Effects of mantle flow on hotspot motion

An example of results is shown to the right: The second panel shows the calculated motion of hotspot plumes; arrows indicate flow in the mid-mantle (800 km depth) which is most responsible for hotspot motion. The third panel shows the predicted shape of plume conduits; arrows indicate flow above D'' in the lowermost mantle. The calculations are described in a paper published in GJI. A more general discussion of hotspot motion, and a description of the particular result shown here is given in an article for an AGU monograph. Results for 44 hotspots are compiled in another paper published in JGR. This project was developed as part of my Ph.D. thesis supervised by Richard J. O'Connell

More recent developments include detailed studies of individual hotspots, such as the Easter Island hotspot and Indian Ocean hotspots, with Dietmar Müller and Craig O'Neill and a study on the depth-dependence of plume conduit radius, and its effect on hotspot motion, with Maria Antretter.

As a part of an Iceland plume dynamics project these calculations are done in particular detail for the Iceland plume, with regard to the tectonic evolution of the North Atlantic, with Peter Mihalffy and Harro Schmeling, linking global mantle flow with a high-resolution regional flow computation.

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