Rootless cone

A rootless cone at Myvatn Lake, Iceland.

A rootless cone, also formerly called a pseudocrater,^[1] is a volcanic landform which resembles a true volcanic crater, but differs in that it is not an actual vent from which lava has erupted. They are characterised by the absence of any magma conduit which connects below the surface of a planet.

Rootless cones are formed by steam explosions as flowing hot lava crosses over a wet surface, such as a swamp, a lake, or a pond. The explosive gases break through the lava surface in a manner similar to a phreatic eruption, and the tephra builds up crater-like forms which can appear very similar to real volcanic craters.

Well known examples are found in Iceland like the craters in the lake Mývatn (Skútustaðagígar), the Rauðhólar in the region of the capital city Reykjavík or the Landbrotshólar in the southeast of Iceland. Rootless cones have also been discovered in the Athabasca Valles region of Mars, where lava flows superheated groundwater in the underlying rocks.^[2]

Volcanologists witnessed the formation of a rootless cone for the first time in history during a steam explosion in connection with the first eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in March 2010.^[3]

Images

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  "Rootless Cones" on Mars - due to lava flows interacting with water (MRO, January 4, 2013) (21°57′54″N 197°48′25″E / 21.965°N 197.807°E).

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  "Rootless Cones" on Mars (MRO, January 4, 2008) (25°54′36″N 173°45′36″E / 25.910°N 173.760°E)

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  Rootless Cones, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program. These group of rings or cones are believed to be caused by lava flowing over water ice or ground containing water ice. The ice quickly changes to steam which blows out a ring or cone.

• 

  Rootless Cones, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program. These group of rings or cones are believed to be caused by lava flowing over water ice or ground containing water ice. The ice quickly changes to steam which blows out a ring or cone. Here the kink in the chain may have been caused by the lava changing direction.

• 

  Rootless Cones, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program. These group of rings or cones are believed to be caused by lava flowing over water ice or ground containing water ice. The ice quickly changes to steam which blows out a ring or cone. Here the kink in the chain may have been caused by the lava changing direction. Some of the forms do not have the shape of rings or cones because maybe the lava moved too quickly; thereby not allowing a complete cone shape to form.

See also

• Maar
• List of rocks on Mars
• Volcanism in Iceland
• Hornito

References

1. Burr, Devon M.; Bruno, Barbara C.; Lanagan, Peter D.; Glaze, Lori S.; Jaeger, Windy L.; Soare, Richard J.; Wan Bun Tseung, Jean-Michel; Skinner, James A.; Baloga, Stephen M. (2009). "Mesoscale raised rim depressions (MRRDs) on Earth: A review of the characteristics, processes, and spatial distributions of analogs for Mars". Planetary and Space Science 57 (5–6): 579–596. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2008.11.011.
2. Jaeger, W. L. et al. (2008) Morphologic Characteristics and Global Distribution of Phreato-volcanic Constructs on Mars as seen by HiRISE, Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIX PDF. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
3. Kvöldfréttir Stöðvar Tvö "Viðtal við Ármann Höskuldsson eldfjallafræðing" Fréttastofa Stöðvar Tvö

External links

• Pseudocraters and Mars (PDF file)
• Cones and Inflated Lava Flows on Mars
• video and pictures of the formation of pseudocraters at Eyjafjallajökull 2010