Volcanic Deltas and Possible Martian Analogs

Tuyas are defined by the presence of lava-fed deltas (Skilling, 2002). The deltas represent a late subaerial progradational phase of edifice-building (Smellie, 2000). Although the deltas are constructed on top of a subaqueous tuff cone and/or pillow mound, these earlier-formed constructs do not significantly affect the final shape of the edifice. The lavas are the volcanic equivalent of topset beds in a sedimentary delta. They overlie cogenetic coarse hyaloclastite breccias (equivalent to sedimentary delta foreset beds), which dip radially outward at steep repose angles (25-40°). The breccias formed by a combination of quench-induced shattering and avalanching at the delta brinkpoint (Skilling, 2002). The junction between the lavas and dipping breccias is a planar surface (passage zone) that records the water level coeval with delta formation (Jones, 1969, 1970).

Most of the images on this page were provided by Ian Skilling.

View active lavas flowing into oceans on HVO website

Figure 1: Primary morphologies and post-depositional modification of subaqueous coherent lava lobes and their derived breccias. Note that post-depositional modification may deform the primary morphology of lava bodies and breccia units (see Fig. 2; from Skilling, 2002).

Figure 2: Conceptual depiction of the variety of clast generation and emplacement processes that may occur in a basaltic pahoehoe lava-fed delta (a). James Ross Island Volcanic Group facies described in Skilling (2002) also illustrated. Not all lava-fed delta processes are illustrated (see text and (b) and (c) for further details). Lt and Ll lava facies are also not illustrated. Note that large-scale gravitational slides and marine, fluvial and glacial processes that operate in alluvial deltaic environments are not illustrated; (b, c): interpretation of source for dominant coarse clasts in Cf facies; (d): interpretation of source for dominant coarse clasts in Ca facies (from Skilling, 2002).

Figure 3: Characteristics which may be used to distinguish marine and englacial basaltic lava-fed deltas. Note that non-glacial lacustrine deltas may also share many of the features of englacial examples, including catastrophic drainage and basin collapse (from Skilling, 2002).

Figure 4: Foreset-bedded pillow breccias of a lava-fed delta, emplaced on more massive deposits (James Ross Island, Antarctica; image taken by Ian Skilling, courtesy British Antarctic Survey).

Figure 5: Contact of two basaltic lava-fed delta lobes. Note wedge-like block of subaerial lava(?) between the two foreset-bedded lobes, and horizontally-bedded massive diamictites on lower RHS (James Ross Island, Antarctica; image taken by Ian Skilling, courtesy British Antarctic Survey).

Figure 6: More distal view of deltas in figure 5.

Figure 7: Foreset-bedded pillow breccias of delta lobe emplaced on more massive pillow breccias (slumped delta deposits?) forming a topographic high (James Ross Island, Antarctica; image taken by Ian Skilling, courtesy British Antarctic Survey).

Figure 8: stacked subaerial lava forming the cap of a basaltic pahoehoe lava-fed delta (Brown Bluff, Antarctica; image taken by Ian Skilling, courtesy British Antarctic Survey).

Figure 9: Spectacular cross-section of basaltic pahoehoe lava-fed delta illustrating the passage zone (contact of subaerial and subaqueous facies); note coherent lava lobes dipping down the foresets (Antarctica; image taken by Ian Skilling, courtesy British Antarctic Survey).

Figure 10: Cross-sections of basaltic pahoehoe lava-fed deltas illustrating passage zones, and foreset-bedded pillow breccias. Note prominent gravitational sliding.

Figure 11: Cross-section of brink-point area of basaltic pahoehoe lava-fed delta. Note lava ploughed into underlying Surtseyan deposits (see Skilling, 2002 for further details).

Figure 12: Passage Zone area of basaltic lava-fed delta. Water-cooled lava bodies like this are common at the water level (Brown Bluff, Antarctica; image taken by Ian Skilling, courtesy British Antarctic Survey).

