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A mantle plume is a proposed mechanism of convection within the Earth's mantle, hypothesized to explain anomalous volcanism. [2] Because the plume head partially melts on reaching shallow depths, a plume is often invoked as the cause of volcanic hotspots , such as Hawaii or Iceland , and large igneous provinces such as the Deccan and Siberian ...
It is thus the conceptual inverse of the plume hypothesis because the plate hypothesis attributes volcanism to shallow, near-surface processes associated with plate tectonics, rather than active processes arising at the core-mantle boundary. Lithospheric extension is attributed to processes related to plate tectonics.
Plume tectonics is a geoscientific theory that finds its roots in the mantle doming concept which was especially popular during the 1930s and initially did not accept major plate movements and continental drifting. It has survived from the 1970s until today in various forms and presentations.
It has been suggested that, as the Earth's lithospheric plates moved over the mantle plume (the Iceland plume), the plume had earlier produced the Viluy Traps to the east, then the Siberian Traps in the Permian and Triassic periods, and later going on to produce volcanic activity on the floor of the Arctic Ocean in the Jurassic and Cretaceous ...
Hot mantle materials rising up in a plume can spread out radially beneath the tectonic plate causing regions of uplift. [13] These ascending plumes play an important role in LIP formation. When created, LIPs often have an areal extent of a few million square kilometers and volumes on the order of 1 million cubic kilometers.
At any place where volcanism is not linked to a constructive or destructive plate margin, the concept of a hotspot has been used to explain its origin. A review article by Courtillot et al. [9] listing possible hotspots makes a distinction between primary hotspots coming from deep within the mantle and secondary hotspots derived from mantle ...
The plate theory is a model of volcanism that attributes all volcanic activity on Earth, even that which appears superficially to be anomalous, to the operation of plate tectonics. According to the plate theory, the principal cause of volcanism is extension of the lithosphere.
Plate tectonics was a suitable explanation for seafloor spreading, and the acceptance of plate tectonics by the majority of geologists resulted in a major paradigm shift in geological thinking. It is estimated that along Earth's mid-ocean ridges every year 2.7 km 2 (1.0 sq mi) of new seafloor is formed by this process. [50]