GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Viscosity depends on primarily on the composition of the magma, and temperature. Higher SiO2 (silica) content magmas have higher viscosity than lower SiO2 content magmas (viscosity increases with increasing SiO2 concentration in the magma).

Detailed explanation-2: -A magma’s silica content will not only control the rock type that forms, it also controls the relative viscosity of the magma. Differences in a magma’s viscosity will determine the shape a volcano takes. High-silica (basalt) magma has a much lower viscosity. It flows much easier and over longer distances.

Detailed explanation-3: -Magmas that have a high silica content will therefore exhibit greater degrees of polymerization, and have higher viscosities, than those with low-silica contents. The amount of dissolved gases in the magma can also affect it’s viscosity, but in a more ambiguous way than temperature and silica content.

Detailed explanation-4: -As these multiple-silica molecules increase in number and size within a magma body, they increase the internal forces that resist movement between the molecules within the magma and therefore increase resistance to flow. It thus follows that magmas with higher concentrations of silica have higher viscosities.

Detailed explanation-5: -The cooler the lava, the higher the viscosity (the thicker it is). Composition: he more felsic the lava (the more silica in the lava), the higher the viscosity because silica forms chains in the cooling lava even before it crystallizes. The more mafic the lava (the less silica in it), the lower the viscosity.