I was in Australia a couple of years ago and was very surprised to
find a chain of relatively recent cinder cones on the Atherton Tableland
just west of Cairns, Queensland. There was also an "explosion crater" of
some type. The lava in the area appeared to be basalt. Is this a small
hotspot, or is subduction responsible? Is any renewal of activity expected?
Keep up your excellent work on Volcano World!
Regards,
Dick Van Effen
Science writer
Midland Daily News
Midland, MI
Dick Van Effen
Hi Dick,
I don't think the source of those relatively young basalts is really
understood. I think it is not subduction-related, and if it is a hotspot it
sure isn't a very active one. You are correct in recognizing that they are
basalts, in fact some of the longest (if not THE longest) lava tubes are
part of that volcanic group. As far as deciding whether future activity
is probable you would have to compare the time since the most recent
eruption to the average time between eruptions. Of course this only
gives you a statistical answer, not a real one.
A few months ago there was a related question, and you can find the
answer in the
Australia section of the volcanoes of other regions section of
previously-asked-questions of the ask-a-volcanologist section of VolcanoWorld.
You've asked a good question and I'm sorry I don't have a more definitive
answer. There will be a workshop held at the University of North Queensland
next summer that will deal with long lava flows in general, and perhaps
theresomeone will have some good answers to your question.
Sincerely,
Scott Rowland
Other Categories
Other Questions
To VolcanoWorld