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Plumes, or plate tectonic processes?

Foulger, G.R.

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Authors

G.R. Foulger



Abstract

Hotspots – large volcanic provinces – such as Iceland, Hawaii and Yellowstone, are almost universally assumed to come from plumes of hot mantle rising from deep within the Earth. At Iceland, perhaps the best-studied hotspot on Earth, this hypothesis is inconsistent with many first-order observations, such as the lack of high temperatures, a volcanic track or a seismic anomaly in the lower mantle. The great melt production there is explained better by enhanced fertility in the mantle where the mid-Atlantic spreading ridge crosses the Caledonian suture zone. The thick crust built by the excessive melt production encourages complex, unstable, leaky microplate tectonics, which provides positive feedback by enhancing volcanism further. Such a model explains Iceland as a natural consequence of relatively shallow processes related to plate tectonics, and accounts for all the first- and second-order geophysical, geological and geochemical observations at Iceland without special pleading or invoking coincidences.

Citation

Foulger, G. (2002). Plumes, or plate tectonic processes?. Astronomy and Geophysics, 43(6), 6.19-6.23. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Dec 1, 2002
Deposit Date Feb 26, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Astronomy and Geophysics
Print ISSN 1366-8781
Electronic ISSN 1468-4004
Publisher Royal Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 43
Issue 6
Pages 6.19-6.23
DOI https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x

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Copyright Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Astronomy & Geophysics. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.




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