.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
terra nova
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.353
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-3121
pISSN - 0954-4879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3121.1993.tb00305.x
Subject(s) - lava , geology , shearing (physics) , lava field , petrology , flow (mathematics) , volcano , geometry , seismology , geotechnical engineering , mathematics
The orientation structures of lava flows and lava cracks in Hawaii (Big Island) have been analysed statistically. It is shown that the lava flows do not follow epigenetic random directions, but instead follow channels that have been endogenically predesigned. Similarly, the cracks in these flows have consistent directions at 45° to the edges of the lava flows. Thus, these cracks are not simply ‘cooling joints’ but features that correspond to the edge‐crevasses in glacier‐flow: they are shearing phenomena that occur in a similar fashion in any plastic‐type flow.