Hi! Just wated to let you know that the pages you have here are
great.. now I have a few questions for you! I was wondering if you can
give me some information on Pillow Basalts. I live in Marin County,
California (Near San Francisco), and am doing a report on the Marin
Headlands (specifically Pillow Basalts) for my Oceanography Honors class.
I have seen much textbook info on pillow basalts, but I was wondering if
you could give me some more info that might not be in the books, or maybe
some specifically interesting information.
Also, I was a Geology student last year and became very interested in
Volcanoes, and have even consideres a major in Volcanology (well, major
in Geo to become a Volcanologist). If possible, can you please e-mail me
a description of the studies that you do or what work is like from day to
day? Thanks a TON, I really appreciate it!
Caroline
Hi Caroline,
Thank you for your kind comments about VolcanoWorld. Comments like yours
help us to be able to sit down and answer all the ask-a-volcanologist
questions that come pouring in.
As for pillow lavas, I imagine that you have probably absorbed more from
your books than I can tell you. I can tell you that old pillow lavas are
often considered important when trying to decipher old rock sequences because
they indicate the presence of water. However, you have to be very careful
to make sure that you are not looking at regular old pahoehoe toes, which
of course, indicate dry land. Many of the features that supposedly can be
used to tell the difference between the two don't always work. The only
absolute way to know that you are looking at true pillow lavas is to find
water-lain sediments between the individual pillows. You might think
"wait a minute, sediments are lain down really slowly, how are they going
to get between the pillows while they're active?" Actually, when lava is
flowing under water, there is a lot of sediment generated as pieces of the
lava fall off during the rapid collapsing of the pillows as the quickly
chill.
What does a volcanologist do on a usual day? There can be quite a
spectrum, depending on the speciality of the volcanologist. Personally,
I've been spending day after day sitting in front of a computer screen
drawing maps of Fernandina volcano (in the Galapagos) from satellite
images. I would rather actually be in the Galapagos, but for now this'll
have to do. When you are monitoring an active volcano, you often have to
be a versatile person. There are many tasks that need to get done
(repairing seismic equipment, measuring distances to see if the volcano is
inflating, observing lava flows and lahars, etc.) The days are often
long, dusty, wet, or cold (but very satisfying). Sitting in front of a
computer and working on an actually erupting volcano are probably the ends
of the spectrum, and most volcanologists end up somewhere in between.
I hope this answer helps.
Sincerely,
Scott Rowland
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