What evidence is there for geological mechanisms that formed the Siberian traps flood basalt?

Asked by: Christopher Washington

How were Siberian Traps formed?

The Siberian Traps are the remnants of widepread volcanic activity that occurred in northern Pangea, about 250 m.y. ago. The most common rock type is basalt, which usually erupts effusively rather than explosively, but the eruptions can be prolonged, lasting for years or even decades, and producing vast flows.

How flood basalts are formed?

Flood basalt is formed by an eruption or series of eruptions of large volcanic episodes that cover vast stretches of land or ocean floor with flows of mafic igneous rocks (basalt lava flows). A flood-basalt province is popularly known as Trap (Deccan Traps in India).

Why are flood basalts called traps?

Flood basalt provinces such as the Deccan Traps of India are often called traps, after the Swedish word trappa (meaning “staircase”), due to the characteristic stairstep geomorphology of many associated landscapes.

How big were the Siberian Traps?

three million square miles

252 million years ago, Siberia was subject to a mass series of flood basalt eruptions, creating a large igneous province called the Siberian Traps. Today, it measures three million square miles (7.77 km²) in area and a volume of one million cubic miles (4.17 km³).

Are flood basalts responsible for mass extinctions?

Flood basalts were Earth’s largest volcanic episodes that, along with related intrusions, were often emplaced rapidly and coincided with environmental disruption: oceanic anoxic events, hyperthermals, and mass extinction events.

What happened in the Siberian mountains that changed Earth?

What happened in the Siberian Mountains that changed Earth? The surface got hot from volcanoes.

Which of the following best describe how flood basalts form quizlet?

Which of the following best describe how flood basalts form? Flood basalts form as a result of an eruption above a mantle plume.

What are flood basalts associated with?

Continental flood basalt eruptions, which degas to the atmosphere when erupted, are associated with ecosystem mass extinctions.

What type of volcano has flood basalts?

Voluminous intraplate volcanic areas such as the Deccan Trapps of India, the Columbia Plateau basalts, the Paraná Basin lavas, and the Siberian Trapps are called “flood basalt” provinces.

What caused Siberian Traps to erupt?

The source of the Siberian Traps basaltic rock has been attributed to a mantle plume, which rose until it impacted against the bottom of the Earth’s crust, producing volcanic eruptions through the Siberian Craton.

How much lava did the Siberian Traps produce?

about 720,000 cubic miles

The eruptions — now called the Siberian Traps — lasted less than 1 million years but left behind Earth’s biggest “large igneous province,” a pile of lava and other volcanic rocks about 720,000 cubic miles (3 million cubic kilometers) in volume.

Where are the massive volcanic basaltic rocks known as the Deccan Traps located?

The flood basalt province known as the Deccan Traps is located on the Deccan Plateau in west-central India and is one of the largest volcanic provinces in the world.

How did Siberian Traps cause mass extinction?

Scientists suspect that massive volcanic activity, in a large igneous province called the Siberian Traps, may have had a role in the global die-off, raising air and sea temperatures and releasing toxic amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere over a very short period of time.

Where would you be most likely to find flood basalts?

These outpourings of lava are called “flood basalts” or “traps”; on Earth, famous examples can be found in Washington state, India, and Iceland.

Is Yellowstone A flood basalt?

“This huge flood basalt event covered an area of more than seven million squared kilometres of basaltic rock, that’s more surface area than all the countries of the European Union combined.

How much lava did the Siberian Traps produce?

about 720,000 cubic miles

The eruptions — now called the Siberian Traps — lasted less than 1 million years but left behind Earth’s biggest “large igneous province,” a pile of lava and other volcanic rocks about 720,000 cubic miles (3 million cubic kilometers) in volume.

How much lava came out of the Siberian Traps?

about one million cubic miles

Nothing is trapped in the Siberian Traps.



In all, about one million cubic miles of molten rock were ejected.

What are the Deccan and Siberian Traps?

Scientists estimate that between one and four million cubic kilometers of basalt lava erupted from fissures to form the Siberian traps. The Deccan traps are located in India. The layers of basalt rocks that formed in this region originally are thought to have covered an area the size of modern India.

When was the Deccan Traps formed due to eruption and flows by lava?

The Deccan Traps date back to around 66 million years ago, when magma from deep inside Earth erupted to the surface. In some parts of the Deccan Traps, the volcanic layers are more than two kilometers (1.2 miles) thick, making this the second-largest volcanic eruption ever on land.

Where are the massive volcanic basaltic rocks known as the Deccan Traps located?

The flood basalt province known as the Deccan Traps is located on the Deccan Plateau in west-central India and is one of the largest volcanic provinces in the world.

Which type of volcanic eruption caused Deccan trap formation?

The correct answer is option 3) i.e. Flood. The Deccan Traps from India, presently covering most of the Maharashtra plateau, are a much larger flood basalt province. Flood Basalt volcanoes out-pour highly fluid lava that flows for long distances.