Silicic pyroclastic deposits at the base of the Paleogene Skye Lava Field: evidence from An Carnach, Strathaird Peninsula
Drake, Simon M. and Beard, Andy (2012) Silicic pyroclastic deposits at the base of the Paleogene Skye Lava Field: evidence from An Carnach, Strathaird Peninsula. Scottish Journal of Geology 48 , pp. 133-141. ISSN 0036-9276.
Abstract
Silicic pyroclastic deposits, attributed to two discrete volcanic phases, are reported from a basal sequence of the Paleogene Skye Lava Field, NW Scotland. Phase 1 comprises relict silicic fall deposits that have been subsequently altered to a bed of K-bentonite. These fall deposits pre-date a thick (c. 70 m) sequence of basaltic plateau lavas and a later underlying tholeiitic sill. The K-bentonite bed has a fabric that strongly resembles that of eutaxitic welded ignimbrite. Phase 2 comprises both basic and silicic ignimbrites that post-date the lowermost plateau lavas. The nature of these distinct ignimbrite lithofacies can be used to infer that eruption parameters, such as chemistry, intensity and flux output, underwent temporal variations. The recognition of these two phases of pyroclastic volcanism has major implications for the established sequence of the Skye Lava Field and gives important new insights into the nature of these Paleogene eruptions.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Sarah Hall |
| Date Deposited: | 10 May 2016 15:02 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:23 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/15133 |
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