Plumes, or plate tectonic processes?
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...
Published in: | Astronomy & Geophysics |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
Oxford University Press
2002
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dro.dur.ac.uk/14668/ http://dro.dur.ac.uk/14668/1/14668.pdf https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x |
id |
ftunivdurham:oai:dro.dur.ac.uk.OAI2:14668 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivdurham:oai:dro.dur.ac.uk.OAI2:14668 2023-05-15T16:44:15+02:00 Plumes, or plate tectonic processes? Foulger, G.R. 2002-12-01 application/pdf http://dro.dur.ac.uk/14668/ http://dro.dur.ac.uk/14668/1/14668.pdf https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x unknown Oxford University Press dro:14668 issn:1366-8781 issn: 1468-4004 doi:10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x http://dro.dur.ac.uk/14668/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x http://dro.dur.ac.uk/14668/1/14668.pdf 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. Astronomy & geophysics, 2002, Vol.43(6), pp.6.19-6.23 [Peer Reviewed Journal] Article PeerReviewed 2002 ftunivdurham https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x 2020-05-28T22:32:08Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Durham University: Durham Research Online Astronomy & Geophysics 43 6 6.19 6.23 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Durham University: Durham Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftunivdurham |
language |
unknown |
description |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Foulger, G.R. |
spellingShingle |
Foulger, G.R. Plumes, or plate tectonic processes? |
author_facet |
Foulger, G.R. |
author_sort |
Foulger, G.R. |
title |
Plumes, or plate tectonic processes? |
title_short |
Plumes, or plate tectonic processes? |
title_full |
Plumes, or plate tectonic processes? |
title_fullStr |
Plumes, or plate tectonic processes? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Plumes, or plate tectonic processes? |
title_sort |
plumes, or plate tectonic processes? |
publisher |
Oxford University Press |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
http://dro.dur.ac.uk/14668/ http://dro.dur.ac.uk/14668/1/14668.pdf https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Astronomy & geophysics, 2002, Vol.43(6), pp.6.19-6.23 [Peer Reviewed Journal] |
op_relation |
dro:14668 issn:1366-8781 issn: 1468-4004 doi:10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x http://dro.dur.ac.uk/14668/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x http://dro.dur.ac.uk/14668/1/14668.pdf |
op_rights |
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. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-4004.2002.43619.x |
container_title |
Astronomy & Geophysics |
container_volume |
43 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
6.19 |
op_container_end_page |
6.23 |
_version_ |
1766034544874487808 |