Lapilli is a size classification of
tephra
Tephra is fragmental material produced by a volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism.
Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, they r ...
, which is material that falls out of the air during a
volcanic eruption or during some
meteorite impacts.
''Lapilli'' (singular: ''lapillus'') is Latin for "little stones".
By definition lapilli range from in diameter. A
pyroclastic
Pyroclastic rocks (derived from the el, πῦρ, links=no, meaning fire; and , meaning broken) are clastic rocks composed of rock fragments produced and ejected by explosive volcanic eruptions. The individual rock fragments are known as pyroc ...
particle greater than 64 mm in diameter is known as a
volcanic bomb when molten, or a volcanic block when solid. Pyroclastic material with particles less than 2 mm in diameter is referred to as
volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...
.
How Volcanoes Work
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Formation
Lapilli are spheroid-, teardrop-, dumbbell- or button-shaped droplets of molten or semi-molten lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...
ejected from a volcanic eruption that fall to earth while still at least partially molten. These granules are not accretionary, but instead the direct result of liquid rock cooling as it travels through the air.
Lapilli tuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...
s are a very common form of volcanic rock typical of rhyolite
Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals ( phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The miner ...
, andesite
Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predo ...
and dacite
Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained ( aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyo ...
pyroclastic eruptions, where thick layers of lapilli can be deposited during a basal surge eruption. Most lapilli tuffs which remain in ancient terrains are formed by the accumulation and ''welding'' of semi-molten lapilli into what is known as a welded tuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...
.
The heat of the newly deposited volcanic pile tends to cause the semi-molten material to flatten out and then become welded. Welded tuff textures are distinctive (termed '' eutaxitic''), with flattened lapilli, fiamme, blocks and bombs forming oblate to discus-shaped forms within layers. These rocks are quite indurated and tough, as opposed to non-welded lapilli tuffs, which are unconsolidated and easily eroded.
Accretionary lapilli
Rounded balls of tephra
Tephra is fragmental material produced by a volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism.
Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, they r ...
are called ''accretionary lapilli'' if they consist of layered volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...
particles. Accretionary lapilli are formed by a process of wet ash aggregation due to moisture in volcanic clouds that sticks the particles together, with the volcanic ash nucleating on some object and then accreting to it in layers before the accretionary lapillus falls from the cloud. Accretionary lapilli are like volcanic hailstones that form by the addition of concentric layers of moist ash around a central nucleus.
This texture can be confused with spherulitic and axiolitic texture.
Armoured (or cored) lapilli
These lapilli are a variety of accretionary lapilli, though they contain lithic or crystal cores coated by rinds of coarse to fine ash. Armoured lapilli only form in hydroclastic eruptions, where significant moisture is present. The vapour column contains cohesive ash which sticks to particles within it.
See also
* Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...
* Cinder
* Rock microstructure
References
External links
Volcanic Materials Identification
Tephra fall from Mt St. Helens
* {{cbignore (segment on accretionary lapilli beginning at 45:04 in video)
Tephra
Petrology
Volcanic rocks