This paper presents a new method of analysing lava flow deposits which allows the velocity, discharge rate and rheological properties of channelled moving lavas to be calculated. The theory is applied to a lava flow which was erupted on Kilauea in July 1974. This flow came from a line of fissures on the edge of the caldera and was confined to a pre-existing gully within 50 m of leaving the vent. The lava drained onto the floor of the caldera when the activity stopped, but left wall and floor deposits which showed that the lava “banked up” as it flowed around each of the bends. Field surveys established the radius of curvature of each bend and the associated lava levels, and these data, together with related field and laboratory measurements, are used to study the rheology of the lava. The results show the flow to have been fast moving but still laminar, with a mean velocity of just over 8 m s−1; the lava had a low or negligible yield strength and viscosities in the range 85–140 Pa s. An extension of the basic method is considered, and the possibility of supercritical flow discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.
Buy single article
Instant access to the full article PDF.
Price includes VAT for USA
Subscribe to journal
Immediate online access to all issues from 2019. Subscription will auto renew annually.
This is the net price. Taxes to be calculated in checkout.
Chow VT (1959) Open-channel hydraulics. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp 680
Fink JH, Fletcher RC (1978) Ropy pahoehoe: surface folding of a viscous fluid. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 4:151–170
Fink JH, Malin MC, D'Alli RE, Greeley R (1981) Rheological properties of mudflows associated with the spring 1980 eruptions of Mt St Helens volcano, Washington. Geophys Res Lett 8:43–46
Freundt A, Schminke H-U (1986) Emplacement of small-volume pyroclastic flows at Laacher See (East-Eifel, Germany). Bull Volcanol 48:39–59
Greeley R (ed) (1974) Hawaiian Planetology Conference. NASA TMX 62362
Henderson FM (1966) Open channel flow. Macmillan, New York, pp 522
Heslop SE (1987) Aspects of volcanic fluid dynamics. PhD thesis, University of Lancaster
Holland FA (1973) Fluid flow: for chemical engineers. Edward Arnold, London, pp 269
Hulme G (1982) A review of lava flow processes related to the formation of lunar sinuous rilles. Geophys Surv 5:245–279
Johnson AM (1970) Physical Processes in Geology. Freeman, Cooper & Co, San Francisco, pp 577
Johnson AM (1984) Physical Processes in Geology. Corrected reprint. Freeman, Cooper & Co, San Francisco, pp 577
Knudsen JG, Katz DL (1958) Fluid dynamics and heat transfer. McGraw Hill, New York, pp 576
Komar PD (1969) The channelised flow of turbidity currents with application to Monterey deep-sea fan channel. J Geophys Res 74:4544–4558
Lipman PW, Banks NG (1987) Aa flow dynamics, Mauna Loa 1984. USGS Prof Pap 1350:1527–1567
Lowe DR, Williams SN, Leigh H, Connor CB, Gemmell JB, Stoiber RE (1986) Lahars initiated by the 13 November 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia. Nature 324:51–53
Lockwood JP, Dvorak JJ, English TT, Koyanagi RY, Okamura AT, Summers ML, Tanigawa WR (1987) Mauna Loa 1974–1984: a decade of intrusive and extrusive activity. USGS Prof Pap 1350:537–570
Moore HJ (1987) Preliminary estimates of the rheological properties of 1984 Mauna Loa lava. USGS Prof Pap 1350:1569–1588
Moore HJ, Kachadoorian R (1980) Estimates of lava flow velocities using lava trees. NASA TM-81776:201–203
Moore HJ, Schaber GG (1975) An estimate of the yield strength of the Imbrium flows. Proc Lunar Sci Conf 6th:101–118
Moore HJ, Kachadoorian R, Moore RB (1980) Estimates of lava flow velocities in channels of the Pu'u Kia'i flow, Hawaii. NASA TM-82385:269–271
Moore RB, Helz RT, Dzurisin D, Eaton GP, Koyanagi RY, Lipman PW, Lockwood JP, Puniwai GS (1980) The 1977 eruption of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 7:189–210
Shaw HR, Wright TL, Peck DL, Okamura R (1968) The viscosity of basaltic magma: an analysis of field measurements in Makaopuhi lava lake, Hawaii. Am J Sci 266:225–264
Skelland AHP (1967) Non-Newtonian flow and heat transfer. Wiley, New York, pp 469
Wilkinson WL (1960) Non-Newtonian fluids: fluid mechanics, mixing and heat transfer. Pergamon, Oxford New York, pp 138
Wolfe EW, Garcia MO, Jackson DB, Koyanagi RY, Neal CA, Okamura AT (1987) The Puu Oo eruption of Kilauea volcano, episodes 1–20, January 3, 1983, to June 8, 1984. USGS Prof Pap 1350:471–508
About this article
Cite this article
Heslop, S.E., Wilson, L., Pinkerton, H. et al. Dynamics of a confined lava flow on Kilauea volcano, Hawaii. Bull Volcanol 51, 415–432 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01078809
- Yield Strength
- Discharge Rate
- Rheological Property
- Field Survey