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Volcaniclastic Sediment

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

A volcaniclastic sediment is a sediment (regardless of average grain or clast size) composed primarily of volcanic material. This material may be pyroclastic (fragments derived from explosive volcanism) or hyaloclastic (fragments formed by thermal shock when hot lava comes in contact with cool sea or lake water). Undisturbed clastic deposits of volcanic materials are called volcanoclastic; the term sediment is added when the material has been reworked and redeposited by water, wind, or gravity. Volcaniclastic sediments have a wide range of compositions, from basalt (rarely komatiite) to rhyolite. They may display sedimentary features familiar from siliciclastic sediments, such as graded or cross bedding. Commonly, volcanoclastic sediment undergoes metasomatism or diagenetic changes, including carbonatization or silicification, for example, by hydrothermal fluids.

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  1. Maison des Géosciences, LGCA, Université J. Fourier, 1381, rue de la Piscine, 38400, St-Martin d’Hères, France

    Nicholas Arndt

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  1. Nicholas Arndt
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Correspondence to Nicholas Arndt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Arndt, N. (2014). Volcaniclastic Sediment. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1670-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1670-3

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

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  1. Latest

    Volcaniclastic Sediment
    Published:
    17 January 2023

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1670-4

  2. Original

    Volcaniclastic Sediment
    Published:
    05 May 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1670-3

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