flood basalt

British  

noun

1. a very extensive lava flow of basaltic composition that has issued from a fissure, often to be found as part of a series of such flows one on top of another, forming a plateau See fissure eruption

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Example Sentences

"Based on the Hg-isotope variations we were able to link an initial pulse in Hg enrichment at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary to the emission of mercury from flood basalt volcanism," Wang Zheng explains.

From Science Daily

It’s predominantly flood basalt lavas erupted onto old granitic rock.

From The Guardian

Thus these normally quiet flood basalt lavas carried and released a world of trouble into the end-Permian atmosphere.

From Slate

Scientists recently discovered that an area in northern Canada and Greenland comprised of flood basalt contains traces of ancient Earth's primitive mantle.

From US News

Geological history has periodically featured giant lava eruptions that coat large swaths of land or ocean floor with basaltic lava, which hardens into rock formations called flood basalt.

From US News