Deep and rapid thermo-mechanical erosion by a small-volume lava flow

Abstract

Abstract We document remarkably efficient thermo-mechanical erosion by a small-volume lava flow. Downcutting by a basaltic-andesite lava flow on the steep-sided Momotombo volcano, Nicaragua, occurred at 100 times the rate commonly reported for thermal erosion in lava flow fields, even though this flow was small-volume (0.02\xa0km3) and effused at a low rate for