Figure 13: Foreset-bedded pillow breccias of basaltic lava-fed delta. Note intercalated paler-colored Surtseyan tephra (Brown Bluff, Antarctica; image taken by Ian Skilling, courtesy British Antarctic Survey).

Figure 14: Pillow breccia within a debris chute (visible as darker band in central upper part of image). Debris chutes like this are common on many types of coarse steepface deltas (Skilling, 1994, 2002; Brown Bluff, Antarctica; image taken by Ian Skilling, courtesy British Antarctic Survey).

Figure 15: Spectacular foreset-bedded pillow breccias of a basaltic pahoehoe lava-fed delta (James Ross Island, Antarctica; image taken by Ian Skilling, courtesy British Antarctic Survey).

Figure 16: Pillow breccia at base of a debris chute. Debris chutes like this are common on many types of coarse steepface deltas (Skilling, 1994, 2002) (Brown Bluff, Antarctica; image taken by Ian Skilling, courtesy British Antarctic Survey).

Figure 17: Passage Zone area of basaltic lava-fed delta. Water-cooled lava bodies like this are very common at the water level (Hlöðufell, Iceland; image taken by Ian Skilling).

Figure 18: Passage Zone area of basaltic lava-fed delta. Water-cooled lava bodies like this are very common at the water level (Hlöðufell, Iceland; image taken by Ian Skilling).

Figure 19: Passage Zone area of basaltic lava-fed delta. Steeply-dipping pillow lava tubes below subhorizontal subaerial pahoehoe lava flows (Hlöðufell, Iceland; image taken by Ian Skilling).

Figure 20: Probable littoral cone associated with basaltic lava-fed delta formation (Hlöðufell, Iceland; image taken by Ian Skilling).

Figure 21: Possible Martian lava delta in part of Viking Orbiter image 815A45 (inset 26 m/p) showing northwest edge of Baetis Mensa in central Ophir Chasma; the enlargement shows caprock of possible topset lava beds (black arrows) and steeply dipping foreset beds (white arrows) above the fluting; compare with figures 9 and 15 (adapted from Chapman and Tanaka, 2001).

Figure 22: Top of Figure shows possible Martian lava delta in part of MOC image E501398 (1.5 km wide; image rotated 180°;courtesy of Malin Space Science Systems); bottom of figure shows black lines that map layering on the MOC image, the caprock is horizontally bedded (topset beds?) the lower layers bend around downslope pointing wedges of wind-eroded flutes indicating dipping strata (foreset beds?); inset shows yellow location of figure on Ganges Chasma ILD.

References to Help Understand Lava-fed Deltas (up to 2002)

Batiza, R and White, JDL (2000) Submarine lavas and hyaloclastite. In: Sigurdsson, H, Houghton, B, McNutt, SR, Rymer, H and Stix, J (eds) Encyclopedia of Volcanoes. Acadamic Press, San Diego, p361-381.

Bishop, P (1985) Eraly Miocene flow-foot breccia from the Upper Lachlan Valley, New South Wales: characteristics and significance. Aust. J Earth Sci., 32, 107-113.

Bluck, BJ (1982) Hyalotuff deltaic deposits in the Ballantrae ophiolite of SW Scotland: evidence for crustal position of the lava sequence. Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin. Earth Sci., 72, 217-228.

Bornhold, BD and Prior, DB (1990) Morphology and sedimentary processes on the Subaqueous Noeick River delta, British Columbia, Canada. In: Colella, A and Prior, DB (eds) Coarse-grained deltas. International Association of Sedimentologists, Special Publication, 10, 169-184.

Clarke, DB and Upton, BGJ (1971) Tertiary basalts of Baffin Island: field relations and tectonic setting. Can. J. Earth Sci., 8, 248-258

Colella, A, De Boer, PL and Nio, SD (1987) Sedimentology of marine intermontane Pleistocene Gilbert-type fan-delat complex in the Crati Basin, Calabria, southern Italy. Sedimentology, 34, 721-736.

