Some meteorites are pieces of lava flows. They have the expected minerals present and the crystals are intertwined in a characteristic way indicative of crystallization in a lava flow. This shows that lavas erupted on at least some asteroids. Age dating indicates that the eruptions took place 4.5 billion years ago. Planetary scientists have recognized three main groups of asteroidal lava flows,...

This paper presents an approach to utilising computer game technologies and methodologies to support explorative learning. This approach has particular relevance to subjects such as archaeology and geography which contain a significant fieldwork component. A detailed case study, the LAVA project, is presented and the design decisions taken discussed. LAVA was motivated by the need to provide su...

This paper presents an approach for using 2D architectural plans to automatically generate 3D environments which can be used as the basis for archaeological excavation scenarios, delivered through networked, multi-user learning environments. The approach discussed in this paper has been developed as part of the LAVA project, which aims to provide support for explorative learning of archaeologic...

[1] Channeled lava flows, hundreds of kilometers long, are common on the lower flanks of the Tharsis Montes on Mars. Our analysis of a 690-km-long lava flow along the southwest perimeter of Ascraeus Mons shows that it was emplaced on low local slopes (<0.3 ), with a deep channel ( 20 m), and at high effusion rates (19,000–29,000 m/s) calculated from the Graetz number. These parameters are simil...

Investigations of the paleosecular variation of the geomagnetic field on geological timescales depend on globally distributed data sets from lava flows. We report new paleomagnetic results from lava flows of the East Carpathian Mountains (23.6°E, 46.4°N) erupted between 4 and 6 Ma. The average virtual geomagnetic pole position (76 sites) includes the North Geographic Pole and the dispersion of ...

This paper presents the latest developments of the deterministic Macroscopic Cellular Automata model SCIARA for simulating lava flows. A Bingham-like rheology has been introduced for the first time as part of the Minimization Algorithm of the Differences, which is applied for computing lava outflows from the generic cell towards its neighbours. The hexagonal cellular space adopted in the previo...

Pahoehoe lava flows are common in every basaltic province, and their submarine variants, pillow lavas and sheet flows, cover the bulk of the Earth. Pahoehoe flows are emplaced by inflation—the injection of molten lava underneath a solidified crust. Only in the past few years has an understanding of the inflation process and the ability to recognize ancient inflated lava flows been achieved. All...

[1] We have discovered a prominent >190 km long, 0.5– 6 km wide lava channel on Io. The channel is sinuous with interior islands andmay be associatedwith the active Tawhaki Patera hotspot. Photoclinometric analysis of the Galileo images indicates that this channel, provisionally named Tawhaki Vallis, is 40 – 65 m deep. Although a constructional contribution cannot be ruled out, the depth, morph...

Volcanic activity on the island of Hawaii results in a cyclical pattern of habitat destruction and fragmentation by lava, followed by habitat regeneration on newly formed substrates. While this pattern has been hypothesized to promote the diversification of Hawaiian lineages, there have been few attempts to link geological processes to measurable changes in population structure. We investigated...