The role of plume-lithosphere interaction in Hawaii-Emperor chain formation

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 6571 - 10
• Main Authors: Xie, Shijie, Cao, Zebin, Liu, Lijun, Yang, Dinghui, Liu, Mengxue, Li, Yanchong, Qi, Rui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 03.08.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 704/2151/210; 704/2151/214; 704/2151/562; 704/2151/598; Age composition; Data collection; Hot spots (geology); Humanities and Social Sciences; Lithosphere; Magma; multidisciplinary; Paleolatitude; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Seamounts; Volcanic rocks; Hawaii; United States > US
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51055-9

Paleolatitudes of volcanic rocks reveal that prominent changes in volcanic trend of the Hawaii-Emperor hotspot chain represent meridional migration of the magma source. However, models assuming latitudinal plume migration fail to explain the observed age distribution, rock composition, and erratic paleolatitude changes of the oldest Emperor seamounts. Here we use data-assimilation models to better reproduce the Hawaii-Emperor hotspot track by systematically considering plate reconstruction, plume-lithosphere interaction, and simplified melt generation and migration. Our results show that plate drag and plume-ridge interaction are both important in explaining the observed seamount ages. These shallow dynamic processes could account for 50% of the observed paleolatitude’s secular reduction and erratic variations over time, where the necessary southward migration of the Hawaiian plume root is significantly less than previously thought. We conclude that plume-lithosphere interaction represents a common mechanism in affecting hotspot track, and has important implications in understanding mantle dynamics and plate reference frames. Plume-ridge interaction modulates plume-lithosphere interaction and leads to hotspot track deviations and paleolatitude offsets in multiple hotspot chains, according to 3D data assimilation models focused on the Hawaii-Emperor hotspot track.