What is unique about the magma at Ol Doinyo Lengai?

Ol Doinyo Lengai is an active stratovolcano in Tanzania that uniquely erupts natrocarbonatite magma, which is an unusually low-temperature and highly fluid molten material. Its lava is the coolest in the world, erupting at temperatures of 500 to 600 degrees Celsius and dominated by minerals like nyerereite and gregoryite. This volcano is currently the only known active carbonatite volcano on Earth.

What we know

• Ol Doinyo Lengai is the only known volcano on Earth to have erupted natrocarbonatite in historical time. [2, 4]
• The natrocarbonatite magma at Ol Doinyo Lengai is characterized by being unusually low in temperature and highly fluid. [2]
• The volcano erupts the coolest lava in the world, operating at temperatures between 500 and 600 degrees Celsius. [4]
• The natrocarbonatite lava at Ol Doinyo Lengai is dominated by the minerals nyerereite and gregoryite. [4]

Where to go next

• the bigger pictureHow does the East African Rift influence volcanism?
• how it workedWhat minerals compose carbonatite rocks?
• compared withAre there other volcanoes with carbonatite lava?
• whenWhat happened during the 2007-2008 eruptions?
• the bigger pictureHow is magma generally formed and stored?
• an unexpected connectionWhy are carbonatite lava flows so rarely preserved in the geologic record?Carbonatite lavas are composed largely of soluble carbonates that weather easily, making their preservation in the geologic record extremely unlikely.

Sources

• [1]Ol Doinyo Lengai (Wikidata Q746787) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Ol Doinyo Lengai · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Magma · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Carbonatite · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]East African Rift · CC BY-SA 4.0

Your path

1. How does carbonatite lava weather and preserve?
2. /What is unique about the magma at Ol Doinyo Lengai?