Vesicular texture is a volcanic rock texture characterized by a rock being pitted with many cavities (known as vesicles) at its surface and inside. [ 1 ] This texture is common in aphanitic , or glassy, igneous rocks that have come to the surface of the Earth, a process known as extrusion .

Vesicles are the small holes left behind after lava cools and turns into volcanic rock. Vesicles help geologists understand the cooling history of extrusive (volcanic rocks) because lava contains large amounts of dissolved gases that are released as the lava hardens.

Vesicles in terrestrial rocks. Basalts and related volcanic rocks (andesites, dacites) form when volcanic lava or magma cools. Not all basalts are vesicular, but vesicular basalts are very common on Earth. Vesicular basalt. The field of view is about 6 cm.

Vesicles are fossil bubbles. So, a rock that looks like Swiss cheese has a vesicular texture. Vesicles range in shape from spherical to elongated and in size from ~1mm to more than 1 cm. Basalts are most commonly vesicular.

If a rock has many vesicles, then it solidified from a melt or magma, which means, by definition, it is an igneous rock. Few meteorites (some achondrites ) are igneous rocks. Vesicles are not always circular.

Jul 13, 2022 · Vesicles are the small holes left behind after lava cools and turns into volcanic rock. Vesicles help geologists understand the cooling history of extrusive (volcanic rocks) because lava contains large amounts of dissolved gases that are released as the lava hardens.

Feb 20, 2010 · Vesicles in volcanic rocks are frozen records of degassing processes in magmas. For this reason, their sizes, spatial arrangements, numbers and shapes can be linked to physical processes that drive magma ascent and eruption.

Such openings are called vesicles, and the rocks in which they occur are said to be vesicular. Where the openings lie close together and form a large part of the containing rock, they impart to it a slaglike, or scoriaceous, structure.

Jan 21, 2025 · Vesicular igneous texture is a fascinating characteristic of certain rocks formed from molten rock that has trapped gas bubbles during its cooling and solidification process. This distinct texture reveals valuable insights into the rock’s formation and history.

Vesicles in volcanic rocks are frozen records of degassing processes in magmas. For this reason, their sizes, spatial arrangements, numbers and shapes can be linked to physical processes that drive magma ascent and eruption.