Colella, A (1988) Pliocene-Holocene fan deltas and braid deltas in the Crati Basin, southern Italy: a consequence of varying tectonic conditions. In: Nemec, W and Steel, RJ (eds) Fan Deltas: Sedimentology and Tectonic Settings. Blackie and Son, 50-74.

Corner, GD, Nordahl, E, Munch-Ellingsen, K and Robertson, KR (1990) Morphology and sedimentology of an emergent fjord-head Gilbert-type delta: Alta delta, Norway. In: Colella, A and Prior, DB (eds) Coarse-grained deltas. International Association of Sedimentologists, Special Publication, 10, 155-168.

Dobran, F and Papale, P (1993) Magma-water interaction in closed systems and application to lava tunnels and volcanic conduits. JGR, 98, 41-58.

Fisher, RV (1968) Puu Hou littoral cones, Hawaii. Geol. Rundschau, 57, 837-864.

Furnes, H and Fridleifsson, IB (1974) Tidal effects on the formation of pillow lava/hyaloclastite deltas. Geology, 2, 381-384.

Furnes, H and Fridleifsson, IB (1979) Pillow block breccia-occurrences and mode of formation.

Furnes, H and Sturt, BA (1976) Beach/shallow marine hyaloclastite deposits and their geological significance-an example from Gran Canaria. J. of Geology, 84, 439-453.

Gilbert, GK (1885) The topographic features of lake shores. Ann. Rep. U.S. Geol. Surv., 5, 75-123.

Gregg, TKP and Fink, JH (1995) Quantification of submarine lava-flow morphology through analog experiments. Geology, 23, 73-76.

Hamblin, WK (1994) Late Cenozoic lava dams in the western Grand Canyon. Geol. Soc. Amer. Memoir, 183, pp139.

Hart, BS, Hamilton, TS , Barrie, JV and Prior, DB (1995) Seismic stratigraphy and sedimentary framework of a deep-water Holocene delta: the Fraser delta, Canada. In: Oti, MN and Postma, G (eds) Geology of deltas, Balkema, Rotterdam, 3-16.

Henderson, G (1977) Features of the Tertiary volcanic rocks of the Niaqornat area, Nûgssuaq. Rapp. Grønlands Geol. Unders., 79, 17-25.

Hon, K, Heliker, CC and Kjargaard, JI (1993) The construction of pahoehoe lava deltas on Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. Eos, Trans AGU Supplement, 74(3), 616.

Hwang, IG and Chough, SK (1990) The Miocene Chunbuk Formation, southeastern Korea: marine Gilbert-type fan-delta system. In: Colella, A and Prior, DB (eds) Coarse-grained deltas. International Association of Sedimentologists, Special Publication, 10, 235-254.

Hwang, IG and Chough, SK (2000) The Maesan fan delta, Miocene Pohang Basin, SE Korea: architecture and depositional processes of a high-gradient fan-delta-fed slope system. Sedimentology, 47, 995-1010.

Jones JG (1969) Intraglacial volcanoes of the Laugarvatn region, south-west Iceland, I. Q J Geol Soc London 124:197-211.

Jones JG (1970) Intraglacial volcanoes of the Laugarvatn region, southwest Iceland, II. J Geol 78:127-140.

Jones, JG and Nelson, PHH (1970) The flow of basalt lava from air into water-its structural expression and stratigraphic significance. Geol. Mag., 107, 13-19.

Jurado-Cichay, Z, Rowland, SK and Walker, GPL (1996) The formation of circular littoral cones from tube-fed pahoehoe: Manoa Loa, Hawaii. Bull. Volcanol., 57, 471-482.

Kalber, M (1995) Volcanoscapes Four: Kilaueas’s Flow to Kamoamoa! VHS video, Tropical Visions Video, Inc., Hilo, Hawaii, USA.

