Is 'hotspot' volcanism a consequence of plate tectonics?

Many volcanoes are associated with subduction zones or mid-ocean ridges, but other areas of unusually high volcanism (or "hotspots") have a more subtle connection to plate tectonic processes. In their Perspective, Foulger and Natland argue that "hotspot" volcanism is not very hot and is a shallow-source by-product of plate tectonics. In a related Perspective, DePaolo and Manga argue that evidence for at least some "hotspots" being caused by deep plumes originating at the base of Earth's mantle is strong, although direct evidence is still lacking because of the limited resolution of seismic studies

Penrose Conference Report. Plume IV: Beyond the Plume Hypothesis � Tests of the plume paradigm and alternatives

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A source for Icelandic magmas in remelted Iapetus crust

The geochemistry and large melt volume in the Iceland region, along with the paucity of evidence for high, plume-like temperatures in the mantle source, are consistent with a source in the extensive remelting of subducted Iapetus crust. This may have been trapped in the Laurasian continental mantle lithosphere during continental collision in the Caledonian orogeny at 420–410 Ma, and recycled locally back into the asthenosphere beneath the mid-Atlantic ridge by lithospheric delamination when the north Atlantic opened. Fractional remelting of abyssal gabbro can explain the major-, trace- and rare-earth-element compositions, and the isotopic characteristics of primitive Icelandic tholeiite. An enriched component already present in the recycled crustal section in the form of enriched mid-ocean-ridge basalt, alkalic olivine basalt and/or related differentiates could contribute to the diversity of Icelandic basalts. Compositions ranging from ferrobasalt to olivine tholeiite are produced by various degrees of partial melting in eclogite, and the crystallization of ferrobasalt as oxide gabbro, i.e., containing the magmatic Fe–Ti oxide minerals, ilmenite and magnetite, may explain the anomalously high density of the Icelandic lower crust. The very high 3He/4He ratios observed in some Icelandic basalts may derive from old helium preserved in U+Th-poor residual Caledonian oceanic mantle lithosphere or olivine-rich cumulates in the crustal section. The persistence of anomalous volcanism at the mid-Atlantic ridge in the neighborhood of Iceland suggests that in the presence of lateral ridge migration, the shallow fertility anomaly must be oriented transverse to the mid-Atlantic ridge. The Greenland–Iceland–Faeroe ridge is co-linear with the western frontal thrust of the Caledonian collision zone, which may thus be associated with the fertility source. The fertile material beneath the Iceland region must lie at a steep angle or be thickened by deformation or imbrication to supply the large volumes of basalt required to build the thick crust there. “Hot spot” volcanism and large-igneous-province emplacement often occurs within or near to old suture zones and similar processes may thus explain anomalous magmatism elsewhere that is traditionally attributed to plumes

Genesis of the Iceland melt anomaly by plate tectonic processes

Iceland is the best studied, large-volume, active volcanic region in the world. It features the largest subaerial exposure of any hotspot at a spreading ridge, and it is conventionally attributed to a thermal plume in the mantle. However, whereas the apparently large melt productivity and low-wavespeed mantle seismic anomaly are consistent with this attribution, at any more detailed level, the observations are poorly predicted by the plume hypothesis. There is no time-progressive volcanic track, the melt anomaly having been persistently centered on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Spatial variations in crustal structure are inconsistent with the southeastward migration that is required of a plume fixed with respect to other Indo-Atlantic hotspots. The mantle seismic anomaly weakens with depth and does not extend into the lower mantle. Estimates of excess temperature using a broad range of methods are inconsistent with a mantle potential temperature anomaly greater than a few tens of K. Much of the lava erupted in Iceland has geochemistry little different from normal mid-ocean ridge basalt, and the detailed spatial geochemical pattern bears little resemblance to what is predicted for a plume beneath central Iceland. We propose an alternative model in an attempt to explain the observations at Iceland with fewer difficulties. Our model involves only shallow plate tectonic processes and attributes the large melt volume to the remelting of subducted oceanic crust trapped in the Caledonian suture in the form of eclogite or mantle peridotite fertilized by resorbed eclogite. Delaminated continental mantle lithosphere may also be involved. Such a source can produce several times more melt than pure peridotite without the need for high temperatures. The longevity of anomalous volcanism at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the latitude of Iceland is attributed to its location on a Caledonian structure that runs transversely across the north Atlantic. Many aspects of the geochemistry of Icelandic lavas fit this model, which also provides an explanation for the high maximum helium isotope ratios observed there. The “depleted plume component” may be derived from abyssal olivine gabbro cumulates and the “enriched plume component” from recycled enriched material that forms part of the crustal section of subducted slabs. Such a model for the Iceland melting anomaly raises new questions concerning how much thermal energy can be generated by isentropic upwelling of eclogite at a ridge, the location of the homogenizing reservoirs required, and the mechanism by which fertile material is incorporated into the asthenosphere beneath new oceans. Most fundamentally, if validated, such a model can explain the generic observations associated with hotspots as shallow processes associated with plate tectonics, and thus raises the question of whether thermal plumes are required in general in the Earth

