Mode of eruption of the deccan trap basalts

The Deccan Trap basalts have long been considered to be products of fissure eruptions and the dykes intruding them have been supposed to represent the fissures of eruption. However, the question of the mode of eruption of Deccan Trap lavas seems to need more careful consideration in view of the features brought to light by detailed field work in Western Maharashtra. Detailed studies of dykes suggest that majority of the dykes could not have acted as feeders as previously supposed. When examined in detail the basalt flows have more often been found to have only a limited lateral extent and are not always quite horizontal. Thin irregular flows with ropy surfaces, dipping in different directions and piled up into a chaotic mass are frequently met with, indicating eruption from local vents of the central type. Volcanic vents are found at a number of widely separated localities. All this suggests that many lavas are products of central type of volcanicity. However, central type of volcanoes would be inadequate to account for the vast amounts of lavas, and as the known dykes are not likely to have acted as feeders, and dykes still remain to be reported from large portions of the Deccan Trap area, the question of how the lavas came to the surface largely remains unanswered. Extensive beds of volcanic breccia traceable over a few miles and upto 50 feet thick are met with. As such extensive beds are more likely to be associated with fissure cruptions the question arises whether these fissure eruptions were accompanied by considerable explosive activity.