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Lava Coil

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

  • 68 Accesses

Definition

A spiral pattern observed in lava.

Synonyms

Lava (coil, whorl, spiral); Spiral; Vortex exudation coil

Morphometry

Approximately 5–90 m wide on Mars

Subtypes on Mars

Classification based on volutes:

  1. (1)

    Doubly voluted (like the letter “S”) (majority)

  2. (2)

    Singly voluted (few)

Classification based on spiral arm direction toward center:

  1. (1)

    Clockwise

  2. (2)

    Counterclockwise

Formation

Mars: It has been proposed that the coils formed from the rotation/twisting of ductile crust on the surface of a large volume of ponded lava in Cerberus Palus, Mars. The lava was likely emitted from the Cerberus Fossae (~300 km NE of Cerberus Palus) and flowed through Athabasca Valles before debouching into Cerberus Palus. Coils are present between large plates of rafted material, interpreted to be pieces of volcanic crust. The inter-plate regions are patterned with lava polygon (small), in addition to the coils. The inter-plate polygonal patterning is nearly ubiquitous, whereas the coils have only...

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References

  • Lonsdale P (1977) Abyssal pahoehoe with lava coils at the Galapagos rift. Geology 5:147–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McEwen AS, Preblich BS, Turtle EP, Artemieva NA, Golombek MP, Hurst M, Kirk RL, Burr DM, Christensen PR (2005) The rayed crater Zunil and interpretations of small impact craters on Mars. Icarus 176:351–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peck DL (1966) Lava coils of some recent historic flows, Hawaii. US Geol Surv Prof Paper 550B:148–151

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  • Ryan AJ, Christensen PR (2012) Coils and polygonal crust in the Athabasca Valles region, Mars, as evidence for a volcanic history. Science 336:449–452. doi:10.1126/science.1219437

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Temperley BN (1966) Vortex exudation coils on a recent basaltic lava in Kenya. Overseas Geol Min Res Q Bull Overseas Geol Surv 10:42–46

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Andrew J. Ryan

Authors
  1. Andrew J. Ryan
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Correspondence to Andrew J. Ryan .

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Ryan, A.J. (2014). Lava Coil. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_52-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_52-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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