Morphology and development of pahoehoe flow-lobe tumuli and associated features from a monogenetic basaltic volcanic field, Bahariya Depression, Western Desert, Egypt

Abstract

The dimensions, landforms, and structural characteristics of pahoehoe flow-lobe tumuli from Bahariya Depression are collectively reported here for the first time. The flow-lobe tumuli documented here characterize hummocky flow surfaces. These tumuli are characterized by low, dome-like mounds, lava-inflation clefts, and squeeze ups. Flow-lobe tumuli are of various shapes and sizes, which are affected by the mechanism of inflation because they formed in response to the increase of pressure within the flow when the flow's crust becomes thicker. The tumuli often appear isolated or in small groups in the middle sectors of the lava flows, whereas in the distal sectors they form large concentration, suggesting the presence of complex lava tubes inside of the flow.Tumuli exhibited by El Bahariya lava flows are between 3.0 and 50 m in length and up to 5.0 m in height with lenticular geometry in aerial view. The flow emplacement of flow-lobe tumuli is controlled by variations in local characteristics such as nature of the substrate, flow orientation, slope, interferrence with other lobes, and rate of lava supply. Their presence generally towards the terminal ends of flow fields suggests that they seldom form over the clogged portions of distributary tubes or pathways. Thus, localized inflations that formed over blockages in major lava tubes result in formation of flow-lobe tumuli. The three-tiered (crust-core-basal zone) internal structure of the flow-lobe tumuli, resembling the typical distribution of vesicles in P-type lobes, confirms emplacement by the mechanism of inflation. All the available data show that the morphology and emplacement mechanism of the studied flow-lobe tumuli may be analogous to similar features preserved within topographically confined areas of the Hawaiian and Deccan hummocky lava flows. Considering the age of the studied volcanic fields (∼22 Ma) it is most probable that the structures described here may be amongst the oldest recognized examples of lava inflation.