Large igneous provinces (LIPs) represent some of the largest volcanic events in Earth history with significant impacts on the ecosystem, including mass extinctions. However, there are some fundamental questions related to the eruption rate, eruption style, and vent locations for LIP lava flows that remain unanswered. In this review, we use the Cretaceous-Paleogene Deccan Traps as an archetype to address these questions since it is one of the best-preserved large continental flood basalt provinces. We describe the volcanological features of the Deccan flows and their potential temporal and regional variations as well as the spatial characteristics of potential feeder dikes. Along with estimates of eruption rates for Deccan lavas from paleomagnetism and Hg proxy records, the Deccan volcanic characteristics suggest a unified conceptual model for the eruption of voluminous (> 1000 km$^3$) LIP lavas with large spatial extent (> 40,000 km$^2$). We conclude the review by highlighting a few key open questions and challenges that can help improve our understanding of how Deccan, as well as LIP flows in general, erupt and flow over long distances.

Individual lava flows in flood basalt provinces are composed of sheet pāhoehoe lobes and the 10-100 m thick lobes are thought to form by inflation. Quantifying the emplacement history of these lobes can help infer the magnitude and temporal dynamics of these prehistoric eruptions. Here we use a phase-field model to describe solidification and re-melting of sequentially-emplaced lava flows to explore additional processes that may lead to thick flows. We calibrate model parameters using field measurements at Makaopuhi lava lake. We vary the thickness of individual flows and the time interval between eruptions to study the interplay between thermal evolution, flow thickness and emplacement frequency. Our theoretical analysis shows that, if the time between emplacement is sufficiently short, reheating and re-melting may merge sequentially emplaced flows — making flows appear thicker than they actually were. Our results suggest that fused flows could be another mechanism that creates apparently thick lava flows.