The nature of volcanic ash.

Apr 26, 2016

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The nature of volcanic ash.                
 
This is a figure from an article I recently submitted for publication in a paleontology journal showing the various components of volcanic ash we sampled from our first field site in Argentina. The ash is composed of glassy shards and needles which represent rapidly cooled lava which didn't have time to crystallize and shattered as the volcano violently erupted. Other components include broken rock and mineral fragments, and well-formed crystals which formed as the magma chamber slowly cooled before the eruption. The extremely sharp and abrasive nature of this material can lacerate soft tissue and invade respiratory and digestive systems of the animals unfortunate enough to interact with it.

Bruce and Rene' Lauer, Dr. Rodney Feldmann, and 3 others like this.

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Dr. Rodney FeldmannResearcher

The really cool thing about this project is that it breaks new ground in understanding how mass kills of marine animals occurs. The project is a perfect combination of a geographic region in which volcanic activity is common, marine fossils are extremely abundant, and we are familiar with the overall geologic setting so that we know just how to target the study. Evin is amazingly excited about the project which guarantees success.

Apr 26, 20161

About This Project

Death by volcanic ash: mass mortality of fossil marine invertebrates

Kent State University

This study will investigate the effect of volcanic ash on ancient marine life from the Miocene epoch of Patagonia, about 10 million years ago. My hypothesis is that volcanic ash led to mass mortality of marine communities, and contributed to exceptional fossil preservation. This study will help determine how fossil marine communities responded to and recovered from large-scale environmental catastrophes, and how rapid burial in volcanic ash contributes to fossil preservation.