The age and origin of the Pacific islands: a geological overview

The Pacific Ocean evolved from the Panthalassic Ocean that was first formed ca 750 Ma with the rifting apart of Rodinia. By 160 Ma, the first ocean floor ascribed to the current Pacific plate was produced to the west of a spreading centre in the central Pacific, ultimately growing to become the largest oceanic plate on the Earth. The current Nazca, Cocos and Juan de Fuca (Gorda) plates were initially one plate, produced to the east of the original spreading centre before becoming split into three. The islands of the Pacific have originated as: linear chains of volcanic islands on the above plates either by mantle plume or propagating fracture origin, atolls, uplifted coralline reefs, fragments of continental crust, obducted portions of adjoining lithospheric plates and islands resulting from subduction along convergent plate margins. Out of the 11 linear volcanic chains identified, each is briefly described and its history summarized. The geology of 10 exemplar archipelagos (Japan, Izu-Bonin, Palau, Solomons, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Society, Galápagos and Hawaii) is then discussed in detail

Lower oceanic crust formed at an ultra-slow-spreading ridge; Ocean Drilling Program Hole 735B, Southwest Indian Ridge

Ocean Drilling Program ODP Hole 735B, drilled on Legs 118 and 176, 1508 m of oceanic layer 3 on a transverse ridge adjacent to the Atlantis II Fracture Zone, Southwest Indian Ridge. The cored sequence consists predominantly or olivine gabbro and troctolite and lesser amounts of gabbro, and gabbronorite rich in oxides. The section contains live major blocks of relatively primitive olivine gabbro and troctolite, composed of many smaller igneous bodies. Each Of these composite blocks shows a small upward decrease in Mg# [defined as 100 x Mg/(Mg + Fe 2+)] and contains more fractionated Fe- and Ti-rich gabbros near the top.Small, crosscutting bodies of olivine gabbro and troctolite with diffuse boundaries may represent conduits through crystal mushes for melts migrating upward and feeding individual intrusions. Oxide gabbros and gabbronorites are commonly associated with shear zones of intense deformation, which crosscut the section at all levels, However, oxide-rich rocks decrease in abundance downward and are nearly absent in the lower 500 m of the section. The gabbros and gabbronorites appear to have formed from late-stage, Fe- and Ti-rich, intercumulus melts that were expelled out of fractionating olivine gabbros into the shear zones. The fabrics of the recovered gabbros are consistent with synkinematic cooling and extension of the crustal section in a mid-ocean ridge environment. However, thick intervals of the core have only a weak magmatic foliation. The magmatic foliation is commonly overprinted by a weak, parallel, deformational fabric probably reflecting the transition from a largely magmatic to a largely crystalline state. Deformation in this crustal section decreases markedly downward. Metamorphism and alteration also decrease downward, and much of the core has less than 5% background alteration. Major zones of crystal-plastic (ductile by dislocated creep) deformation in the upper part of the core probably formed under conditions equivalent to granulite-facies conditions when there was little or no melt present. Late-magmatic and hydrothermal fluids produced a variety of plagioclase, amphibole, and diopside veins. Late-stage, low-temperature veins of calcite, smectite, zeolite, prehnite are present in a few intervals. The fact that the cored is unlike ophiolite as defined by the Penrose Conference Participants suggests that no ophiolite representing an ultra-slow-spreading-ridge environment like the Southwest Indian Ridge may be preserved