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A mantle plume is a proposed mechanism of convection within the Earth's mantle, hypothesized to explain anomalous volcanism. [2] Because the plume head partially melts on reaching shallow depths, a plume is often invoked as the cause of volcanic hotspots, such as Hawaii or Iceland, and large igneous provinces such as the Deccan and Siberian Traps.
An example of plume locations suggested by one recent group. [38] Figure from Foulger (2010). [3] Many different localities have been suggested to be underlain by mantle plumes, and scientists cannot agree on a definitive list. Some scientists suggest that several tens of plumes exist, [38] whereas others suggest that there are none. [3]
That mantle plumes are much more complex than originally hypothesised and move independently of each other and plates is now used to explain such observations. [ 8 ] In 2020, Wei et al. used seismic tomography to detect the oceanic plateau, formed about 100 million years ago by the hypothesized mantle plume head of the Hawaii-Emperor seamount ...
There is an ongoing discussion about whether the hotspot is caused by a deep mantle plume or originates at a much shallower depth. [3] Recently, seismic tomography studies have found seismic wave speed anomalies under Iceland, consistent with a hot conduit 100 km (62 mi) across that extends to the lower mantle.
Oceanic plateaus produced by large igneous provinces are often associated with hotspots, mantle plumes, and volcanic islands — such as Iceland, Hawaii, Cape Verde, and Kerguelen. The three largest plateaus, the Caribbean, Ontong Java, and Mid-Pacific Mountains, are located on thermal swells.
Some important examples include the presence of crustal fingerprints in enriched mantle sources that indicate that material from Earth's continents and oceans can be subducted into the mantle and brought back up to the surface in buoyantly rising mantle plumes.
A flood basalt (or plateau basalt [1]) is the result of a giant volcanic eruption or series of eruptions that covers large stretches of land or the ocean floor with basalt lava. Many flood basalts have been attributed to the onset of a hotspot reaching the surface of the Earth via a mantle plume. [2]
The HawaiĘ»i hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located near the namesake Hawaiian Islands, in the northern Pacific Ocean.One of the best known and intensively studied hotspots in the world, [1] [2] the Hawaii plume is responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, a 6,200-kilometer (3,900 mi) mostly undersea volcanic mountain range.