Crystallization of Basaltic Lava Flows from Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands to the Lab: The Role of Groundmass Crystals in Lava Flow Emplacement

Dr. Rachel Teasdale 
Faculty, CSU, Chico, Geological and Environmental Sciences Department 

Dr. Teasdale shares her research, gathered on site in Hawaii and the Galapagos Islands, on the role of groundmass crystals in lava flow emplacement. As a graduate student, she rushed to the Galapagos, located off the coast of Ecuador, in 1998 to witness the eruption of the Cerro Azul volcano. She has been studying lava flows ever since. Dr. Teasdale has also gathered specimens from the Hawaiian volcanoes of A’a and Pahoehoe. Some of her lava specimens were collected hot and then placed in cold water in order to get “a snapshot of a moment in time” of the crystallization process in the basalt. 

Recorded: February 25, 2015