The Syracuse University Lava project seeks to bridge the gap between other types of investigations of lava flows. With lava flows that are close to the scale of the incremental volumes of lava that combine to make larger flow fields our experiments provide a unique perspective on the behavior and morphology of lavas. No other program routinely creates lava flows on the scale hundreds to thousands of pounds per flow. By varying experimental conditions we have learned to create a very wide range of lava flow morphologies and other features that correspond to those found in nature. Careful documentation of experiments provides detailed information on the conditions under which these features form. The following images highlight some selected results of recent experiments.

FLOW MORPHOLOGIES

LAVA STRUCTURES

PETROGRAPHY