Synchronous motion of the Easter mantle plume and the East Pacific Rise.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39551800.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-54115-2 and PMC identifier 11570642.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The Easter mantle plume has produced one of the longest hotspot tracks in the Pacific Ocean. While previous studies have focused on the eastern side extending across the Nazca Plate, we use <sup>40</sup>Ar/<sup>39</sup>Ar isotopic and geochemical data to investigate the less explored western side around the Easter Microplate. We propose a dynamic model in which a deeper (600 km-depth), less buoyant mantle exerts a westward force on the East Pacific Rise (EPR), while a more buoyant plume region drives Easter hotspot volcanism and a localised acceleration in seafloor spreading. Our findings suggest that the Easter hotspot is the more focused surface expression of the most buoyant region of a vast, deep-seated mantle plume extending from the Pacific Large Low Shear Velocity Province (LLSVP). This challenges the traditional view of hotspots as isolated phenomena and suggests they are part of broader LLSVP-related mantle structures. Our results imply a more intricate, large-scale relationship between hotspots, mantle plumes, spreading ridges, and mantle dynamics.