The earth's hot spots

Details The earth's hot spots The earth's hot spots

Apr 1985

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1985sciam.252...50v&link_type=abstract

Scientific American (ISSN 0036-8733), vol. 252, April 1985, p. 50-57.

Physics

Geophysics

10

Earth Surface, Geodynamics, Mathematical Models, Planetary Temperature, Plates (Tectonics), Landforms, Plateaus, Volcanoes

Scientific paper

A major task of contemporary geophysics is the elucidation of the mechanisms by means of which such surface processes as the development of ocean basins and the formation of mountain ranges are related to the slow convective 'creep' of hot rocks in the underlying mantle. 'Hot spots' are an important part of this connection; their underlying upwelling plumes furnish an efficient channel for the release of heat toward the earth's surface. Hot spot tracks reveal how the continental plates have moved with respect to the earth's interior during the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. The depth of the hot spots' anchorage in the mantle allows them to remain relatively fixed in position while the plates pass over them, being periodically pierced by volcanoes and magma intrusions. Attention is given to the structure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Greenland-Faeroe Plateau.

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