Origin and Evolution of the Ontong Java Plateau, The Geological Society (London) Special Publication, ed. Fitton, G., J. Mahoney, P. Wallace, and A. Saunders, The Geological Society, London, U. K., 2004.

Modelled palaeolatitudes for the Louisville hotspot and the Ontong Java Plateau

Maria Antretter, Peter Riisager, Stuart Hall, Xixi Zhao and Bernhard Steinberger


Abstract

Formation of the Ontong Java Plateau, a large igneous province in the western Pacific, has been attributed to a rising plume head in the initial stage of the Louisville hotspot, approximately 120-125 Ma ago. However, the plate reconstruction of Neal et al. (1997) suggests that the plateau formed ~9 degrees north of the current location of this hotspot at 51°S . The magnetisation of the plateau?s basement records a palaeolatitude of approximately 25°S that further increases the discrepancy with the plumehead model (Riisager et al., this volume). Modelling the motion of the Louisville hotspot for the last 120 m.y. yields a possible southward motion of up to about 6 degrees. True Polar Wander (TPW) models also shift the predicted palaeolatitudes of the plateau farther north. Taking into account both hotspot motion and TPW, formation of the Ontong Java Plateau by the Louisville hotspot remains a possibility.