Kauahikaua, J , Denliger, R, Foster, J and Kesthelyi, L (1993) Lava delta instability: is it mass-wasting or is it triggered by lava flowing through tubes? Eos, Trans AGU Supplement, 74(3), 616.

Kokelaar BP (1986) Magma-water interactions in subaqueous and emergent basaltic volcanism. Bull Volcanol 48:275-289.

Larsen, LM and Pedersen, AK (1990) Volcanic marker horizons in the Maligât Formation on Disko and Nûgssuaq, and implications for the development of the southern part of the West Greenland basin in the early Tertiary. Rapp. Grønlands Geol. Unders., 148, 65-73.

LeMasurier, WE (2002) Architecture and evolution of hydrovolcanic deltas in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. In: Smellie, JL and Chapman, MG (eds) Volcano-Ice Interaction on Earth and Mars, Geol. Soc. London, Spec. Pub, 202, 115-148.

Lewis, AD and Bloxam, TW (1980) Basaltic macadam-breccias in the Girvan-Ballantrae Complex, Ayrshire. Scott. J. Geol., 16, 181-187.

Lipman, PW and Moore, JG (1996) Mauna Loa lava accumulation rates at the Hilo drill site; formation of lava deltas during a period of declining overall volcanic growth. J. Geophys. Res., B, 101, 11631-11641.

Lonsdale, P and Batiza, R (1980) Hyaloclastite and lava flows on young seamounts examined with a submersible. Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull., 91, 545-554.

Lowe, DR (1976) Grain flow and grain flow deposits. J. Sed. Pet., 46, 188-199.

Lowe, DR (1979) Sediment gravity flows: their classification and some problems of application to natural flows and deposits. SEPM Spec. Pub., 27, 75-82.

Lowe, DR (1982) Sediment gravity flows: II. Depositional models with special reference to the deposits of high-density turbidity currents. J. Sed. Pet., 52, 279-297.

Massari, F and Parea, GC (1988) Progradational gravel beach sequences in a moderate to high energy microtidal marine environment. Sedimentology, 35, 881-913.

Mathews, WH (1947) “Tuyas”, flat-topped volcanoes in northern British Columbia. Am. J. Sci., 245, 560-570

Mattox, TN and Mangan, MT (1997) Littoral hydrovolcanic explosions: a case study of lava-seawater interaction at Kilauea Volcano. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 75, 1-17.

McCabe, AM and Eyles, N (1988) Sedimentology of an ice-contact glaciomarine delta, Carey Valley, Northern Ireland. Sed. Geol., 59, 1-14.

Moore, JG and Ault, WV (1965) Historic littoral cones in Hawaii. Pacific Sci., 19, 3-11.

Moore, JG, Cristofolini, R and Giudice, AL (1971) Development of pillows on the submarine extension of recent lava flows, Mount Etna, Sicily. US Geol. Surv, Prof. Paper, 750-C, 89-97.

Moore JG, Phillips RL, Grigg RW, Peterson DW, Swanson DA (1973) Flow of lava into the sea 1969-1971, Kilauea volcano, Hawaii. Bull Geol Soc Am 84:537-546 Nelson PHH (1975) The James Ross Island Volcanic Group of north-east Graham Land. Brit. Antarct. Surv. Sci. Rep. 54:1-62.

Nemec, W (1990) Aspects of sediment movement on steep delta slopes. In: Colella, A and Prior, DB (eds) Coarse-grained deltas. International Association of Sedimentologists, Special Publication, 10, 29-74.

Nemec, W (1995) The dynamics of deltaic suspension plumes. In: Oti, MN and Postma, G (eds) Geology of deltas, Balkema, Rotterdam, 3-16.

Nemec, W, Steel, RJ, Gjelberg, J, Collinson, JD, Prestholm, E and Øxnevad, IE (1988) Anatomy of collapsed and re-established delta front in lower Cretaceous of eastern Spitsbergen: gravitational sliding and sedimentation processes. Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull., 72, 454-476.

