Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Get the Basalt, CO local weather forecast by the hour and the next 10 days.
Basalt (UK: / ˈ b æ s ɒ l t,-ɔː l t,-əl t /; [1] [2] US: / b ə ˈ s ɔː l t, ˈ b eɪ s ɔː l t /) [3] is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon.
Spheroidal weathering is the result of chemical weathering of systematically jointed, massive rocks, including granite, dolerite, basalt and sedimentary rocks such as silicified sandstone. It occurs as the result of the chemical alteration of such rocks along intersecting joints.
A flood basalt (or plateau basalt [1]) is the result of a giant volcanic eruption or series of eruptions that covers large stretches of land or the ocean floor with basalt lava. Many flood basalts have been attributed to the onset of a hotspot reaching the surface of the Earth via a mantle plume . [ 2 ]
Enhanced weathering, also termed ocean alkalinity enhancement when proposed for carbon credit systems, is a process that aims to accelerate the natural weathering by spreading finely ground silicate rock, such as basalt, onto surfaces which speeds up chemical reactions between rocks, water, and air.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
The fine grain size and presence of volcanic glass also hasten weathering. In tropical settings, it rapidly weathers to clay minerals, aluminium hydroxides, and titanium-enriched iron oxides. Because most basalt is relatively poor in potassium, the basalt weathers directly to potassium-poor montmorillonite, then to kaolinite.
A broken basalt cobble (15 x 10 cm size) showing well-developed weathering rind from Brazil, where chemical weathering is quite active. Weathering rind of a large granite glacial erratic eroding out of unconsolidated Permian till, Selwyn Rock, Inman Valley, South Australia