On the relative temperatures of Earth’s volcanic hotspots and mid-ocean ridges
Xiyuan Bao, Carolina Lithgow‐Bertelloni, Matthew G. Jackson, Barbara Romanowicz
Abstract
Hotspot cool down Deep-seated mantle plumes are responsible for volcanic island chains such as Hawai’i. Upwelling from the deep interior requires that the plumes are hotter than the surrounding mantle to make it all the way up to the surface. However, Bao et al . found that some of these “hotspots” are surprisingly cool. The temperature is actually low enough to challenge a deep mantle origin for some hotspots. In these specific cases, deep plumes may be entrained and cooled or possibly originate in the upper mantle instead. —BG
Topics & Concepts
Hotspot (geology)VolcanoPlumeGeologyMantle plumeMantle (geology)BuoyancyUpwellingConvectionPanacheMid-ocean ridgeDeep convectionGeophysicsOceanographySeismologyLithosphereTectonicsMeteorologyGeographyQuantum mechanicsPhysicsGeological and Geochemical AnalysisHigh-pressure geophysics and materialsearthquake and tectonic studies