Oceanic plateau of the Hawaiian mantle plume head subducted to the uppermost lower mantle
The Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, including the current Hawaiian volcanoes, was created by the Hawaiian mantle plume. We discovered an oceanic plateau at ~810 km depth beneath eastern Russia. It was created by the Hawaiian mantle plume head during the initiation stage of the Hawaiian hot spot ~100 million years ago, and subducted into the Kamchatka Trench 20–30 million years ago.
Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni
Professor of Geodynamics
Prof Lithgow-Bertelloni’s research is geared towards understanding the connection between the dynamics of Earth’s interior and their surface expression, including the influence of dynamics on surface deformation and topography. Research approaches to these questions include numerical simulations and experimental fluid dynamics.