Paleolatitudes of Kerguelen, Louisville and Hawaii hotspots

Hotspot motion and polar wander both can lead to changes in hotspot latitude. An example for the Kerguelen hotspot is given to the right: The green line shows changes in hotspot latitude predicted from polar motion only, using the Besse and Courtillot (1991) polar wander curve. The blue blue line shows changes in hotspot latitude predicted from our model of hotspot motion only. The red line is takes both effects into account. It is compared with results obtained from paleomagnetism (shown as black dots with error bars).

The comparison includes results from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) legs 183 (Kerguelen Plateau/Broken Ridge) 192 (Ontong-Java) and 197 (Hotspots) (click here for the summary of the leg, which was proposed by John Tarduno, Rory Cottrell and myself). I also participated in the IODP proposal that led to Expedition 330 "Louisville Seamount Trail - Implications for geodynamic mantle flow models and the geochemical evolution of primary hotspots".

The project was done with Maria Antretter, Franz Heider and Prof. Heinrich C. Soffel for the Kerguelen and Ontong-Java Plateau, and John Tarduno and the Leg 197 Shipboard party for the Hawaii hotspot. It also included my participation in ODP Leg 197.


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