Orton, GJ and Reading, HG (1993) Variability of deltaic processes in terms of sediment supply, with particular emphasis on grain size. Sedimentology, 40, 475-512.

Papale, P and Dobran, F (1993) Magma-water interaction in closed systems and application to lava tunnels and volcanic conduits. J. Geophys. Res., B98, 14041-14058.

Pedersen, AK and Dueholm, KS (1992) New methods for the geological analysis of Tertiary volcanic formations on Nuussuaq and Disko, central west Greenland, using multi-model photogrammetry. Rapp. Grønlands Geol. Unders., 156, 19-34.

Pedersen, AK, Larsen, LM and Dueholm, AK (1993) Geological section along the south coast of Nuusuaq, central west Greenland. 1:20000 coloured geological sheet, Geological Survey of Greenland, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Pedersen, AK, Larsen, LM, Pedersen, GK and Dueholm, KS (1996) Filling and plugging of a marine basin by volcanic rocks: the Tunoqqu Member of the Lower Tertiary Vaigat Formation on Nuusuaq, central West Greenland. Bull. Grønlands. Geol. Unders., 171, 5-28.

Pedersen, GK, Larsen, LM, Pedersen, AK and Hjortkjær, BF (1998) The syn-volcanic Naajaat lake, Paleocene of West Greenland. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology and Palaeoecology, 140, 271-287.

Peterson, DW (1976) Processes of volcanic island growth, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, 1969-1973. In: Gonzalez-Ferran, O (ed.), Proceedings of the symposium on Andean and Antarctic volcanology problems, Santiago, Chile, pp172-189.

Peterson, DW, Holcomb, RT, Tilling, RI and Christiansen, RL (1994) Development of lava tubes in the light of observations at Mauna Ulu, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. Bull. Volcanol., 56, 343-360 .

Planke, S and Alvestad, E (1999) Seismic volcanostratigraphy of the extrusive breakup complexes in the Northeast Atlantic; implications from ODP/DSDP drilling. In: Larsen et al. (eds) Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, 163, pp3-16.

Porebski and Gradzinski (1990) Lava-fed Gilbert-type delta in the Polonez Cove Formation (Lower Oligocene), King George Island, West Antarctica. In: Colella, A and Prior, DB (eds) Coarse-grained deltas. International Association of Sedimentologists, Special Publication, 10, 335-354.

Postma, G (1984) Slumps and their deposits in fan delta front and slope. Geology, 12, 27-30.

Postma. G (1990) Depositional architecture and facies of river and fan deltas: a synthesis. In: Colella, A and Prior, DB (eds) Coarse-grained deltas. International Association of Sedimentologists, Special Publication, 10, 13-27.

Postma, G (1995) Causes of architectural variation in deltas. In: Oti, MN and Postma, G (eds) Geology of deltas, Balkema, Rotterdam, 3-16.

Postma, G and Roep, TB (1985) Resedimented conglomerates in the bottomsets of Gilbert-type gravel deltas. J. Sed. Petrol., 55, 874-885.

Postma, G, Babic, L, Zupanic, J and Røe, SL (1988) Delta-front failure and associated bottomset deformation in a marine, gravelly, Gilbert-type fan delta. In: Nemec, W and Steel, RJ (eds) Fan Deltas: Sedimentology and Tectonic Settings. Blackie and Son, 91-102.

Postma, G and Cruickshank (1988) Sedimentology of a late Weichselian to Holocene terraced fan delta, Varangerfjord, northern Norway. In: Nemec, W and Steel, RJ (eds) Fan Deltas: Sedimentology and Tectonic Settings. Blackie and Son, 145-157.

Prior, DB, Wiseman, WJ and Bryant, WR(1981) Submarine chutes on the slopes of fjord deltas. Nature, 290, 326-328.

