The trials and tribulations of the Hawaii hot spot model

Temporal Evolution of the Swell and Magmatic Fluxes Along the Louisville Hotspot Chain

“…Our study of the temporal evolution of Q m along Louisville shows that the Louisville plume activity has remained almost constant over the past 30 m.y. Although models generally agree with the drifting of the Hawaiian plume (Harrison et al., 2017; Jiang et al., 2021; Koppers et al., 2012; Wessel & Conrad, 2019), the most recent studies indicate that the Louisville plume has remained relatively fixed over the last 70 m.y. (Koppers et al., 2012).…”

Dynamics of longitudinal Hawaiian hotspot motion and the formation of the Hawaiian-Emperor Bend

“…Combining geodynamically-predicted Pacific Plate motion change at 47 Ma, our model provides a nearly perfect fit to the seamount chain, suggesting plate-mantle reorientation as the ultimate cause. It also suggests that the Hawaiian plume conduit is tilted towards the southwest, solving the long-lasting debate on the source of the Hawaiian plume among seismological studies.The Hawaiian-Emperor Chain in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean features a conspicuous 60° bend that has been the subject of multiple interpretations, including an abrupt change in Pacific plate motion in the Eocene (~47 Ma) 1-3 , a rapid southward drift of the Hawaiian hotspot before the bend 4-10 , or a combination of the two factors 11,12 . Different plate reconstructions have…”

“…The Hawaiian-Emperor Chain in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean features a conspicuous 60° bend that has been the subject of multiple interpretations, including an abrupt change in Pacific plate motion in the Eocene (~47 Ma) 1-3 , a rapid southward drift of the Hawaiian hotspot before the bend 4-10 , or a combination of the two factors 11,12 . Different plate reconstructions have…”