Prior, DB and Bornhold, BD (1988) Submarine morphology and processes of fjord fan deltas and related high-gradient systems: modern examples from British Columbia. In: Nemec, W and Steel, RJ (eds) Fan Deltas: Sedimentology and Tectonic Settings. Blackie and Son, 125-143.

Prior, DB and Bornhold, BD (1989) Submarine sedimentation on a developing Holocene fan delta. Sedimentology, 36, 1053-1076.

Prior, DB and Bornhold, BD (1990) The underwater development of Holocene fan deltas. In: Colella, A and Prior, DB (eds) Coarse-grained deltas. International Association of Sedimentologists, Special Publication, 10, 75-90.

Sansone, FJ, Resing, JA, Tribble, GW, Sedwick, PN, Kelly, KM amd Hon, K (1991) Lava-sea water interactions at shallow-water submarine lava flows. Geophys. Res. Lett. 18(9), 1731-1734.

Schmincke, HU (1967) Flow direction in Columbia River Basalt flows and palaeocurrents of interbedded sedimentary rocks, South-Central Washington. Geol. Rundschau 56, 992-1020.

Schmincke, HU, Behncke, B, Grassi, M and Raffi, S (1997) Evolution of the northwestern Iblean mountains, Sicily: uplift, Pliocene/Pleistocene sea level changes, palaeoenvironment and volcanism. Geol. Rundschau, 86, 637-669.

Skilling IP (1994) Evolution of an englacial volcano: Brown Bluff, Antarctica. Bull Volcanol., 56, 573-591.

Skilling, IP (2002) Basaltic pahoehoe lava-fed deltas: large-scale characteristics, clast generation, emplacement processes and environmental discriminiation. In: Smellie, JL and Chapman, MG (eds) Volcano-Ice Interaction on Earth and Mars, Geol. Soc. London, Spec. Pub., 202, 91-114.

Smellie, JL and Hole, MJ (1997) Products and processes in Pliocene-Recent, subaqueous to emergent volcanism in the Antarctic Peninsula: examples of englacial Surtseyan volcano construction. Bull. Volcanol., 58, 628-646.

Smith, JR, Malahoff, A and Shor, AN (1999) Submarine geology of the Hilina Slump and morpho-structural evolution of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. In: Elsworth et al. (eds), Deformation and flank instability of oceanic island volcanoes; a comparison of Hawaii and Atlantic island volcanoes. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 94, 59-88.

Smith, TL and Batiza, R (1989) New field and laboratory evidence for the origin of hyaloclastite flows on seamount summits. Bull. Volcanol., 96-114.

Swanson, D (1967) Yakima basalt of the Tieton River area, south-central Washington. Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull, 78, 1077-1110.

Tipley, Lee (date) Fire under the sea: the origin of pillow lava. (20 min 16mm film) (available from Lee Tipley, Moonlight Productions)

Tribble, GW (1991) Underwater observations of active lava flows from Kilauea volcano, Hawaii. Geology, 19, 633-636.

Van der Straaten, HC (1990) Stacked Gilbert-type deltas in the marine pull-apart basin of Abarán, late Serravallian-early Tortonian, southeastern Spain. In: Colella, A and Prior, DB (eds) Coarse-grained deltas. Int Assoc. Sed., Spec. Publ., 10, 199-222.

Wood, ML and Ethridge, FG (1988) Sedimentology and architecture of Gilbert- and mouth bar-type fan deltas, Paradox basin, Colorado. In: Nemec, W and Steel, RJ (eds) Fan Deltas: Sedimentology and Tectonic Settings. Blackie and Son, 252-263.

Wright, LD (1977) Sediment transport and deposition at river mouths: a synthesis. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 88, 857-868.

Yamagishi, H (1985) Growth of pillow lobes-evidence from pillow lavas of Hokkaido, Japan and North Island, New Zealand. Geology, 13, 499-502.